Yeah, I just wrote a blog post about a bunch of punk bands I saw in the past couple of weeks, but sandwiched in-between them was some great music that just didn't fit in with that post. To wit:
 |
| Eric McFadden |
Last Friday night I ducked into Company Brewing to see Liv Mueller with Mrs Fun singing "Songs of the 70s" because just the personnel alone guaranteed a riveting yet fun set. But before Liv could get on stage, the night opened with Eric McFadden, a singer/guitarist/songwriter that Liv had worked with at the
Steel Bridge Song Fest, and man, was he mindblowingly good. He could have just played guitar for a half hour and I would have been blown away -- his fingers seemed to fly over the frets faster than the sounds could come out. But had he done that, we would have missed his expressive, raspy but warm tenor on songs that commanded you to listen. It was a shame that there were only a couple dozen people at Company Brewing the other night,
especially given his resume: this guy has played with tongs of great artists spanning several genres. I heard bits of funk, folk, flamenco, and Hendrix-style jazzy metal coming out of his guitars.
Liv joined him for a song they wrote together, and I've made a mental note not to miss him if/when he comes through again.
Liv called upon Burt Bacharach to set the tone for her set, opening with "Walk on By" and by the time she convinced us all she could be the voice for a remake of "The Karen Carpenter Story" the room was swooning as she crooned out "We've Only Just Begun." Liv's tearful voice could probably do an entire Carpenters set (I'd request "Superstar" myself; she'd do it beautifully)-- her range is right there with Carpenter's and when she wants to, Liv can match her velvet tone.
These were AM radio hits, backed up by two of the best players in town, Connie Grauer and Kim Zick, who could probably play anything you set in front of them. The joy of the evening is that none of these songs were delivered with even the slightest bit of irony, not even the Abba -- these women recognized the flawless songwriting that made these hits, and brought them with the respect they deserved, while putting their own stamp on it. Case in point: everybody loves "These Boots Were Made For Walking" but they didn't employ Carole Kaye's slower descending bass line, rather Grauer took it down faster and by the part in the song where Liv commanded those boots to start walkin', Zick built up a controlled frenzy while Grauer kept the pace with that line. It was the highlight of the show for me. Well, that and
Wichita Lineman. Admittedly there were one or two tunes that didn't click-- not that they sucked, but competence is underrated when brilliance overshadows it. This is very obviously a thing where the three of them were like "Hey, I really like your work -- let's do something together and see what happens." And in those situations, some things are brilliant shining moments which make sitting through the simply competent parts worth it -- because that's what happens when artists like this get together. Let's hope they do more of these shows.
 |
| Silk Torpedo |
Speaking of the 70s, a week beforehand I made it to Kochanski's to finally catch Silk Torpedo, a cover band with a
setlist that a true glam fan would love: plenty of Marc Bolan/TRex, Cooper, Sweet, Runaways, Mott .... all there. (Conspicuously absent: Bowie, but then again, there's another band in town that's got Ziggy covered). So much fun - I'm hoping they expand their set more. There wasn't a person in the room who didn't want more. I'll admit, part of the reason I was there was the
Six Wives of Richard's Kari Lueneberg on bass -- their setlist is a joy a well and I knew I wouldn't be disappointed with anything she touches. Fly and the Swatters opened. Well, Fly and bassist Joe Polizzi opened: and as a duo, they work well. Fly
trotted out his dependable set of rockabilly and surf-inspired tunes, including plenty of covers and Zappa worked its way into the set.
And then bouncing around, I got into "Boone Row Night 2" over Labor Day weekend to catch favorites Calliope and Slow Walker, but the lineup that night was pretty full so I didn't make it to Slow Walker. I saw the end of a set from Dead Feathers, a kind of emo/psychedelic/space band from Chicago, lit up by a liquid light show that went all night. So, here was the problem: I really like the room at the Cooperage -- high ceilings, lots of seating, nice grassy riverside patio, elegant lighting, nice bar and terrific beer selection. But with those really high ceilings, this can't be an easy room for a sound engineer to mix, so a lot of what I bet I would have liked about Dead Feathers got lost in the din. At the show, I didn't get any feel for dynamics, yet going to their Bandcamp page revealed a band with plenty of dynamic variety, doom-drenched songs, and clear vocals. At The Cooperage, it was all mush, and it seemed like lead singer Marissa Allen was sing shouting all night.
However, Calliope managed to strike a dynamic difference with their set. They've already won me over, and I've listened to enough of their music that anything I couldn't hear because of the room's feedback I kind of made up for in my mind, so I can't objectively tell if their set improved on the sound. It *sounded* to me like it did, but again, that's because I know how most of their set is supposed to sound. Admittedly, vocals got lost in the reverberating room, and just enough of the tunes came through. Because there were a total of five bands on the bill, its was again a disappointingly short set, maybe a half hour to 40 minutes at the most.
After Calliope, the headliners, The Luminarians (out of LA) took the stage. Dressed in face-obscuring but sparkly monk-like robes, and red lights poking out where their eyes would/might be, they puttered onstage looking like what would happen if a crew of Jawas from Star Wars decided to go out for a night at the disco. And between that schtick, the liquid light show, and the airy room muddying up the mix, I had scant opportunity to really pay attention to the music: although they did create a lovely sense of mystery while synthy space psychedelia swirled about them. So between the Star Wars reference, the space rock sound, the other bands, I'd cram this night into this post very peripherally about the 70s. (It sure didn't belong in the Punk Rock post I put up the other day).
Comments