Meet Ari Hest!

Another blog decision: before I analyze the lyrics of songs, I'm going to take time to introduce people to the artists I'm writing about. It's only fair.

And I am dedicating the my first analysis entry to a musician who made my night, weekend, week, month, and possibly entire life last Saturday: his name is Ari Hest.

Ari Hest is one of a kind. A solo acoustic artist, he's not extremely well known, but he's one of those people who has a small but frighteningly loyal fan base. He has the smoothest, deepest voice, but then can hit these shockingly beautiful high notes. I really hope he becomes more famous, because I think his music would hit home for a lot of people.

I went to a concert of his last Saturday night with my friend Adam. It started off as a bizarre evening, but I ended up having an AMAZING time. It was a really small show; actually, the concert was in a synagogue and he played in the sanctuary, which was hilarious in its own right. But somehow, I guess through the wonder that is Jewish geography, I ended up running into two people I knew from Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Julia Friedman and Annie Weisberg, respectively. Given that I hadn't seen either of them in years, it was great!

That was just the start of the magical evening that was me MEETING Ari Hest. It turned out that one of Julia's friends was actually Ari Hest's cousin (yes, I'm going to keep calling him Ari Hest), so he actually CAME UP TO OUR GROUP after the concert and STARTED TALKING TO HIS COUSIN. WHO WAS STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO ME.

I almost died right there.

Now, let it be said that I am not very good about meeting talented people whom I admire. When I met Keith Anderson (one of my all-time favorite country singers) on my 22nd birthday, I literally forgot my name, and my roommate Laurie had to speak for me. That's probably a story for another day.

Anyway, here is how mine and Ari Hest's first conversation went, post-concert:

Me: "Thanks for a great show!"
Ari Hest: "Oh, thank you! What's your name?"
Me: (panics) "It's Emily...but wait, I have a story for you."
Ari Hest: (looks slightly puzzled, but to his credit, also intrigued) "Really?"
Me: (talking at lightning speed) "When I was in high school, me and my friends Jason and Anna went to your show in Cleveland at the Hard Rock Cafe and we tried to send you a chocolate cake onstage but it turns out that a chocolate cake is a type of vodka shot, and when the waitress brought you a shot glass onstage, you said 'thank you but I don't drink!'" (pauses for breath, and wonders if that made any sense)
Ari Hest: (laughs) "Well, thanks. I only played at the Hard Rock once...." (someone else taps him on the shoulder)
Me: "Ok-nice-meeting-you-bye!" (literally runs away)

So...yeah. Not great. However, later when Ari Hest was talking to his cousin, I decided to give it another go:

Me: (beaming dreamily up at him; literally, he is about 6'5") "Ari Hest, can I tell you something?!?"
Ari Hest: "Uh...sure!"
Me: "Well, I just wanted to tell you that I have listened to a lot of music, and in my entire music-listening career, there are very few albums that I can listen to and love every single song. But I wanted you to know that "Someone To Tell" (his early album) is one of them."
Ari Hest: (looks genuinely surprised) "Wow, that's incredibly sweet of you to say!"
Me: (moment of self-reflection) "Sorry, I'm being a really embarrassing fan."
Ari Hest: "No, not at all. That's a really, really nice thing to hear."
(awkward silence)
Me: "Can I take a picture with you?!?"

And here it is:











What a fantastic night. And that man is truly a giant.

Yes, I realize this is a music analysis blog and I have yet to analyze any lyrics...but I feel like I should introduce the artists I talk about. Analysis of my favorite Ari Hest song to come soon!