It was a Tuesday night and I decided it was going to be spent at the The Fable. It was a Ryan Pollie showcase night and there was going to be a secret headliner. This is when my hunch came out correct. If someone had asked me for a guess on who the secret headliner would be, I would have said Tyler Ballgame. At the previous showcase in May, I noticed Tyler Ballgame and Ryan Pollie huddling together. I felt something was up. I was proven correct three weeks later when I noticed an Instagram story where it was mentioned he was playing a set, but it did not mention where. I knew where that was going to be.
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| Tyler Ballgame at The Fable |
The packed venue indicated that others also knew that he was the secret headliner. If anyone didn't already know, Brookelen gave away the secret midway through her set. In between those two sets, the crowd went out into the patio. As soon as the crowd heard the first Tyler Ballgame song, they started to stream into the bar. As they were streaming inside, they were greeted by a full tilt effort, not just an acoustic set. There was a a seven piece backing band, which included Pollie on percussions. The Fable stage (more like a corner of the bar) wasn't large enough for the full band so two individuals were playing off to the side. It was almost as if the band was blended in with the crowd.
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| Tyler Ballgame at The Fable |
He mentioned that his first set ever was at The Fable. Those early memories put a smile on his face as he stepped out in front of the stage. If it weren't for the set-up of the bar, which includes tables and a low-wall barrier, he likely would have moved into the middle of the crowd to sing his Americana-operatic set. His efforts to connect with the crowd did not go unnoticed as everyone enthusiastically sang the lyrics to their favorite songs.
The back half of the set was dedicated to a number of unreleased songs (I only caught the name of one song, which was "Meltdown"). One of those songs was played semi-acoustic with 5 band members walking off to the side, leaving only the keyboardist and bassist. When he ended his set, the crowd chanted for an encore. He relented with a cover of Harry Nilsson's "Without You." He encouraged everyone to join him in singing the tune and they all willingly did so to send everyone either home for the night or back to the patio area to talk with friends.
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| Tyler Ballgame at The Fable |
The song spotlight goes to "Matter of Taste." Per a Rough Trade article, the "desire for love" is not always returned by those at concerts or hoped for romantic partners. On this particular night, the crowd returned that love by singing passionately along to the lyrics "Baby, baby" and doing their best to pogo dance in the tight quarters. On this particular night, that desire for love was returned.
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| Tyler Ballgame at The Fable |
try to sell no car
Partial Setlist: I Believe In Love. For The First Time, Again. Sing How I Feel. Got a New Car. Matter of Taste. Ooh. Meltdown. Encore: Without You (Harry Nilsson cover).
Later this year, he'll be on a headliner tour, which will include a stop at the Lodge Room on October 15th.
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