A Fine Frenzy plays a free outdoor show on the waterfront (AKA the best night ever)

This past weekend, I logged on to Twitter and to my delight, found this message waiting on my timeline:

A Fine Frenzy is one of my absolute favorite live acts, and an outdoor show on a wharf is the perfect setting for this music. Also, full disclosure: I pretty much want Alison Sudol to be my best friend forever and ever. So I might have done a little happy dance when I read this tweet.

And that's the story of how on Wednesday night, I ended up seated on a brick patio at the Fairmont Battery Wharf, while Alison rocked the socks off a large group of fans. There was not a ton of room, but lots of fans managed to find a place to plop down anyway. The weather was gorgeous - it was late enough in the day that the sun was out and it was still warm, but the cool breeze kept everyone comfortable. The epitome of a perfect summer evening.

Welcome back to Beantown, guuurl

As usual, Alison and friends (Omar Velasco, guitar and Ryan Carman, drums) put on a fantastic show. The set was only scheduled to be an hour, but they had enough time to play a few songs off of each of her two albums, along with a new song ("Redbird Calling") and a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire." In addition, Alison and Omar played a song from their own side project (unfortunately, I couldn't catch the name of it, but here's a video). And as if all that wasn't enough, she also announced that her third album should be coming out in January or February. (Hurrah!!)





Honestly, Alison is so charming and adorable that I would probably go see her perform even if I did not care for the actual songs, but thankfully, it hasn't come to that. She won the crowd over the second she stepped onto the riser with her cute little dimples and enthusiastic grin lighting up her face. And she held that audience captive, whether she was cracking jokes about pirates and fish, or getting a little teary when everyone sang along with her first hit, "Almost Lover." When she messed up the lyrics during "Blow Away," everyone just cheered twice as loud while she made a goofy little face and danced her way through the mistake. She's the only person I've seen who can look giddy with happiness while playing heartbreakingly sad music.

Alison Sudol and Omar Velasco

After the show, I had the honor of meeting her, and I thanked her for her music, because it has helped me through some emotional turmoil in my past. She listened appreciatively, and after I finished, simply said to me, "You get a hug for that!" Truly, this woman is lovely in every way.

Best friends 4evaaaaa! (Okay, not the best picture of me but I have to show it off anyway).

Thank you to A Fine Frenzy, the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel and everyone else involved in putting on such a memorable evening.

More photos & videos from last night // www.afinefrenzy.com