Concert at the Buskirk

Wednesday evening was a typical sticky Indiana summer night – mugginess begging for sweet, floating voices and folk guitars to stifle the heat. The Union Board’s Live From Bloomington heeded the call and provided relief with a special concert event featuring the soft melodies of Mirah, with performances by Laura Veirs and The Delicious at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.\nThe crowd buzzed with excitement as a group native to Bloomington, The Delicious, opened the show for the internationally-known Veirs and Mirah. The four-piece band was handpicked by Mirah to open the evening’s show, adding popular local flavor to \nthe event.\n“The Delicious is one of my favorite bands. They’re such great live performers,” said Tyler Koontz, recent IU graduate and director of distribution and marketing for Live From Bloomington.\nAs clusters of two and three people drifted toward the stage, The Delicious pumped out a dynamic set that had the crowd bouncing, bobbing \nand swaying.\nLaura Veirs followed The Delicious, her shy voice drifting over guitar as she played a solo set of songs from her newest album, “Saltbreakers.” \n“‘Saltbreakers’ means ‘ocean waves,’” Veirs said before the show. “My songs are always sort of \nnature-based.” \nThe sometimes turbulent, sometimes calm sea was a fitting metaphor for the period she went through while writing the album, she said. \n“The sea was good for this album with all the ups and downs in my life. I think I have an active imagination that can go to new places and make weird connections. I want my lyrics to bridge the gap between everyday experience and the magical world. I just want to create some magic,” she said with a shrug.\nVeirs sung stories of pirates and dreams, sails and swords to the crowd against a cloth backdrop of ocean blues and fiery yellows in the Buskirk’s dimly lit, moody red theater.\nAfter finishing her tour dates with Mirah, Veirs will head to Europe for a \nsolo tour.\n“I’m going by myself, renting a car with a GPS system. It’s really a solo tour with just a girl and her guitar,” Veirs said. “I’m just a little nervous about driving on the other side of the road.”\nMirah rounded out the lineup with her own guitar, accompanied on stage by a drummer and keyboardist. Her delicate, whispery voice brightened up the subdued and sometimes melancholy tones of the music.\nLive From Bloomington hosts events throughout the year, most notably the release of the annual Live From Bloomington compilation CD and the accompanying concerts that take place around town. \n“Our mission is to provide local music and quality entertainment for Bloomington,” said Andy Goheen, director of Live From Bloomington.\nGoheen was particularly excited about hosting a concert at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a quintessential Bloomington location.\n“One of Mirah’s agents had heard of the Buskirk. It’s one of the best-known venues in the Midwest, and it gives the artists a really good break from playing in clubs and bars,” Goheen said.\nIn addition to the CD and special events such as the Mirah concert, Live From Bloomington also presents a weekly free concert series, Noise, in the Indiana \nMemorial Union during the school year.\nVeirs’ album “Saltbreakers” is out now. Mirah’s next album “Share This Place: Stories and Observations” comes out Aug. 7.