Last night was one of those shows I’m still angry I didn’t tape. Kim and I headed to the Soiled Dove Underground a little later than originally planned, and showed up just as Will Hoge was taking the stage. I knew we were going to be pushing it close, so I didn’t take the recording gear along with me. Had I known how unique the venue was, and how great the show would be I would have definitely changed my mind.

Firstly, the Soiled Dove is a small and intimate venue, where a circular stage sits high above the floor below. On the floor are many tables, each sitting four people. Behind that is another level starting with a bar rail, which is where our seats were. There is an even higher level back behind the second, and both of these are full of more four person tables. All of the seats have a small lighted number post on the table/bar, and there is a little switch on it which when flipped turns on a red light at the top of the post. This is an indication to the servers that you’d like to order something. This setup leads to an incredibly silent room, which I’m sure can lead to some great shows as last night proves.

Will Hoge started off the night by playing a few songs by himself on the acoustic guitar and lots of harmonica playing thrown in as well. It was awesome to hear his distinguished voice in such clarity and mostly silent crowd. Following a few mellow songs, the other two band members joined him on stage for a set of much louder, but still great sounding, songs. I think the crowd was mostly familiar with Hoge, but those who may not have been would definitely have to be fans after seeing this show. At the end of the night, a four or five song encore was played with a mix of solo/acoustic songs and a couple of full band songs to cap off the night.

Note to self, see more shows at the Soiled Dove. O.A.R. played there once back in 2001, and I wish I could have caught that show. Perhaps I’ll have to find the tape from that night.