In January, it snowed pretty hard here. I was off work because my building was literally not open. I knew I had the day off, so I picked up my acoustic guitar and walked carefully down the hill to 15th Avenue in Capital Hill where a bar called the Hopvine has a Wednesday night open mic. I arrived early to a nearly packed bar. Lots of 20 and 30 somethings were using the weather as an excuse to party on a school night. I knew I was literally twice as old as some of the bar patrons, but I care less about that the older I get. I had some soup and signed up to play.
Since I was early, I led the night off. I opened with Neil Young's "Out on the Weekend," then played a cover of a friends song and one of my own. The crowd was attentive and receptive, and I was pleased. The next up was a lovely young woman with a great voice. Third up was a young man that introduced himself as Jonathon and said that he had been writing some new material and wanted to try it out. He played a mahogany Guild guitar and I noticed right off that he was not only an exceptional singer but that even though he was playing to a room where half the people weren't even listening he approached the songs like he was singing in a stadium. He was intense and focused, and the songs were amazing. The next thought I had was that he was very young, extremely good looking and that he was probably going to be famous some day.
Jonathon played three songs. The person running the open mic asked him if he wanted to play a fourth and he considered it, then said, "no that is all I have worked on." He took a seat next to me in front of the stage and we talked for a while. I asked him how he liked the Guild he was playing, complemented him on his songs, and he said he liked the original I had played. I finished my "Arnold Palmer" (yes I drink the same thing that 10 years old's order) and walked back to my apartment.
Last night I went to the Fremont Abbey Arts Center to see Jonathon Blue (from Motopony) Gregory Paul and Jonathon Russell (from the Head and the Heart). Jonathon Blue was amazing. I don't quite understand how he makes three guitar strings sound so good, but the effect is that every syllable of his thought provoking, clever and oftentimes hilarious lyrics can be heard. Gregory Paul was also incredible, much more laid back but with songs that soar and harmonies from his female back-up singer that were flawless. Finally, Jonathon Russell took the stage, and that is when I realized that it was the same person who I had met at the Hopvine that snowy night two months ago. He held the 250+ people mesmorized for over an hour as he played one gorgeous melody after another. He ended the night by bringing his band up on stage to sing one with him. Finally, he put a record on a phonograph sitting next to his guitar stand and said, "thanks for coming, now I'm just going to hang out." I would have enjoyed the show anyway, but remembering how unpretentious and kind he had been the night I met him a couple of months ago made it all the more memorable.
