MONOLOG: Andrew Belle @ The Utah

What's great about The Hotel Utah Saloon is the same attribute that makes it suck - the size. The tiny stage seems to be blocked from any angle, whether you're on the floor or upstairs. But, there is something sort of magical about seeing such great artists at point blank range, in a tiny, intimate space. Last time we were there it was David Mead gracing the stage, singing solo and playing a mix of guitars and mandolin. He also jumped on the piano in the corner to play Human Nature - it was unplanned and awesome.

This time it was Andrew Belle on stage, playing songs from his getting-super-popular album The Ladder (as well as some material from his previous album All Those Pretty Lights). If you don't know Belle's music, he's a Chicago-now-Nashville singer/songwriter who recently joined the ranks of the 10 Out Of Tenn tour. The Ladder is his first full length album, although you'll probably recognize his music from that show you're addicted to (his songs are being picked up by many a prime-time drama). Sadly, Katie Herzig did NOT make a cameo to sing Static Waves (on which she is featured on the album), but a great performance nonetheless. I highly recommend catching Andrew now, while he's still approachable and able to hang after the show and sell you a CD in person. Soon he will have the management buffer of an Andrew Bird and you'll be hard pressed to shake his hand.

Shoutout to the other super talented artists there as well: Allen Stone bucked all stereotypes by busting out his soul break-up tunes like Quit Callin, Matthew Ryan and Kasey Anderson traded tracks from each others albums, and while he wasn't on the roster this time, San Francisco native songwriter David Greco was spotted in the building.