First impressions are important.

Has there ever been a musician or band that, for the lack of better words, had you at hello?? It's similiar to the notion of love at first site. Is it really possible?? I am here to tell you, YES, it is possible. My evidence to such a proclamation....Ray Lamontagne.

I had my first taste of the Lamontagne kool-aid in 2005 on the Austin City Limits television program. Since that night, I've been hooked!! I purchased the then-current album Trouble and searched every online library for all things Lamontagne. During this time I learned a great deal about the man and the road that had brought him to us. From the early morning influence of Stephen Stills to the demo tape that found it's way to a record executive, Ray's story is unique.

In November of 2006, I had the good fortune to catch Ray at the Brown Theatre in Louisville, Ky. That night I watched him as he captivated the entire room with one of the most powerful performances I have ever seen. Throughout the show's entirety, he threw every ounce of his rugged, bearded soul into the music. This fact was no more apparent than during the song Empty. The emotional lyrics proved too heavy and caused Ray to excuse himself from the song's remaining lines. Because of this the crowd broke from their awestruck state and into an uproar of applause and cheers, Ray had just shared a "moment" with us.

Unquestionably, there will be many more Ray posts entered on Tangent Lyrics. But tonight I stumbled across a video from his current tour and simply wanted to share it along with a few words about the man. Enjoy.


Winter Birds from the album Gossip in the Grain