Carbon Leaf Review

Okay, so last night I saw Carbon Leaf at Legends. Let me first of all say that, unlike some of my fellow reviewers here, I am not endowed with the magical ability to memorize complete set lists during a concert, particularly for bands with whom I'm not wholly familiar. Sorry! Secondly, this was actually my first experience with Carbon Leaf, although they said they were at Legends sometime last year. I knew one song by them ("Life Less Ordinary"), which I liked, so I thought I'd give them a shot.

That being said, those guys put on a fabulous show.

Carbon Leaf's sound is a lot mellower than stuff I usually listen to, but variety is a good thing. I'd classify them as a happy mix of Train, Jars of Clay, and Better Than Ezra, with a little bit of Sister Hazel for garnish. (Feel free to contradict me.) The best part of this show was that these guys knew how to take advantage of the space. Some bands (and we'll all think them in our heads) play small clubs the same way they do gigantic arenas--Very put off, no interaction with the audience except for the occassional "Make some noise," etc., forgetting that people are actually standing less than 2 feet in front of them. Not so with these guys. Besides giving out an all-access wristband to the House of Blues in Ohio and their set of sleigh bells to two very excited fans in the front row, they were constantly joking and communicating with the crowd. The best way they utilized the space was during their encore, where they lined up at the edge of the stage and waited for the crowd to fall silent before singing a completely unplugged (no mics or anything) version of "Learn to Fly." Definitely not something that can be done in a huge venue, and also a very good treat for fans and newcomers alike.

While I can't provide a complete and chronological set list, my memory is good enough to remember most of what they sang. (I have a penchant for remembering lyrics; so, while I didn't know their stuff really well before going, I Googled lyrics after words to find song titles.) This isn't everything, and it's definitely not in order, but it's the best I can do.

• Comfort
• Changeless
• On Any Given Day
• What About Everything?
• Love, Loss, Hope, Repeat
• Life Less Ordinary
• Texas Stars
• Let Your Troubles Roll By
• Learn to Fly
• The Boxer [These last 2 were in the encore]

So, while I would only give their music alone a "pretty good" rating, I give their ability to put on a live show a "damn awesome" rating. Definitely check them out sometime!