popular thinking

HOWIE DAY, GREAT NIGHT: Howie Day said tonight's show in Boston was the biggest show he has played, and he played as if he deserved even bigger gigs. It was that good. Maybe being from Maine helped. More likely than not, Mr. Day has learned more than a thing or two from opening up for the Dave Matthews Band. He certainly didn't feel intimidated by headlining the Bank of America Pavilion, letting loose, allowing his bandmates to kick out the solo jams, and playing with the vocal effects throughout his 80-minute set. By the way, kudos to the sound guy for making Howie's vocals so amazing. His second song was Ghost, and he had the crowd on his side even before that. Worked in two new songs, Tell Me Something and Be There. Also on the setlist: Sunday Morning Song, Numbness for Sound, Secret, Trouble In Here, and he ended the regular set with a beautiful version of Collide. When Howie came back onstage solo to begin his encore with Sorry So Sorry (the other encores were She Says and Morning After) it was the most rewarding encore I'd heard since Damien Rice in 2003 (when his cellist went wild on The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army). For more on Howie, check out this fansite. Or check out his latest release here. From the fansite, it appears as though Howie had Gavin DeGraw as an opening act earlier this month -- which would've been divine to catch. Not that Anna Nalick was bad. Rather, she was incredibly giddy and incredibly cute, and if it weren't for the fact that she was flirting with a guy in the front row (making me question my ticket selection), I'd have an even higher opinion of her show. Good stuff nonetheless.