Top 10 Fictionist Songs You Should Hear Live

Since this is my first post on a blog about the local music scene, I thought it would be appropriate if the post was about the band that first introduced me to the scene. I went to my first Fictionist concert in January, 2010, and I've been hooked ever since, not only to their music, but to Provo music in general. Having been to eight Fictionist concerts, I have a decent grasp of the music they play and which ones you need to hear. As a disclaimer, these aren't necessarily my favorite songs of theirs, just the ones that are awesome live.

10. Time to Time
Let's start off with a favorite of mine from the very beginning. This song is best when they do the extended beginning, with lots of bass guitar and drums. It's also way fun to see Brandon playing the melody.

9. Still Reaching
This one is relatively new, but I've heard it at least once. It's one of those ones that makes you want to bounce up and down on the balls of your feet. Plus the chorus is extremely catchy.

8. Noisy Birds
This one has been around for a while, but is still great. I love that the bird sounds are even included in the live performances. Plus all the long-time fans know this one, and often sing along. It's great.

7. Great Escape
I heard this for the first time at Sammy's, and the longing melodies really caught my attention. One of the best things about live performances is that you really get the emotion of the music, which doesn't always happen over recordings.

6. Before I'm Old
Similar story. One time they played this, and I ended up in tears. Before, I hadn't really listened to the lyrics, but the emotion of this performance forced me to, and I realized how much I felt like the guy in the song. Moral of the story is that music does change people's lives and can influence them to be better people!

5. Pain of Desire
This might have been one of my favorites to hear for the first time. Stu had the audience all yelling at the appropriate place in the intro, and it was just fun. Plus it's a great song anyway. I had it stuck in my head for weeks before the track was even released.

4. Suffering Angel
Now we're getting down into the really important ones. If you've never heard this one live, you're missing out majorly. This is one of the songs where Fictionist's jazz background really seems to come out. The live version I have on my iPod is a good eight minutes long, and it's all gorgeous. Listening to it kind of feels like you're floating.

3. Strangers in the Dark
Robbie rocks the guitar solo on this one. And the tambourine part is awesome. As is Stu's singing. Really, this song just rocks all around. It's fun to dance to and is high energy. The whole venue comes alive when they play it. This is a must for hearing live. If you haven't heard it, get to a show, pronto!

2. Invisible Hand
I don't believe I've EVER been to a Fictionist show where they haven't played this one. It might be from their old album, but it is timeless. The opening guitar melody really catches your attention, and the chorus really rocks. Literally. The slight style changes are part of what make this song so fun to listen to.

1. Uptight
Sadly, I haven't heard this one in a while. It used to be that I was sure that it wasn't a Fictionist show unless they played Uptight. The lyrics are so heartfelt and the music is beautiful. And this song always included the whole audience singing along, with some versions rocking in between singing parts and others staying very soft. The audience involvement is really what made this song so great, and what puts it in the number one slot of my list.

Bonus: "Good songs should tell the secrets of the universe." -Stu
Another great reason for going to a live show is to hear all of Stu's commentary. He's quite funny and occasionally profound, as the above quote proves. I liked it enough to write it down, so I thought I'd share it with you.


Well, that's it for our first Top Ten Tuesday! If you haven't yet heard Fictionist live, you have a chance this Friday as they play at Velour. Details are on the sidebar.

And while you're at it, go to this lovely site and give Fictionist a 5-star rating. While you're there, you can download four songs, completely free! It helps them out, helps me out, and helps you get some awesome music.