THE BALLAD OF A VAGABOND (FEAT. CRISTINA LAKE)



The spotlight shines down onto the large stage to show the image of Brandon Caulfield standing all dressed in black with a yellow Gibson Les Paul electric guitar draped over his shoulders, plugged into the large amplifiers that he’s standing in front of, he’s joined by Cristina Lake who is wearing a straw hat and a colourful dress, she’s holding onto the microphone as they both await the signal from the side stage in order to begin their performance, and finally it comes, Brandon looks across at the side of the stage as a thumbs up indicates that everything is ready for their performance and Brandon looks to Cristina and gives a reassuring smile as he places his left hand tightly on the neck of the electric guitar, holding down three of the strings before striking the strings with his right hand in an upwards direction that provides the opening chords of the song and then he begins to play the opening riff of the guitar introduction as Cristina stands beside him and prepares herself for the opening lyrics of the song in her soft bohemian voice;

“I’m drawing circles on the window while watching the rain pile up outside
Wondering where my life went, because I haven’t seen it in a while
I work hard from dusk till dawn, It’s the only thing I know how to do
Our children are all wrapped up in bed and it hurts so bad to see just how much they miss you
I’ve given up hope in ever seeing you again
Your just a fleeting memory of what we could have been”

As Cristina sings the opening verse of the song, the audience in the venue tonight are rather quiet to the point where you can almost hear a pin drop, perhaps it’s something to do with the songs nature and theme, but the audience listen intently throughout the song as Brandon provides the instrumentation to the song on the electric guitar, perhaps a surprise to many as he’s generally more known for his acoustic and piano based music but tonight and with his latest new album it seems like he’s more than happy to create a much more rock and roll based musical backdrop with his music, evident as he leads into the second verse with a powerful and driving guitar riff as he steps towards the microphone and begins singing;

“The touring lifestyle is an unstable way of living
Can’t you see, it’s all about taking rather than giving
I know I’ve got a family and commitments of my own
But you knew all along that I’m a rolling stone
I ain’t gonna lie, this moment will not pass
I find more happiness in the bottom of a whiskey glass

As the song progresses, Brandon continues to play the lead guitar instrumentation as Cristina provides her own highly distinctive vocals to the crowd in the venue tonight and as the time comes towards the songs latter stages, Brandon steps a little closer to Cristina’s microphone and the two share the microphone as they harmonize the final two verses of the song together, in a slight change up from the original in which they trade vocal duties between each other, Brandon continues to play the guitar while singing alongside his quirky baroque pop singer-songwriter cohort.
As the song ends, Brandon takes a step back slightly as he allows Cristina to take the center of attention following their performance together and as she raises her hand in the air in acknowledgement of the audiences reaction she then steps back a little towards where Brandon is stood and places her hand on his back, nudging him forward a little to take some of the limelight, he timidly raises his hand too and as the lights slowly dim Cristina gives a brief hug and a small kiss on the cheek before leaving the stage.

A SIGN OF THE TIMES
As the stage is vacated by Cristina, leaving only Brandon stood center stage the lights dim even more as one large spotlight hits the stage directly showing the figure of the singer-songwriter with his guitar still draped over his shoulders, as the audience settle back into silence Brandon places his fingers towards the top of the neck of the guitar and presses down on the strings with his other hand to make a powerful opening guitar riff to the next song of his performance, he plays another couple of power chords on the guitar before providing the intricate string plucking that provides an eerie south-western twang to the music, he steps forward closer to the front of the stage as the spotlight still bathes down brightly on him as he plays the extended guitar introduction to the song, another from his latest studio effort ‘Tales From The Heartlands’, as the introductory riff leads way to the opening lines of the song, Brandon steps forward closer to the microphone and looks directly out at the audience as he begins to sing the opening lyrics of the song;

“Five days down in the factory and the foreman calls time
We’d work our fingers to the bone for the promise of a dime
It’s what we’d do in order to make ends meet
We’d work hard so our families could eat
And at the end of the week, if luck was on our side
You’d have enough for a beer or two
We shared this thing that they call pride

But the jobs are fading, day by day
Our life is cascading, it’s falling away
People out of work, struggling to provide
Depression hits us all, when we lose our pride
Hard working men and women
Just can’t catch a break
The rich keep getting richer
And the poor will struggle each day”

An instrumental break in the song in which Brandon steps back from the microphone and begins to move around the large stage while playing his electric guitar appears mid-way through the song, the southern rock twang of his guitar providing the old-fashioned sound as he moves his fingers around the neck of the guitar while plucking at the strings of the guitar, as the instrumental comes towards it’s end, he steps forward once more and begins singing into the microphone the song’s lyrics of modern day struggles with his vocals creating the crisp and clear power to them that he only recently displayed on his third studio album, moving away from the quiet and tender emotion that he formerly displayed, as the song finally ends he takes very little time before playing into the next song.

MY DISENCHANTED SOCIETY



Brandon shuffled his way across to the front center of the stage and adjusted the microphone that was perched in the long black metal stand at the very center of the stage, he looked directly at the audience before adjusting the strings at the head of the guitar for a second, he struck downwards on it before adjusting the strings a little more and once more struck down onto the strings, he leaned closer to the microphone and just said in an assertive tone, “This is My Disenchanted Society” and as the audience cheered slightly he took four or five steps back, away from the microphone and began to walk slightly towards the left side of the stage while striking the strings of his guitar to create the introduction to the song on his electric guitar, a slight change up from the original version that is played on an acoustic but the introduction was just as good as the tender acoustic version nevertheless, he continued to string the strings of the guitar during the introductory period of the song before moving back across to the center of the stage for the songs opening vocals;

“Society
Abandon me
Down this empty road
So that I can learn to be free
Let me travel down the dusty highway
Where only the lonely people goes
Let me travel down this familiar terrain
Where the wild wind blows

Society
Abandon me
Down the dusty plain
So that I can start again
I’ll trudge through the swamps and the forests
To make things right
I’ll be forever in the dark
Like a thief in the night

Don’t you see
Because it’s pretty clear to me
That I’d rather be a pariah than a refugee
I’d rather be a traveller with just another song to sing
I’d rather be a rebel than a king
Because power changes
Everything

I’d rather be a pauper than a prince
Because I’d learn to appreciate
All the small things
I’d rather be a punk than a poet
I’d rather be a pilgrim than a prophet
I’d rather be a stranger than a stereotype
I’d rather be alone
Like a thief in the night

Disenchanted society
Send me away
When you’re done with me
I’ll wander through the empty fields
Forever, alone
I’ll start over again
Find a new place to call home”

As the song comes towards its final couple of verses, Brandon again utilises the size of the stage, something that as a theatre performer he is perhaps not quite used to. But he uses it to fall effect, moving from side to side while striking the strings of the guitar to create what can only really be described as an old-school rock and roll feel to the preceding’s of tonight’s award show, he confidently moves around the stage, even moving towards the very edges and then back and forth from the large amplifiers to the solitary microphone stand at the center. As he finishes playing a powerful and driving guitar riff he places a hand on the microphone and sings out the final verse of the song in emphatic fashion and as the song comes towards its close he lifts the guitar into the air and strikes three power chords as he brings back down and the lights around the venue all suddenly go dark as Brandon leaves the stage.

SETLIST;
The Ballad Of A Vagabond (feat. Cristina Lake)
A Sign Of The Times
Disenchanted Society