[tobytanzer]

Too bad the show at The Strand was postponed due to the approaching storm.
You missed a great show in Glenside. This was the Others/Novella show.

Act one included 2 new songs from the upcoming album "Grandine Il Vento". They may become beloved classics after a few listens, but I'm not there yet.
Rounding up the first half were Prologue, Carpet of the Sun, Things I Don't Understand, and Mother Russia.

Annie sang with a brace to support her spine. She suffered a compression fracture of a vertebra a few weeks ago, a complication of osteoporosis. Her voice did not seem to suffer, and actually seemed stronger than it was at Nearfest, although it was obvious from her banter and the wincing that she was dealing with a big bunch of pain. According to her,she has the voice of an angel but she can swear like a devil. Only euphemisms for bad words were used on stage. Friggin, flippin, heck, etc. I think the adrenaline rush from performing helped , but she was not there for signing of memorabilia afterwards, and fans were understanding.
The rest of the band was in top form as well, with Joe Goldberger filling in admirably on percussion at the last minute. Apparantly, Frank Pagano took a better gig with a NY stage show. Joe was the drummer for Annie's band in the 90's, but never played most of this tour's set list. Rave Tesar and Jason Hart on keys made you think there was an orchestra in the hall, and David Keyes bass soared.

After the intermission came Novella. This was the first time I had ever heard any of these favourites in a live show and they were excellent.
The mix was as good as it gets.
Michael Dunford's acoustic 12 string guitar sounded fresh, especially during his few solos. The Sisters was a highlight.
A Captive Heart was superbly done with Annie's back up vocals done perfectly by Jason Hart. The encore was Running Hard.
All in all it was another worthwhile trip to Philly for me and Pat.

We got to hang with the band and some other Kickstarter donors after the show, sans Annie, and met up with them later at the hotel.
I finally saw Annie for a (gentle) hug the next morning at breakfast. David has had chemo twice for a rare sarcoma and Rave has almost no vision due to macular degeneration, but no one complains and they all seem to love performing together.

I hope this group can keep it together. See them if you can. Two thumbs up!