Friday, January 9, 2009

Click Here for Pictures of Carl Barât Performance, The Popscene, SF

"Let's Put Our Future Behind Us." Here's to you, Carl Barât



Before I start gushing about meeting Carl Barât. I need to give some background to what made last night so memorable. I have always been a fan of The Libertines and more recently Barât's new band Dirty Pretty Things.

I saw Dirty Pretty Things perform once in Boston and was mesmerized. Now, where ever I go there is always Dirty Pretty Things album with me.

In times of tremendous joy and sometimes deep sadness or just sitting on the subway, the music has never failed to compliment the mood and inevitably conjure up a thought or a smile.

Back to the show. Last night, Violeta and I got tickets and watched Barât's solo performance. He played a less than confident set of a dozen songs; half old Libertines songs and the other half Dirty Pretty Things. The music was overshadowed by the crowd loudly chitchatting in anticipation for Glasvegas, the headline act. However, Barât maintained a steady flow of catchy tunes that if you listened closely were heartfelt in their execution.

Violeta and I decided not to stay for Glasvegas. We walked past the smoking crowd to the back of the venue where Barât was with his lady. I jokingly told Violeta I wanted to tell him how inspirational his music was to me, seconds before seeing him. Barât was hard to understand, he mumbled and had a heavy accent, also adrenalin was plugging my ears. I told him I appreciated his music amongst other things and we talked a little about his previous albums. When I started to say goodbye, Barât pulled me into his arms giving me an unexpected hug and kiss on the cheek. I walked away feeling elated.