I have known Aijia Lise Grammer for more than ten years, having met her through her friend Hope Leigh Rollins and booked her for several gigs back when I was doing shows at Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles. Until recently, I had never had the chance to meet her husband, Andy. Thanks to Aijia and with the help of Andy’s sterling manager, Welshie, I finally got that chance when Andy Grammer brought his “Don’t Give Up on Me” tour to The Jones Assembly in Oklahoma City on October 15.
I have been going to meet and greets for the better part of the past 25 years when I discovered this amazing part of the live concert experience. Back in those days, the only artists doing them were country artists, and you merely had to buy a membership in their fan club to get the opportunity to meet your favorite star. However, somewhere along the way, other genres found out about this phenomenon and have exploited it, now calling it the “VIP experience,” and charging upwards of $200 for the privilege.
Prior to this time, my favorite meet and greet outside of the early country shows was Blue October. Grammer’s session was particularly incredible, and is now my favorite. The experience started with a quick meet and greet and photo with him before participating in what he called the “circle of trust.” Grammer talked about his recent losses and the strengths he had gained in going through the pain, and then invited others to share their stories with the group. There were some compelling stories, and we all shed a few tears during our time together. After the circle, Grammer performed a couple of acoustic songs and then opened up his merchandise booth so we could have first crack at it. After that it was time to wait for the doors to officially open and the evening’s concert to begin.
As I was talking with Jennifer from CID, the folks that coordinated the meet and greet, I heard a familiar voice coming from the stage. I looked up to see my dear friend Sean Hill doing his spoken word to open the show. What a treat. It was also a privilege to hang with him the rest of the night.
The opening band was called Nightly and they hailed from Nashville. Composed of Joey Beretta, Jonathan Capeci and Nick Sonato, they put on a rousing show that showcased their talents and warmed up the capacity crowd for what was yet to come. They even incorporated an outstanding U2 cover into their set.
Finally it was time for Grammer to perform. He started the show in the center of the audience by performing a spoken word piece before playing the title track to his latest album, Naive. He then proceeded to perform another 20 songs, including nearly every song on Naive and his megahits “Honey I’m Good,” “Keep Your Head Up,” “Fresh Eyes,” and “Good to be Alive.”
Just before he performed his new single “Wish You Pain,” he shared with the audience what he had previously shared with us during the Circle of Trust, and again invited the audience to share their stories. He picked one member from the audience, listened to her story, and then he and Hill proceeded to write a song on the spot that illustrated that story. It was a very special moment for both the lucky audience member and the crowd in general.
Grammer concluded the evening with a rousing performance of his latest hit, “Don’t Give up on Me.” The evening ended as the audience joined in and sang the chorus back to him. It was the perfect culmination for a perfect concert experience.