rocky votolato live review

Rocky Votolato Live Review | Be Careful of the Company You Choose | The Social, Orlando, Fl | July 31, 2015

by • December 30, 2015

Little spring, you know that when our world ends. The next one will begin … ” 

That’s when I lost it. It was uncontrollable. My eyes swelled up like two tiny oceans. My body temperature rose. There was pain in my heart. I was right where I needed to be. One world was ending in my life, another just beginning.

Rocky Votolato is one of the best singer-songwriters of our generation. I feel like he speaks to me directly. And if it’s not me, I see the light coming out of his mouth is straight from his heart. His music is sweet magic.

Opening the night was singer-songwriter Dave Hause. One of our staff writers, Jason Earle, was so inspired by Hause he decided to write an independent review about him (read here).

Rocky Votolato opened with the haunting, mesmerizing notes of “White Daisy Passing,” setting the tone for a special night I’ve personally waited for almost three years to experience. There is this passion beneath every breath he takes, one that few can match. Pain. Truth. Humility. There is no vanity in Votolato’s lyrics, only pure, bloody honesty.

Rocky Votolato’s new album, Hospital Handshakes displays some of his best work since the 2004 release, Suicide Medicine. It’s worth noting both albums are the only of Votolato’s produced by Chris Walla, formerly of Death Cab For Cutie.

The song “White-Knuckles” kicked my ass into gear this year, both personally and professionally. “It’s time to white-knuckle this shit … make friends with these demons and just get on with it. Nothing’s changed, and it never will.” To me, it shouts loud and clear that my life and well being is under my control and no one, or no thing, is going to change for me. The only person I can change is myself. It’s inspiration for me to keep moving, no matter the path. Just keep fucking going and don’t dare stop until you are where you want to be, or find a nice resting place for a bit. The opening track, “Boxcutter,” further explores this concept with the repetition of “trust that everything happening is perfect.” I believe if you follow your beating heart and keep moving, you’ll find every little bit of heaven you desire.

Votolato and I became acquainted along one of my many hour and a half drives to and from Ocala, FL to Poinciana, FL to see my girlfriend from ‘04 – ‘07. Her best friend, who would become one of my closest friends, gave me a burned copy of Suicide Medicine. That album remained in my aftermarket CD player for months, only to be removed when I was at home and could play it in my bedroom. It became my Linus’s blanket; my best friend, careful and comfortable. We used to scream together on every drive, late at night and in the middle of the afternoon. I am infinitely grateful for these words.

My brain never stops ticking. Sometimes an on/off switch would sure come in handy.”

The reason this fucking review is coming out almost six months after the show is because a chain reaction began that night leading to the worst physical pain I’ve endured in my life. A few weeks before the show I had a bad falling out with a friend who became too close, too quick. There was a shitty love triangle I was unknowingly entangled in which tripped the fall. Life spun. Trust was broken. But I made it through, in some ways on top, in some ways under the soil. I learned a lot.

The night of the Votolato show was the first time I ran into my estranged friend, a guy who was secretly vying for the affection of what I thought was my girlfriend. I could have just ignored him and been a dick, but I believe in focusing your negative energy into inhales and breathing them out to never taste them again. I’ve been practicing this.

It’s always good to see an old friend. So I pushed my hate back far as I could and went in for a hug … The two of us, along with our other friend who I dragged to the show, all embraced. It was like old times, for a moment. They leaned into me tightly, like they usually do. However, this time was different; I couldn’t hold their weight. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my lower back and let go. I fought the pain and didn’t make mention of it, mostly because Rocky Votolato was about to begin. Little did I know this would send me down a path to many months of agony, eventually leading to a crippling condition known as sciatica, where a comfortable position is a rare feeling.

I see the irony, bleeding crystal clear in the fact he was back in my life for a moment, just long enough to give a final, crippling blow. Your friends may fail you, but music will remain faithful. Be careful with the company you choose, not everyone is who they seem to be.

Hospital Handshakes is up for my Best Album of the Year. Keep an eye on ShowsIGoTo.com over the next couple weeks to see where it lands on our “Best Of” list and why.

Rocky Votolato Live Review by Mitch Foster, edited by Jason Earle and Matthew Weller. 

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