Empyrean Farewell Party Night 3; Goodbye
FEATURING: Zack Graham – Liz Rognes – Danielle Estelle – Josh Hedlund – Kurt Olson – Joel Smith – Madison Whitney -Cathedral Pearls (Karli Fairbanks) – Ken Arkind – Kevin Long – Buddy Wakefield – The Head and the Heart
We arrived at the Empyrean tonight around 5pm and had to drag ourselves out the door with our heads hung low at 12:30am because we knew we had to be up at 4am for work the next day. We thanked Chrisy on our way out, and even though we know we’ll see her and Michelle again it was still tough. They were the first ones to ever welcome Check It Out Music into the Spokane Music Scene and for that there will always be a place in our hearts for the Riddle sisters. However, we weren’t the only ones who felt that way. Every single person that graced the stage over the past three days had some way of saying thanks to the Empyrean and to Michelle and Chrisy. Countless songs and poems were dedicated to them, and many Empyrean stories were told.
I loved how the final Empyrean shows were not just about music, but also focused on local and national poets. They did a great job of showcasing the talent that has danced on their stages and breathed into their microphones. Tonight we got to listen to a few Spokane poets perform original pieces; some of them we saw at the Poetry Slam on Thursday as well. All of the poets locally and nationally knocked the words out of my mouth. Buddy Wakefield was a delight; I loved how he had Joel Howard freestyle a little mandolin action for him during his set. He also had Ken Arkind play a dash of harmonica during a couple of his pieces. Buddy had energy, and kept us laughing with little comments and jokes. I also love how one of the girls in the audience told the crowd to shut their traps during his set, he loved that as well. Buddy is on a book tour without a book, because his Mac crashed and well now the book is gone. However, DO NOT give him suggestions he has tried it all and is just trying to get over the situation. Book or not, Buddy killed it!
There were two new artists for me tonight, Liz Rognes and Josh Hedlund. Both were a delight. Liz had this spunky personality and rocked an acoustic guitar with Pat McHenry on lap steel and Kurt Olson on stand up bass. Liz had us laughing and played a few songs for us including “Lovely Things,” “Sunset,” “Kiss Me Goodbye,” and “What I Can’t Have.” Josh Hedlund was from Sandpoint, and he said he was nervous, but I thought he sounded amazing! Josh Hedlund can play the acoustic guitar with such intricacy and his voice is humble yet rich. He filled up the room with warm music yet sent chills down my spine. I am so glad he could come down for the final night.
It was so fitting for Joel Smith to play; he is such a talented artist. Oddly enough tonight was his first time playing at the Big Dipper Empyrean location, and also his last! It was great to hear Joel Smith perform live again (it’s been a long time). To hear him and Karli Fairbanks play together was so great. They met at the Empyrean, and to see them play and dedicate the last song to Michelle was wonderful and sweet.
Cathedral Pearls, featuring Mrs. Karli was grand. She had Joel come up and play the banjo with her for a few songs. My favorite part during the Cathedral Pearls set was when she played “Whiskey Flowers” alone and the band joined in the middle of the song, it was really powerful. Kevin Long with his brothers also just warmed my heart. It was cool to hear Kevin with more “sound” to his songs. After seeing Joel Smith, Karli Fairbanks, and Kevin Long I was reminded of how much I miss seeing these artists. All of them in which I was introduced to at the Empyrean.
Last but not least the Head and the Heart took the stage. They finally got the crowd out of their chairs, up and dancing. They once again sounded fantastic! We saw them this summer at the Empyrean and was blown away, it was great to see them play the final performance we would see at the Empyrean. They even had bright yellow screen printed posters for tonight’s show. I liked being able to sing along to their songs tonight, even though there was no way I could even compare to their harmonies. Their self titled album has been on constant rotation for quite some time now on my I tunes. I sang at the top of my lungs to “Cats and Dogs,” “Coeur d’Alene,” “Sounds Like Hallelujah,” “Ghosts” and “Honey Come Home.” I noticed I wasn’t the only one singing along too, and most of the kids were dancing!
Karli nailed it on the head tonight; she told the crowd as she stood on the stage alone “…there really will never be a place like this again.”
The final chapter has been written, the record has stopped spinning, and the microphones are quite but the Empyrean will always be talked about in our Spokane Scene.
Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.
