Live Music Log, December 2018

Hi.  I’m a guy who goes to shows in west Michigan and then writes about them.  These are their stories.

12 1 18 Feed The Community With Music: Lisa Moaiery #4/SMOKE AND WHISKEY/Nathan Moore #2/Chris Schleuder (#3) with Jason Ciluffo/DIEGO MARTINEZ/Tim Sparling #2/MARISSA AGUIRE/Powell-McFerrin-McCoy #2  Feed The World Café, Oshtemo   I came out to the little café with the big heart for a full day of fundraisin’ tuneage, organized by Kevin Hamman.  Lisa’s music is all sleepy beauty, exemplified by her woozy covers of Sea Of Love and Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You. Smoke and Whiskey is an enthusiastic blues act, with a great new song and some semi-painful whistling. Highlight: Devil’s Stew. Nathan Moore was shakingly nervous, and spent too much of his energy wrestling a new keytar, but oh my jeebus he has the voice of a damn angel. Good original songs, too.  Chris is a nifty guitarist and fine singer, not sure why it seemed everyone was leaving while he played. Diego and Tim, I confess, passed by me while I was eatin’. Marisa, of the band Blue Veins, jolted me awake with her solo electric blues guitar, including covers of Hall & Oates and Tom Petty’s “Walls.” Then Powell-McFerrin-McCoy ended the night in a blizzard of harmonies on mostly familiar covers, with a few curveballs. An enjoyable evening for all, and a pile of money was raised to feed the hungry in Kalamazoo County.

12 7 18 Aaron Wright #3/Carrie McFerrin #21/Darcy Wilkin #15  Webster’s, Kalamazoo   A highly satisfying edition of Carrie’s in the round shows at Webster’s.  Aaron Wright is the best local songwriter you’ve never heard of, with a frustrating lack of content on the interwebs.  What if Randy Newman could sing like Harry Nilsson? Great whistler too.  Note fragments, cryptic out of context:  wendigo, little stronger: stroke 23, let’s arm the animals and make like innocents. He has a duo with Darcy called Danger Deer, allegedly, no shows or recordings yet.  Darcy was in fine form tonight as well, the Emmett Kelly of folk music, new album in the can and waiting to make you cry.  Got to hear Bristol and If I Needed You tonight. And Carrie was Carrieing all over the place, with big laughs, big voice, big melodies.

12 8 18 Kaitlin Rose #9  Overneath Creative Collective, Kalamazoo           

The Heart Of Saturday Night: 4^th Annual  Tom Waits Tribute Show, with Hollywood Be Thy Name, Phantom 309, Trampled Rose and the Rain Dogs, Mark Duval, Robert English, Lisa Moaiery, Mike List, Jake West, and Nate Hartmann  Big double header night of two very different shows.  After a wait in the cold street, a passel of people tromped up the stairs into the Overneath recording studio for a live-to-tape recording of Kaitlin Rose’s new album.  Two sessions, I attended the first. What if Buckingham and Nicks were fused into the same person? Nervous and excited, our hero led her band through the new numbers: California was loping country rock, Already Gone was wish-fulfillment wanderlust, Makin’ It was kinda Harrisonish, Never Enough was a slinky blues with a molten lead guitar by the indispensable Jim Beebe, a surprise cover of Moon River was pindrop impeccable, Fear No More was a vulnerable hoedown, Lucinda Williams’ Jackson featured Matt Gross on piano and magic, and Bad Mother exploded out in a bigger, angstier arrangement.  Buy it when it comes out, trust me.  From there, it was over to Final Gravity for Megan Dooley’s annual Tom Waits celebration: reduced in scope, but all the more fun for it, less stress for a successful result.  Hollywood Be Thy Name was a supergroup of Borr, McFerrin, Borr’s brother on drums, and Abe Savas on bass, and they rawked:  I hope for more shows from them with a rhythm section. “Trampled Rose and the Rain Dogs” was Dooley herself with a backing band cherrypicked from the night’s revelers, heartfelt and effective. Bob English’s spoken word bit, Step Right Up, was a high point for me, as was Fred Bueltmann’s tuba solo on Dooley’s Picture In A Frame. Tom Waits is not a favorite of mine, though I do admire him; I greatly prefer his evocative songs when sung by people who can sing, and that is what we got tonight.

12 11 18 The Crane Wives #59  Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids It was a last minute decision to take a few hours off work for this short but sweet show, a popup affair hosted by local NPR station WGVU in a small fellowship hall in the church. Songs were played, accompanied often with the stories behind and around them.  There was a Q&A afterward, I asked a question, I don’t remember what, but it went well.  I hope it wasn’t filmed. And then I had to go back to work.  Quick break from real life on a Tuesday night.

12 13 18 Kate Pillsbury #3/THE RYNE EXPERIENCE  Home At The BOB, Grand Rapids  Another quick midweek show, a regular Thursday noon simulcast on WYCE from the BOB, usually used to promote an upcoming big show or a new release.  Kate was just promoting herself, I think, but she sure sounded great on those rarely heard solo tunes, along with my beloved Can’t Go Back. Solo electric guitar is de rigeur lately, and it suits her to a T. The Ryne Experience is a kid from Lowell named Ryne and whoever he can round up to play with him on any given day.  And he is phenomenal.  Like Julian Lennon writing for Dinosaur Jr.  His vocals need more maturing, but his melodies and instrumentation are already stunning.  The somewhat ramshackle live performance was charming, but I bought his CD and it shows a big steaming pile of promise. The last song, Your Sweet Love, is an instant classic.  Keep an eye out.

12 15 18 Dede & The Dream #4/Jordan Hamilton #2/Emilee Petersmark #3  Old Dog Tavern, Kalamazoo  And lo, the worlds did finally collide.  I saw my most seen artist in my most visited venue, in the same room with a whole lot of my friends, and gadzooks it was good. Same bill played Harmony Hall some time back, but this was bigger, friendlier, rowdier. Em started the night with so many brilliant songs that haven’t made their way to the Wives:  Heavy, Get Right, a slow build addiction anthem called September, clever covers of Toxic and Criminal, and ending with her stunning anthem of cautious hope, At The End of The Day.  Emilee’s songs almost always bring the catharsis, but with just her and her guitar, it’s like it’s being shot straight into your vein. Jordan is super talented on cello, super friendly, and I only engage emotionally with his classical playing. My problem, not his. Dede and Josh (her husband) (don’t call him The Dream) twinkled out some tunes on marimba and violin, including a cute cover of Get Lucky. Tingly collaboration on Em’s song When The Sun Comes Up. In this scene, but in Kalamazoo especially, women’s musical contributions are always welcome, always seen as equal at least, never lesser than, and I love it. Very few of my favorite acts are all male.

12 16 18 Roaring 20s Holiday Ball: ASTON NEIGHBORHOOD PLEASURE CLUB/THE FRENCHTOWN PLAYBOYS   A strange event in many ways: the debut (to me anyway) of a new Jack and the Bear side project, the Frenchtown Playboys, focused on that old time sound; a show with people seated around four person tables and not facing the stage; and, for me, a date, with a girl. First one of those in nearly twelve years. To attempt fitting with the theme, I wore a bow tie (dug out of my old chorus tux) and suspenders (borrowed from my nephews’ bin of play clothes), and shaved off the beard, leaving just a mustache, for the weirdest look of my life.  I instantly looked like the night produce manager at Meijer. My date was a champion Highland dancer in her youth, and she was stuck with a lumbering dude who can barely wiggle from side to side. It was terrible and it was wonderful. Some other couples there could have won awards with the swingy dancey thing. Brandon, Adam, and their ringers made pleasant sounds, still idiosyncratic but suitably old timey.  The Pleasure Club were well-rehearsed, excellent, yet somehow less dangerous.  Olivia was the master of ceremonies, adorably androgynous, singing on a couple of numbers. There were prizes:  my date won a rock crystal lamp thing. The Park Theatre’s faded grandeur was the perfect venue for this cockeyed delight. Hope it becomes annual.

12 22 18 Craft Brews and Christmas Tunes: Darcy Wilkin #16/Megan Dooley #18/Carrie McFerrin #22/JAMES ROTH/POWELL-McCOY/Dacia Bridges #5   Final Gravity, Kalamazoo  Change of venue for Dooley N Friends Christmas gathering, to her place of employment, and it was a relaxed, tuneful time for all who came in that door off the pedestrian mall where the glasses steam up every time. Darcy was mournful, lovely, and predictably drowned out by the hubbub. Dooley was festive without being saccharine, the only way I take my Christmas music. Carrie basically ignored the holiday, playing mostly her own stuff…till the end.  That’s when I shakily mounted the stage and joined her for the Grinch song.  It went over pretty well.  My bar debut, and first public singing since leaving college choir 24 years ago. I cringe to watch it, but people seemed to enjoy it. James Roth, new to me, played a keyboard and sang in a high clear voice at odds with his bluff bearded appearance. He also informed me my fly was open, and had been the whole time I was on stage. Mikey Powell and Tom McCoy revved up the harmony machine on a bunch of singalong chestnuts. Then Dacia put her spin on a few holiday tunes, but mostly stuck to her own groovy stuff as well. There were more acts, but my date (#2!) was tired so we skedaddled, successfully avoiding the curse of the Little Drummer Boy.  (There was a contest.  Last to hear it was the winner.  I did well.)  Thanks for the fun, kids.

12 29 18 Steve Leaf #4  House show, Grand Rapids  This was a housewarming/holiday party thrown by Emilee, Korey, and Maz. Everyone there was far too cool and attractive for me, so I spent most of my time in the dining room with the people I knew best and managed to have a good time.  There was an open mic period, during which Em and Roo just slayed.  I had a song prepared, but with so many strangers around I chickened out. Steve plugged in for a while and treated us to his hushed vocals and guitar wizardry. There was also a scripted interaction with the audience that was funnier than that sounds. Date #3!

12 31 18 Mark Lavengood Band #4/Earth Radio #2  Creston Brewery, Grand Rapids  Somewhere at the front of that room there were people grooving on the music and enjoying it immensely.  But we (date #4!) were at a table waaaay in the back next to the front door. My first time in four years NOT ringing it in with the Wives, who were playing with two bands I didn’t know for a lot of money in Kalamazoo. This seemed like a good in-town option…but the sound at Creston Brewery (though I must add, they book amazing talent) is tenuous at best, it’s a big cavey room with tin ceilings and giant windows, and you know, New Year’s Eve.  Loud yo.  I think Mark sounded good.  I caught some nuance coming at me off Earth Radio’s jazz pop explorations.  But we ate our dinner and fled into the less cacophonous night.  And the new year was good. (Cue John Lennon:  “can’t get no WORSE”)