Thursday - March 18, 2010

I got to have some fun today and run sound at a private day party at the beautiful Hotel Saint Cecilia (www.hotelstcecilia.com) for Warner Brothers and Nonesuch Records. I was in for a treat, especially since none of the bands that were scheduled to play were bands that I had ever heard of before. The little garden party was kicked off by Christina Courtin and her wonderfully delicate, tremulous voice. Courtin writes and plays songs with that peculiar old-timey syncopation, accompanied by resonator acoustic guitar and the occasional violin. Her voice is sort of Joplin-esque, but with a breathiness similar to more contemporary singers like Merit Larsen. The songs are rootsy and full of character, and when they turn a shade darker her fiddle playing gets otherworldly and spooky.
The Low Anthem was next on the docket and they tried a little something special for the show. Somewhere along the line the band had picked up an old radio microphone and they decided to do a set with everyone singing into just the one microphone. It was a ton of fun and this band is super talented. It is certainly not every day in 2010 that you see folks playing the saw (or as I call it, the acoustic Theremin). The band has a rootsy American sound, fleshed out with acoustic guitar, stand up bass, pump organ, clarinets, and vocal harmonies. The songs are low, with fiercely poetic lyrics and beautiful traditional Americana spirit. When four voices are joined singing songs about ghosts, there is a certain peculiar magic that is involved. I would love to see this band in a small dimly lit room playing to about 150 listeners; I believe they would be even more powerful in such a place. Long live the new traditionalism!
Next up was an amazing trio called Carolina Chocolate Drops. This group is bringing old time American music back with a righteous vengeance. Clawhammer banjo, tenor banjo, dobro, jug, and two fiddles all played at various times by three of the most charming folks you'll ever meet on a major label makes for a wonderful treat. The band travels musical roads from traditional tunes with vibrant life all the way to their own new compositions that have a peculiarly old feel. This group is a true testament to the wonderful power of American music and its ability to withstand time and continue to evolve in a highly organic fashion. Look out for these troubadours, their record is on Billboard's hot movers chart and Americana charts. This is just wonderful, soulful music played by some of the finest folks this side of the Mississippi.
Hacienda, from San Antonio, brought their Western-inspired cowboy music to the party next. This band has a fantastic sound that holds hints of Chris Isaak's twang, Elvis Presley's groove and swagger, and a decidedly Texian drawl. With excellent country guitar leads and acoustic guitar holding everything together, Hacienda makes Western sounding music with a touch of gospel and soul, mostly thanks to the Farfisa organ. For this show the drummer opted for a cardboard box with a tambourine for snare drum, which made for a nice low-fi touch as the band ran through quite a few songs, impressing the crowd and even drawing comparisons to fellow Texian Buddy Holl(e)y.
The party was drawing to a close but not before Warner Bros. recording artist Lights made a rare acoustic appearance. If you haven't heard Lights' newest record then you don't know how she channels classic electro artists and meshes them up with current young trends in rock music. Her self-titled debut is a well produced and beautifully orchestrated affair, but I was not necessarily enthralled by the songs. But if you strip away all the synthesizers, drums, and reverb, you're left with something very surprising; a young lady who writes some good little songs, has a wonderful voice, and can actually play some guitar. Will her performance make me re-evaluate pop music in general? No. But it will make me go back and listen to her record one more time and see if maybe I was missing something in all that grand production.

I hiked up South Congress into town shortly after finishing packing up the PA for the party and headed over to the Canada house for some great music and a little nosh. The Canadians did it up right this year, and had something happening at their"embassy" the entire festival, always filled with nice folks and good music. I met up with some friends, heard The Pack A.D. wail away for a few minutes, and then headed on my way to try to catch a little bit of Gordon Gano And The Ryan Brothers play a little bit of music. I was enthralled by the idea of Gano doing music again, as I haven't really heard anything from him since the last Violent Femmes record, American Music. Gano has teamed up with the Ryan Brothers (of Bogmen fame) and makes some fairly mellow Americana music these days. While the music is fairly pedestrian, Gano's lyrics still have the sparkle of genius in them with a quirkiness that could only come from someone who helped launch the post-punk movement. Unfortunately, the mix in the little club the band was playing in was horrible and much of the finesse of the music was lost. I couldn't hear much of the accordian or acoustic guitar and almost none of the fiddle when Gano played it. The songs seemed very well organized and the band could certainly lend some beautiful vocal harmonies to the tunes. Gano played a couple of Femmes' songs, including "Country Death Song" and "American Music." What little I could hear of the fiddle playing was pretty good, and Gano took a solo or two and didn't do too badly.

Next I ran back to another small club entered from an alleyway to catch the set by the mighty and classic new wavers The Blue Aeroplanes. There were six guys crowded onto the little stage as the band ran through a set of songs with much less jangle than in the 1980s and much more grit and rock grime. The band was a bit noisy with three guitar players taking space, but things were well orchestrated and the sound was wonderful. At times the sound of the new songs jumped between hints of Neil Young and Gang Of Four and would then switch to more of a modern poetry reading over music, evoking memories of the most enjoyable moments by The Fall. The guitar playing was excellent and Gerard Langley was spitting words like no ones business. The core of the band remains Langley and his brother John on drums, ably supported by the three guitarists - two of whom don't seem old enough to be playing with a band of this vintage - and the bassist. Somehow, after all of these years, The Blue Aeroplanes remain a band that is as visceral and exciting live as they were thirty years ago. The new songs are strong and I look forward to the forthcoming release.

-David DeVoe

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