Ryan Power At Radio Bean March 26, 2014

Words by Tim Lewis.

I had a great time seeing music Wednesday night. I had missed Ryan Power the last two times he was in town, since he was playing Thursday evenings, when I was doing my radio show. Not so this time, a Wednesday was clear sailing for me.

Radio Bean was pretty full when I arrived, so I found a corner to stand in, chatted with a couple of people, and soon enough the band was ready to go. The band were a five-piece with Ryan singing, playing keys, and guitar. Another guy played guitar and keys. The was a killer bass player and solid drummer, and another keyboard player, because the music had that many layers.

The music was oddly timed gorgeous pop that challenged the heart and mind. It went in lots of directions, so the only chance I had to really enjoy it was to strap in and listen. The audience was almost evenly split between chatters and listeners, but it did not deter the band at all. They had to be amazing to pull off the songs, and they were, and they did. A lot of the music was electronic pop. Some had hints of prog rock. There were some elements of rock. It was the kind of set that really pushed my musical boundaries.

They played most, if not all, of the new album Identity Picks, then tossed in some older ones at the end. Their 90 minute set was intense and wonderful and I had to work to catch up.

In the end I’m glad I went. My mind was very stimulated by the show, but my heart didn’t love it. Music is such a funny beast. It can work in a lot of different ways, but in the end, the song you walk away humming is the one you loved most. I have yet to get to a point where his songs just pop into my head. Maybe that will happen someday, but for now the mind rules the heart, and I will see whet happens when I catch him in the future. Maybe the heart will catch up sometime.

This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.