Chris Trapper at The Center For Arts In Natick, 12-11-14 Concert Review

"Into The Bright Lights"

Last week I caught a Chris Trapper concert at The Center For Arts In Natick (or T-CAN, as they call it). It was my first time at that venue, and I was impressed. The sound was good; the staff was friendly; and the layout of the place provided enough leg room and an excellent view from all seats. Nick Young, a singer/songwriter from Rochester, New York, opened the show with a good set. Folks continued to stream in during his set, and by the time Chris Trapper took the stage at 9 p.m. the place was fairly full.

Chris Trapper kicked off the show with “Into The Bright Lights,” the title track from his 2010 EP, and followed that with “Gone Again,” the title track from his 2011 release. Chris Trapper always has a really good rapport with the audience, and it wasn’t long before he was joking. “This is the first time I’ve been here since the last time I was here,” he said, then talked a bit about touring, and about being mistaken for Rick Astley at the airport. And as it’s the season, he performed “Black And Blue Christmas,” a song from his 2008 Christmas album. And of course he did “Everything Shines,” a Push Stars song featured in the film There’s Something About Mary. He followed that with one of my favorites, “Starlight,” a seriously sweet song, and then a couple from his 2011 release The Few & Far Between: “Not Normal” and “Skin.” He introduced “Skin” as a song about staying in love.

“Boston Girl” is a fun tune, and one that really speaks to me these days. Here is a bit of the lyrics: “But you see Boston Girls know how to deal with the traffic/And Boston Girls don't have attitude 'cause they have it/They can be dressed up or they can be dressed down/They know just what to do when their man's in town.” Oh yes! He joked about how as it was a Thursday he knew folks had to get home early so he said he’d rush through the song. He followed that with another of my favorites, “Away We Go,” which he played on ukulele, tossing in a bit of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple toward the end. After that he moved to the piano for “I’ll Count You.” I don’t recall ever seeing Chris Trapper play piano in concert before, so this was a treat.

Ariel Strasser joined Chris for “The Accident,” a track from his 2013 release Technicolor, and then Chris wrapped up the set with “This Time.” Well, sort of. He joked that “This Time” would be his “pretend last song,” and after it, he hid behind the piano while the audience clapped for the encore that he had promised anyway. Someone called out for “Keg On My Coffin,” which is kind of a waste of a request because he always does that song. He ended the show with it, but first played “Look What The Wind Blew In.”

Set List

1. Into The Bright Lights
2. Gone Again
3. (I'm not sure of the title of this one)
4. Black And Blue Christmas
5. Ever Since That Day
6. Avalanche
7. Sea Of No Cares
8. Everything Shines
9. Starlight
10. Not Normal
11. Skin
12. Boston Girl
13. Away We Go
14. I’ll Count You
15. The Accident
16. This Time

Encore

1. Look What The Wind Blew In
2. Keg On My Coffin

The show ended at 10:35 p.m.

Here are a few photos from his set:

"Not Normal"

"Boston Girl"

"Boston Girl"

"Away We Go"

"Away We Go"

"I'll Count You"

"I'll Count You"

"The Accident"