John Vanderslice

John Vanderslice may be the worlds nicest rock musician currently touring. I only say this because in our brief conversation before his concert last night at the Empyrean he came across as one of the most genuine people I have met in quite a while. By the end of the show, he was no longer on the stage or even plugged in anymore but rather he was in the audience playing and singing with no mike or amplification. I suppose this may have contributed to the intimate feel of the concert but I think it may have had more to do with his personality as the stories he told from the stage felt more like old friends chatting, hanging out over coffee. There was one minor annoyance as a group of people who were there for the beer and not the concert got a little loud and he rather nicely asked them to be quiet. All told it was an amazing show. I managed to pick up one of the few remaining copies of Moon Colony Bloodbath by John Darnielle (the Mountain Goats) and John Vanderslice. It features a wonderful cover painted by Michael Pajon.