It was definitely an interesting show. After introducing her drummer-friend, Mirah launched into familiar songs with that distinctive vocal style of hers, all bittersweet and lush, with the sense that something might burst out from underneath the surface of acoustic guitar (and occasionally, but not often enough, something does).
However, after about five songs or so, she started another song, then stopped. She confessed that she couldn't really remember the song, and spent a minute or two starting and stopping again interspersed with hopelessly endearing comments like "Oh, shoot, sorry guys" and strange, cute, throat noises. It was around this time that I wondered if she would make a good girlfriend.
She had a few more moments like this throughout the rest of the hour-and-a-half show, and each time it was a little less endearing and a little more grating. She might've been high, or just stressed out from the constant touring, but she stayed in good spirits irregardless, even trying to get the audience involved during a couple songs. She had one half hum a certain melody, and the other half hum a different melody, with the intention of creating a background syncopation for her singing. Most of my half kept up their end of the bargain, but the other half were all slackers. It still sounded nice.
For the second-to-last song, Mirah put down her guitar and asked for a volunteer to man an egg-shaker. The girl who was chosen really worked that egg-shaker while Mirah serenaded 400 or so UCSB students.
In the end, it was well worth the price of admission. I enjoyed the show, but this is a rare case where I prefer an artist's recorded material to the live show.
