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March 21, 2014 · 10:42 AM

The Avett Brothers with Old Crow Medicine Show

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, Maine

Ken is seeing more music in 2014 than I am! And he has two small children, so I have no idea what my excuse is. I think I’ve been hibernating this winter, and even the 45 minute drive to Portland has seemed like a genuine trek given the darkness of the season. Today is the first day of spring, though, so I expect all that to change soon. Here’s another beautifully written post by my dear friend and comrade-in-music, Ken Templeton. Thanks, Ken! I feel like I was right there with you!

xo,

bree

____________________________

It’s pretty hard to overestimate how much The Avett Brothers’ music means to me. I remember sitting at Chumley’s with a friend many years ago, telling him that I’d been casting about for new music. “The Avett Brothers,” he said. “They’re bluegrass-with-muscle.” I’ll confess that I didn’t go to the music store: I went to Napster. I stole a few songs like At The Beach and Old Wyom. Within a few days, I was at Bull Moose, cleaning them out of the few Avett Brothers discs they had in stock. But it was seeing them live that made me really love this band. Their passion, vulnerability, and joy for music have made Avett Brothers concerts some of the best experiences I’ve had as a music fan.

It was great to see them again (for the fifth time) last Monday at the Civic Center. I first saw them years ago at the Trocadero (a place I used to see The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and The Toasters and The Bouncing Souls play when I was in high school). The Troc is a great little club, a little smaller than the State and there really isn’t a way to replicate that intimate experience in an arena. But the Avetts’ energy is infectious and capacious, and more than fills a room – even a big one.

Image by Crackerfarm. (Pictured: Joe Kwon, Scott Avett, Bob Crawford, Seth Avett).

They started out with Shame and Die, Die, Die, both off of Emotionalism. Shame is so much fun – great song to get a crowd of people belting out: “Shame / Boatloads of shame / Day after day / More of the same.” They followed these up with Talk on Indolence, a ripping stomp of a song that is usually featured in the beginning of their sets to draw everybody in. It’s from Four Thieves Gone and I think represents some of the different musical influences on this band: the banjo is strong and driving, there’s some punkish screaming, the song begins as a rap (sort of), and the tempo goes from all-out frenzy to drunken slowness and back again. While it’s hard to say that there is one song in the Avetts’ catalogue that captures them, this one might be it.

Ketch Secor joined the band for Thank God I’m a Country Boy. Ketch is probably the only guy in music who can make Scott Avett seem somewhat subdued. It was fun to see them play together. He can rip on the fiddle and his back-and-forth with Seth on the guitar was a blast.

Live and Die and Laundry Room came next. I was really hoping for Laundry Room. (They kicked off that show at the Troc years ago with it, and I clearly remember being transfixed.) That tune just has so many great lines – for me, it’s all about this verse: “Last night, I dreamt the whole night long. / I woke with a head full of songs. / I spent the whole day; I wrote ‘em down, but it’s a shame. / Tonight I’ll burn the lyrics, cause every chorus was your name.”

At this point, I was pretty sure they’d play something off their new album, Magpie and the Dandelion. Nope. They jumped into a breakneck version of Old Joe Clark with a slow, slow, slow interlude of The Roving Gambler, back to an even faster OJC. OK, now something from Magpie. Nope. Distraction #74, from Four Thieves and then At The Beach. I love At The Beach. Not only was it an introduction to me for this band, but it evokes, for me, rolling down your car windows and cranking the volume on this tune and giving the accelerator a little more shoe. “I know that you’re smilin baby, / I don’t even need to see your face. / Sunset at the shoreline / We are laughin, breaking up, just like the waves. / Are you feelin, feelin, feelin what I’m feelin – like I’m floating, floating / Up above that big blue ocean. Sand beneath our feet / Big blue sky above our heads, no need to keep / The stressin from our everyday life on our minds / We just had to leave all that behind.”

At this point, my dogs are barkin. There hasn’t been reason at all to sit down and take a load off. The whole show has been stunning. And then they kick into Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise, which has to be one of the great descriptions of willing yourself to believe, despite what all the evidence might point to: “There was dream / And one day I could see it. / Like a bird in a cage, I broke in / And demanded that somebody free it. / There was a kid / With a head full of doubt / So I screamed til I died / And the last of those bad thoughts was finally out.” This song, and others like it off I and Love and You (like The Perfect Space) used to feature a lot of instrument-switching for the band – Seth would jump on the drums while Scott went to the piano. Now they have a full band, with Joe Kwon on cello, Mike Marsh on drums, and Justin (?) on organ, and the sound on songs like Head Full of Doubt rises to meet the grandeur implied by the lyrics.

11 songs in, they played Another is Waiting, the single from Magpie and then Skin and Bones, which is one of the great little gems on the new album. I was shocked that it was over an hour into the set before they played any new songs. But one of the great things you can see if you look at the Avetts’ set lists is that they really are different each night. Of the 26 songs they played in Pittsburgh, two nights prior to Portland, 11 were played again in Portland. (Looking at that list, it seems like they did include a few songs that feature just Scott and Seth, which didn’t happen at the Civic Center – that aspect of their show is usually so wonderful and I definitely missed it. There was an extended stage into the audience, and I thought that there would be a lovely little three or four song mini-set of the two of them on songs like When I Drink, Ten Thousand Words, Murder in the City, and Tear Down The House.)

Salina is one of my favorite Avett Brothers tunes – the one I used to introduce the band to my friend Max Garcia Conover (see here and here for Bree’s reviews of Max’s recent shows) – and it was fantastic. “Cleaveland, I ain’t never felt nothin’ so strong. / Been believin’ the words to my songs, / Ohio, I’m leaving. Ohio, I’m gone.” This video of Salina is awesome – it’s over in Glasgow, Scotland and when Seth sings the bridge, a lovely Scottish lass yells “sexy bastard” at him, making Scott kind of laugh, trying to sing, “Poughkeepsie, hang up the telephone.” And, while we have a minute, how many bands can throw Poughkeepsie into a song?

I and Love and You was, as it always is, rousing and beautiful and spiritual and gorgeous. Seth on the piano and Scott leading the crowd through chorus after chorus: “Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in. / Are you aware the shape I’m in? / My hands they shake, my head it spins / Oh, Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in.” In the past, I have seen them end shows with this song, so it was interesting to see it here, and I think that it probably doesn’t work as well in the middle of a set – it seems like it either has to come at the very beginning or very end. It would be a great opening song, I think. To some degree, I felt like there was a four-song lull after “I and Love and You,” and I think at least part of that is this is a hard song to follow up.

They followed with Pretty Girl from Chile, a song I like, but is harder to engage with in concert, I think, because it leaps through the gamut of the band’s musical influences and expressions: it starts like a fairly standard country-ish tune: “I’m no more than a friend girl / I can see that you need more. / My boots are on my feet now / My bag is by the door.” But then it goes all flamenco (Seth’s guitar on this was spectacular), then heavy, driving, power-chord electric guitar, then hilarious answering machine message. Each part of the song was good, but it seemed like crowd had a hard time following the progressions. The next three songs are ones that I just don’t dig as much: The Fall, then Vanity, and Never Been Alive. All fine songs, but The Fall has always been a bit uninteresting to me, lyrically speaking, Vanity is my least favorite song on Magpie and Never Been Alive is a song from Magpie that just felt too slow for this part of the show. I sat down and took a rest at this point.

Paranoia in B-Flat Major and Go to Sleep ended the show – two really fun songs to sing along to and stomp around. Both songs are from Emotionalism and are kind of quintessential Avett songs, with a good amount of dissonance between the upbeat music and lyrics that explore some very challenging emotions. In Paranoia, Scott sings, “There was a time I could move, a time I could breathe / With crowded spaces filled with angry faces, it didn’t once cross my mind / With paranoia on my heels, will you love me still / When we awake and you find the sanity is gone from my eyes?” The crowd sang with Seth on Go To Sleep as he led a call-and-response of “La la, la la la la.” There was plenty of laughter, on stage and in the crowd, as he climbed out of our range into his own high notes that were barely squeaks.

The encore was stupendous. Old Crow Medicine Show joined and they tore through Fireball Mail before leading the audience in a really fun version of Will The Circle Be Unbroken, with Scott, Ketch, and Seth taking turns singing verses.

Then, Seth, who normally hits all the high notes, comes out with: “Doh, doh, doh, doh,” in the low register and we all start singing “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight.” It was sweet and fun, and if you were there and weren’t singing, then you’re a cynic. I guess there are worse things to be, but not at an Avett Brothers show!

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March 14, 2014 · 12:45 PM

The Wood Brothers with Chris Kasper

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

I knew I wasn’t going to able to make it down to Portland for this show since I’d agreed to babysit my sweetie’s little ones while he was at work all day. After reading Ken Templeton’s show recap (he’s making writing these beautiful recaps a habit, so maybe I should start calling him an official whatbreesees.com correspondent?!), I’m so sad I missed the show. I also want to second Ken’s concert etiquette tips! Thanks, Ken!

xo,

bree

___________________________

“I don’t have a record label. I don’t have a booking agent. But the Wood Brothers invited me on this tour, because that’s the kind of people they are,” said Chris Kasper, the opening act for The Wood Brothers on a bone-chilling Sunday night at Port City Music Hall. I thought about what he meant and think it is very closely related to the person described in the Wood Brothers’ tune Postcards from Hell, about a talented musician struggling to make it. The chorus goes: “When you ask him how he sings his blues so well, / He says I got a soul that I won’t sell, / I got a soul that I won’t sell, / I got a soul that I won’t sell, / And I don’t read postcards from hell.” I don’t mean that the connection here is that Kasper said he doesn’t have a label and neither does the guy in the song–it’s that the Wood Brothers seem most interested in music and musicians that play for what Oliver Wood called, pointing to his heart, “the right reasons.” Call it passion, call it love – Oliver even called it selfishness, because musicians often leave their families for weeks or months at a time on tour – it is all corrupted by a pursuit of fame. The Wood Brothers also know that luck is involved and that there is talent the world-over that goes unrewarded in any material sort of way, and that the only way to keep going is to put your music or art or passion into the world for its own sake.

From http://www.chriskasper.com

And that’s what they did last Sunday. The night began with three songs from their latest album: The Muse (the album’s title track), Keep Me Around, and Sing About It. The album is fantastic and these three songs anchor it. Each of them features three-part harmonies that filled the room. Oliver begins in Sing About It: “If you get too worried… / What you ought to do is sing,” and Chris and Jano join in on the chorus: “Sing about joy / Sing about love / And hopin’ it lasts / Sing about your troubles / And they just might pass.” There is a sincere belief in the power of music that runs through their songs – not just in overt references like this, but also in the sincerity of the lyrics throughout their catalogue. The Wood Brothers have been described as gritty, and I wonder if we use that word these days to talk about music that is honest and describes sometimes difficult subjects – in addition to using real instruments and featuring vocals that aren’t perfect, but are true.

After beginning with three new songs, the band played some older stuff: Pay Attention, from Smoke Ring Halo, and then a full-tilt version of Atlas from their debut album Ways Not to Lose. Check out Chris Wood’s playing on Atlas – there just aren’t that many bass players who can do what he’s doing on that song. It’s impressive on YouTube; it is jaw-dropping in person.

From http://www.thewoodbros.com

Oliver switched to electric guitar for a few songs: Twisted, Postcards from Hell, and the funky, really fun Who The Devil before bringing out “Big Mike,” a 360-degree microphone so the band could play “old time.” Oliver said, “Now the thing is about the olden times is that people didn’t have facebook and cell phones.” In other words, people actually came to concerts to listen to music, as opposed to coming to concerts to document their own lives.

This is an aside, but I have a few small rules for myself about concerts:

I don’t shout requests. I don’t care if other people do–I think it’s an honest expression of appreciation for the music–but I am always excited to see what a band or artist has chosen, or chooses in the moment.
I (now) allow myself one picture with my phone, but no videos. I found myself taking a video at a concert and essentially watching the song through my phone instead of really being present for the performance itself. There are enough videos on YouTube of these songs, but not enough chances to experience great music in person.
I (now) tell people to shut up when they’re talking during the show. Right at the beginning of this concert, Chris Wood was playing this beautiful introduction on his bass with a bow and someone says, “That ain’t no cello, that’s Chris Wood on the bass.” I was one of two or three people who immediately said shut up. Thankfully, the person did.

OK, sorry. So, they gathered around Big Mike and began with Firewater, one of the songs from The Muse I didn’t think I would hear, but am so glad I did. I actually listened to it on the way to the show in the car, and it is just gorgeous: “You think I’d’ve learned / All the times I was burned / Deserving the blues, / And I sure got ‘em. / The drinkin’ and pills / The head-shrinkin’ bills, / They got high.” They invited Chris Kasper and Kiley Ryan to join them for a haunting rendition of In The Pines, an old Leadbelly tune famously covered by Nirvana. Oliver encouraged Kiley to take a couple of sweet solos and his voice meshed perfectly with Kasper, Chris and Jano. (Of course, we also had to tell someone to shut up.)

The Wood Brothers. Courtesy of Ken Templeton.

The version of Luckiest Man was really cool. Normally, the song starts with Oliver strumming, then Chris and Jano joining for rhythm, but this version featured only the bass and some spare drumming for the verses, then the full band for the chorus, which the crowd belted: “Running is useless / Fighting is foolish / You’re not gonna win, / But still, you’re the luckiest man. / You’re up against / Too many horses / And mysterious forces / What you don’t know is / You are the luckiest man / You’re the luckiest man.”

What is amazing about this band is its range. They are able to have the whole place rocking back and forth with heavy, thick guitar licks, like those in Honey Jar and then quiet the whole place down on a song like Blue and Green. These songs were actually back-to-back, because Oliver broke a string on Honey Jar (only time on the tour, he said). He kept playing during Honey Jar, and the broken string seemed to encourage him to extend his solos. They took a second to regroup and talk about what to play next. Those first notes of Blue and Green were like a gift – so many people around me heard them and just said, “yes.” It’s an amazing song that captures how people we love are always here, even after they’ve left the planet.

The set ended with one of my favorite tunes, When I Was Young and the classic blues tune Make Me Down a Pallet on Your Floor. When I Was Young features some of my favorite Wood Brothers lyrics: “When I was young I never looked at the clouds and hoped for the rain. / When I was young I never thought this life should ever bring me sorrow. / When I was young I thought, someday everybody’s gonna know my name / When I was young my hardest work was waiting for tomorrow / … Now I’m grown and things are not exactly what they seem / The older I get, the less I know and the more I dream.”

For an encore, Chris Wood introduced their first song as by one of the great American composers, and they play it, even though it’s not in their typical genre. “People call us Americana,” he said, “whatever that means.” What it means, I think, is that your fans are as likely to dance to the melody as they are to dance to the beat. I’ll just link the song here, because it’s pretty fun and a nice surprise.

Their final song, One More Day, was just too damn good. It was full-energy, all-out. During the song, Chris put down his bass and just started dancing – so much fun (you can see his moves in the video linked above). I saw a friend after the show. “I hadn’t heard a lot of their stuff before this,” he said. “I gotta go get some albums.” It was an amazing show – another friend said it was in his top ten concerts of all time and that’s true for me too. It’s clear to me now why a buddy of mine once told me The Wood Brothers are the only band he would but a plane ticket to go see – and why, the next day, I was looking at their tour schedule, thinking, “You know Europe’s not that far…”

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March 12, 2014 · 4:35 PM

The Lone Bellow

Thursday, February 27, 2014

The Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH

I have absolutely no objectivity when it comes to The Lone Bellow. They are by far my favorite band right now. I love their desperate, powerful delivery of gospel-infused country/folk songs. They are truly something special. I was so excited when my sweetie was able to take a night off of work to join me for a school night road trip down to lovely Portsmouth, New Hampshire to see them again. I decided to take the night “off” for date night, and so I didn’t get a press pass, didn’t take notes, and only took a few low quality photos with my iPhone at the show. (There are, however, two thorough posts about The Lone Bellow on my blog—one from last June and another from November. Check those out if you want to know more about the band and/or see quality photos).

Blue sky over Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Jeff and I grabbed some coffee, walked around downtown, and had a delicious dinner at The Friendly Toast before heading over to the stunning Music Hall for the show. The Lone Bellow played as part of The Music Hall’s Intimately Yours series, so there was no opening act and we got to have a whole night with just the band. It felt like we were in their living room.

The Friendly Toast

The Music Hall’s pretty ceiling

A beautiful theatre for the show

Pre-show selfie

The Lone Bellow looks really different through an iPhone

Zach on the floor leading the audience in our part

Zach on the floor conducting audience participation

My concert friend Colin was there, too, and he sent me The Lone Bellow’s set list for the night:

I Let You Go

You Can Be All Kinds of Emotional

You Never Need Nobody

You Don’t Love Me Like You Used To

Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold

Georgia Will

Watch Over Us (off mic)

Two Sides of Lonely (off mic)

Tree to Grow

Bleeding Out

Angel From Montgomery (Prine cover)

Hickory to Telluride

Button

The One You Should’ve Let Go

——

Slip Slidin’ Away (Simon cover)

Teach Me to Know

One of the biggest highlights of the night for me was when the band stepped away from the microphones and Brian led on “Watch Over Us.” His delivery of that beautiful song was breathtaking. He got a standing ovation. It was wonderful to hear “Two Sides of Lonely” off microphone, too, and both songs gave the night a genuinely intimate feel.

The band dedicated their performance of “Angel From Montgomery” to the legendary John Prine, who is currently fighting lung cancer. Zach told us they’d recently played the song on the Cayamo Cruise and Brian’s hero, Kris Kristofferson, impromptuly jumped onstage to sing it with them. Check out this video of that moment.

I was totally taken with The Lone Bellow’s cover of Paul Simon’s “Slip Slidin’ Away” with Kanene on lead vocal during their encore. Someone took a video of it that night, so you can see exactly what I mean! It was one of those rare times when a cover was absolutely better than the original. I sang it for days after the show. They closed the night with the crowd signing along on “Teach Me to Know” and sent us on our happy way. If The Lone Bellow isn’t on your radar, well, you are more than just missing out. They are spectacular. What a wonderful night.

xo,

bree

I can’t resist. Here are some proper Lone Bellow pictures from the last time I saw them:

The most fabulous Lone Bellow. My DSLR camera does them far more justice!

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February 24, 2014 · 9:37 PM

An Acoustic Evening with Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

State Theatre, Portland, Maine

My college classmate and teacher friend, the extraordinary Ken Templeton, wrote a beautiful recap of the Lone Bellow/Aoife O’Donovan show we saw together back in November. He caught the concert writing bug, so here’s what Ken had to say about the Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt show he saw last month at the State Theatre in Portland. I didn’t make it out for the show, so consider this the first official post on whatbreedidntsee.com! Thanks, Ken!

xo,

bree

Show poster from www.statetheatreportland.com

Show poster from http://www.statetheatreportland.com

Wow. As the steady bass line of “Walk on the Wild Side” rolled through Merrill Auditorium, the crowd in Portland left the Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt concert grinning. To a person, grinning. I don’t think it was just that the music was great or that they played literally every single song requested from shouts by audience members. Their performance was humble and sincere and, moreover, it really did feel like they wanted you there with them. Now, if that was an act, it was pretty convincing. I am choosing, in my elated state, to believe that these two giant musicians really did want me there.

They came on stage, Lyle wearing a lobster bib, winning over the crowd immediately. (This reminded me, oddly, of seeing Wyclef at Bates many years ago when he strolled onstage in a hooded sweatshirt and when he turned to the crowd, it was a Bates sweatshirt.)

It started with John playing “Real Fine Love” and Lyle joining him on the last chorus. Throughout the show, each of them talked about the other’s songs. Lyle said, “That’s a very positive song,” to which John replied that he is a “glass half empty” kind of guy, so he writes positive songs to compensate. Lyle kind of smirked and said he’d play a happy song too, and led of his selections with “She’s No Lady (She’s My Wife).” John took his first of many solos over Lyle’s chopping, rhythmic chords. It’s a funny, catchy tune, if you don’t know it. The best verse has to be: “The preacher asked her, and she said “I do.” / The preacher asked me. She said, “He does too.” / The preacher said, “I pronounce you 99 to life.” / Son, she’s no lady, she’s your wife.”

The two of them are so different, but they complement each other so well. Hiatt is often gritty, his raspy voice echoing the sentiment of his songs while Lyle’s unique, smooth vocals often belie the sentiment of his own. A good example about that sleight of hand: after Hiatt played “Tennessee Plates,” and a little banter about stealing cars, Lyle played “L.A. County,” an uptempo, really fun song about driving for miles to kill the woman you love and the man she’s marrying. The chorus for that song is that: “And the lights of L.A. County / Look like diamonds in the sky / When you’re driving through the hours / With an old friend at your side.” The old friend is a Colt 45.

One of the highlights for me was hearing Lyle and John talk about Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, two giants of blues music in the 1960s and 1970s. Lyle talked about being told to buy their album and immediately being drawn to the song “White Boy Lost in the Blues,” which he finally recorded on his last album. Lyle mentioned that Michael Franks wrote the song. (He also wrote “You Bring Out the Boogie in Me,” also on that album Sonny & Brownie, with a stride piano rhythm that you cannot help but dance to.) As an aside from the concert, that album, Sonny and Brownie, is absolutely spectacular. Their version, with John Mayall, the British blues musician who must have been in awe to play with two of his heroes. It’s a really funny song about authenticity: “You bought your six-string Gibson. / You bought a great big amp. / You try to sing like Muddy Waters / And play like Lightnin’ Sam. / But since I blowed my harp / You feelin’ mean and confused. / We got you chained to your earphones / You’re just a white boy lost in the blues.” There is so much in this song. Not the least is that white musicians–particularly in Britain–were in awe of blues kings like Muddy Waters and Lightnin’ Sam Hopkins, but there is so much more than buying a fancy guitar, an amp, and then trying to mimic. And the reason that Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt can play the song and pull it off is that they are both authentic and keenly aware of their indebtedness to musicians in general, and African-American blues artists in particular, for the music they play.

At one point in the show, Lyle talked about seeing John play for the first time in 1981. Lyle didn’t record an album until 5 years later, so he saw John as “a fan.” He specifically referenced, “those of you who are musicians in the audience,” and commented on how special it is for musicians to meet and play with their heroes. I think it was that sense of identification that drew me in–the idea that these guys, who play beautifully, are both Grammy nominees (Lyle’s won a few), and who are heroes–haven’t forgotten what it feels like to be a fan. You could see it in the way they watched and listened to each other, joined in on some songs together, and talked about other musicians. There was genuine humility.

I was amazed, truly amazed, at their willingness to take requests. After six songs or so, most of the rest of the set was dictated by the audience. Someone asked Hiatt to do “My Business,” a song he agreed to do but couldn’t remember all the lyrics. Then “This Old Porch” a tune Lyle wrote with Robert Earl Keen: “This old porch is just a long time / Of waiting and forgetting / And remembering the coming back / And not crying about the leaving. / And remembering the falling down / And the laughter of the curse of luck / From all of those sons-of-bitches / Who said we’d never get back up.” It was great – as most of the requests were. A woman asked Hiatt to do “Have a Little Faith in Me,” a song I assume he would have played anyway, but it was, again, stunning to me how responsive the two of them were. In several cases, they had tuned and set the capo and were ready to play when someone shouted out a song, and they just said, “Sure,” or “Yeah, I can do that one,” and re-tuned. Crazy. “Have a Little Faith in Me” was magical. It is a classic song and the audience was quite simply rapt. “If I Had a Boat” was another request, and another highlight. Huge applause from the crowd at the ultimate line in that song: “The mystery masked was smart / And got himself a Tonto. / Cause Tonto did the dirty work for free. / But Tonto he was smarter, / Said one day “Kimosabe, / Kiss my ass, I bought a boat, / I’m going out to sea.”

It really was one after another. “Fiona,” was a blast, and led to a great story of them playing that song only to have an audience member get their attention during the song by taking out his glass eye and showing it to them. At the time, Lyle wasn’t sure if John had seen this happen, because Hiatt was just “looking straight ahead, playing the song.” But John said he had seen it but knew if he’d looked at Lyle, he would have “fallen off my chair” laughing. It was another instance of being drawn-in. We all know that feeling, and it is most common among friends – those people we communicate with through looks and body language and inside jokes and knowing looks.

Their conversation about “Fiona” was also a riot. It went something like this:

John: “That’s such a visual song.”

Lyle: [looking at Hiatt] “…”

John: “I mean, the bayou…and Fiona.”

Lyle: “…”

John: “And her long hair.”

Lyle: “…”

John: “And I picture her with, you know, one eye.”

Lyle: [looks at the crowd] “…”

John: “Not like [covers one of his eyes], you know. …Like one…big…eye.”

Lyle: “… You’re a good friend.”

The set capped with “Are You Ready for a Thing Called Love,” the only true duet in the set and highlighted the wonderful way that rasp and lilt of their two distinct voices intermingled and then “Step Into This House,” a song Lyle credited to Guy Clark, one of their songwriting friends who, apparently, has fallen ill. What a gorgeous end to their set: Here’s a book of poems was given me / By a girl I used to know / I guess I read it front to back / Fifty times or so / It’s all about the good life / And stayin’ at ease with the world / It’s funny how I love that book / And I never loved that girl. / Step inside my house, girl / I’ll sing for you a song. / I’ll tell you ’bout where I’ve been. / It wouldn’t take too long. / I’ll show you all the things that I own, / My treasures, you might say. / Couldn’t be more’n ten dollars worth / But they brighten up my day.”

They skipped off stage to raucous, grateful applause and came back for two more tunes. John picked up his other guitar, a worn, scuffed Gibson, and ripped “Memphis in the Meantime.” Lyle ended with “My Baby Don’t Tolerate,” which, given the extensive discussion and references to the blues, was a pretty perfect end to an amazing, amazing night. As one of the audience members called out: “Thank you, John. Thank you, Lyle.” John smiled, and said, “You bet.”

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January 28, 2014 · 9:05 AM

Max Garcia Conover and Friends

Friday, January 24, 2014

Lion’s Pride, Brunswick, Maine

Portland’s Max Garcia Conover is playing a couple of weekly shows, and he’s bringing his friends. MGC plays Mondays at Flask Lounge in Portland from 6-8 PM and Fridays at Lion’s Pride in Brunswick from 9-11 PM.

What a delightful Friday. We gave midterm exams at school for half the day. A bunch of us gathered to grade exams together in Dennis’ room in the afternoon—he has a classroom with windows in our predominantly windowless school. My boyfriend Jeff texted to say that he had an unexpected night off and could join a growing group of us for a dessert gathering and then Max’s first Lion’s Pride Friday night show! I was so excited!

Jeff and I had dinner at Bangkok Garden and one of my seniors was our server. She was excited to see me out on date night and told me she very much approved when Jeff was out of earshot. We picked up Will and headed over to Chris and Courtney’s for delicious treats and some time to catch up with friends before heading over to Max’s show.

An impromptu idea to rally the group for Max’s first Friday night show at Lion’s Pride was wildly successful. By the middle of his first set, the room was completely full with at least twenty of us—including most of the teachers in our friend group who decided to rally for Max late on a Friday night. I hadn’t seen Max play in a few months, not since he opened for David Berkeley back in November at One Longfellow Square. It was great to hear him sing the songs that I play on repeat while I’m driving or grading—like “Thatch House” and “The Creek Woman Poet” from Birches Lo.

Max Garcia Conover

Max claims to hate sing-alongs because they can be super awkward, but he always makes us do them anyway. We stood and belted “Honey, we’ve been trying…” during our audience participation part on “The Start of Fables” and it felt really good to be awake that late on a Friday night and singing with a room full of good friends. I liked Max’s new song, “Home,” and the idea behind it—that we think the place we grew up in is really lame until we leave and come back (I haven’t had that moment yet, but I grew up in Bangor).

Singing along with MGC

Max said he is thinking of these weekly shows as a curator might, and that he hopes to bring friends to the mic every week. Sammie Francis and her new husband (!), Max Taylor, did a couple of songs. Our dear friend Brady joined Max on The Avett Brothers’ “Murder In The City.” I love Max’s story about meeting Jim Avett (the Brothers’ dad) at The Great Blue Heron Music Festival, but I’ll let you hear that story for yourself some week.

Sammie Francis and Max Taylor

Brady and Max

Max gave a lovely introduction about his teacher and music mentor, Ken Templeton. Ken and I graduated from Bowdoin together and he is someone I love running into so we can catch up about the bands we’re currently listening to and whatever Daytrotter session we last fell in love with. Ken took the stage and said that his professor Pete Coviello said that that best teachers teach kids how to love something and he was happy to have done that with music for Max. Ken said he was so taken with The Lone Bellow (I will take full credit for introducing y’all to them) when we saw them together in November, that he decided to play “Watch Over Us.” I hadn’t heard Ken play in AGES and I was floored by his power. I was so stunned that I forgot to clap when he finished the song, too! Amazing, Ken!

Ken Templeton

Max sent the tip jar around and joked that if you claim deductions on your taxes for musical equipment because music is your profession but that you don’t make any money at it, then the IRS demotes it to “hobby.” He called his fiancée, the lovely and talented Sophie Nelson, up to the mic to sing “You’re the Farthest I Go.” (They did a great Damien Jurado cover together earlier in the evening, too). That new song is so very sweet and Max and Sophie sound great together.

Sophie and Max

Here are some things I was reminded of Friday at Max’s show:

1. 9-11 PM doesn’t feel as late if you’re surrounded by friends.

2. Be ready to sing along.

3. Don’t be the person who doesn’t have any cash for the tip jar.

4. These friends are the best anyone could ask for. We filled the room to support Max, as always.

Come out some week and join us.

xo,

bree

PS—Max gave out copies of his first full-length album, Burrow, at Lion’s Pride. Jeff and I listened to it in the car on Saturday and Jeff’s youngest son, Max, was already singing along to it by Sunday morning.

I love this blurry picture I snapped of Max at the end of the night.

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January 24, 2014 · 3:45 PM

The Alternate Routes with The Ballroom Thieves

Friday, January 17, 2014

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

Happy 2014!! I had a fantastic winter break in Hawaii and am feeling rejuvenated and excited for a great year of live music as whatbreesees.com starts year number three. Thank you so much for all of your support!

I was pretty happy to be in Hawaii in December!

I was really glad to start my concert year with The Alternate Routes and The Ballroom Thieves. I’ve seen both bands a couple of times before and know they put on a great live show. I had a marvelous afternoon before the show, too—sadly missing The Alternate Routes’ Studio Z on WCLZ I was invited to—but got to catch up over gelato with my dear friend Jess who was only briefly in town before jetting off to her last semester of architecture school in Minneapolis. I also randomly got to have a leisurely dinner with my long lost high school friend Hedda at Green Elephant before the show. And my great Friday only got better…

Boston’s The Ballroom Thieves is quickly becoming one of my favorite live acts. They have it all—powerful songs, musicianship, comedic banter, and chemistry. If you haven’t seen them live, you really are missing out. Martin Early (guitar/vocals), Devin Mauch (percussion/vocals), and Calin Peters (cello/vocals) took the stage and opened with an acoustic song around a single microphone. Their airy, beautiful harmonies enticed people to start moving towards the stage. “Coward’s Son” was next, and it’s my favorite Ballroom Thieves song. Martin greeted us and told us they love Portland. No one clapped. Devin piped in and joked that sometimes people like their city and we tried again and clapped some for Portland.

Boston’s The Ballroom Thieves

The Thieves showed off their percussive prowess on “Down By the River.” The crowd was still really far from the stage, so the Thieves asked us who would dare to stand within 15 feet of them. Two people bravely moved forward and the boys joked that it was funny because they had friends and family in the crowd and didn’t know either of the two.

“Wait for the Water” was really pretty. They joked (a theme of the night, which I appreciated) about their pick me up song called “Bullet.” They mentioned their show a few months back with The Last Bison (which was quite a night—here’s my recap). The “Vampires” introduction got a lot of laughs. Martin said it was about the Twilight trilogy, which they’d recently learned was a “quadrology” now. He said that he and Devin were Team Jacob (because “dogs are a man’s best friend and descended from wolves”) and Calin is Team Edward. She joked about the hotness of sparkly men. I’m on Team Charlie.

Martin played a brand new song “about a big tree” called “Oak” solo. Devin and Calin came back on stage and Devin introduced his band mates with hilarious details, including Calin’s two rabbits and Martin’s 25 week-old (long pause) puppy. He joked that Martin’s mom was probably shaking for a minute there. They played “Brother” about “a sibling who is a boy” and “Drones” off their newest EP with a great cello intro from Calin. Her cello parts are so rich and emotive that they’re like adding a fourth vocalist to the mix. Impressive.

Calin Peters

Devin Mauch

Martin Early and Calin Peters

“Save Me” is so pretty and I was happy to hear it again. The Thieves thanked us for coming out to the show—their best turnout in Portland so far—and closed their set with “Archers,” which will be on their upcoming full-length album. The Ballroom Thieves has been spot on all three times I’ve seen them. Check out this post from when they played with Swear and Shake and The Lone Bellow back in June. I like them more and more each time I see them. They really shine live and I’m sure they earned a bunch more fans that night.

I could tell I was out of concert-going practice waiting for The Alternate Routes to take the stage around 10PM. I’d taken a five-week concert break (because I always want this blog to be about seeing music because I love it and I don’t want it to feel like work) and it was hard to stay awake so late on a Friday night!

Ethan Minton from 98.9 WCLZ took the stage to introduce The Alternate Routes. He said it’s really great to be able to promote a band by playing their music on the radio—especially when they’re such great people. He mentioned the Studio Z The Alternate Routes recorded earlier in the day and invited the band to the stage. The Alternate Routes took the stage as a full band. I’d seen Tim and Eric as a duo opening for Martin Sexton last time, so was excited to see them surrounded by a band.

98.9 WCLZ’s Ethan Minton introducing The Alternate Routes

The Alternate Routes’ Tim Warren

The Alternate Routes’ Eric Donnelly

Tim told us during the beginning on their set that they’re in the process of recording an album that they hope to have out in a few months. He told us how much they love Portland and thanked WCLZ and Ethan and said they’d wanted to play at Port City Music Hall for a long time. I was excited to hear new music that’s being recorded right now, but was happy to hear “Ordinary,” which is from their first album Good and Reckless and True.

There was a little girl in the front row who was pumped about the show. Her enthusiasm was contagious. I did a double take and realized that I knew her—her dad installed my new furnace back in November. It’s a small world! Her mom kept taking videos of Faith enjoying the show and panning back and forth to the band onstage. It was adorable. It’s that kind of joy that I like to see at a show. I’m always dumbfounded by people at shows who spend their time at the bar talking (usually loudly) over the performers. I don’t see the point. Anyhow, Faith restored my faith (see what I did there?) in the joy that concert going can bring.

Tim performed “Won’t Let Go,” which he wrote for his bride and performed at their wedding last year. The audience happily sang our part on “Standing At Your Door,” and people who hadn’t seen The Alternate Routes before laughed when Tim picked up a toolbox to use as percussion on “Future’s Nothing New.” Tim nailed the harmonica part on that song. Eric played killer guitar all night, too.

Tim using the toolbox as percussion on “Future’s Nothing New.” It’s a crowd pleaser.

Tim is an adorable front man. At some point in the set he paused to say “I’m really happy. Are you really happy? This is a special night for us. The rooms we play don’t always fill up but tonight they did and we are grateful.” I hadn’t turned around the whole show (and I was in the front row, as always), but he inspired me to do so and the room was pretty full. I was glad to hear “Time is a Runaway” from back in the day, too. Tim talked about writing it in his uncle’s living room in Beverly, Massachusetts.

A really cool thing happened over the summer for The Alternate Routes. They were approached by a company and introduced to Newtown Kindness, an organization founded to promote kindness in memory of Charlotte Bacon, whose life was tragically taken at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Newtown Kindness needed a song and “Nothing More” came to life. Tim talked about how the video for “Nothing More” is home movie footage of his sister running around and his mom pregnant with him in 1980. It’s a very sweet video. People have been encouraged to participate in the movement by synching their own home videos to the song. Tim gave a shout out to Deb and her yoga teacher Kathy. He said he saw Deb’s touching video and stopped in his tracks. He said “the whole thing makes me want to hug everything.” Music has the power to bring people together and to heal. It’s why I see so many live shows, I think. There’s magic in every concert venue—stories told, friends made, moments that make you pause and reflect. For me, live music is the best thing.

I really liked their last song, a new one called “Give,” and was very glad The Alternate Routes came back to the stage to end the night with “Carry Me Home.” This night was a lovely start to my concert going year.

xo,

bree

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December 23, 2013 · 4:28 PM

Carbon Leaf with Sarah Blacker

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

It’s been a crazy week and a half since I saw my last concert of 2013. I’ve taken refuge at my boyfriend’s place to have access to power and the Internet. My house is covered in ice and is without power and heat. I’m packed for my trip to Hawaii tonight. Fingers crossed that I’ll be able to make my way Westward despite airport delays. Yes, I know these are first world problems. I suspect this will be my shortest blog post ever since I’m getting picked up in less than 90 minutes. Let’s see. (Nope, I’m still long winded even when I’m in a hurry!).

I was really happy to finally see Boston’s Sarah Blacker. She emailed me almost a year ago to invite me to a show in Maine, and even though I couldn’t make it, I checked out her website and really liked her crystal clear voice. I got in touch about this show, and she was kind enough to invite me again. Sarah was incredibly comfortable and interactive with the audience at Port City Music Hall, which I’m always a fan of, and she can really sing. I loved her cover of “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” She told us about an upcoming video for “Shiver” that was filmed outside in icy weather while she wore a flimsy dress.

The lovely Sarah Blacker

Sarah met Carbon Leaf in South Carolina and they’ve been friends since. She was gifted a beautiful ukulele named Leo (my uke is named Alice) and played a couple of songs on it for us. I was really impressed with Sarah’s banter when she introduced “The Most Beautiful Thing” to us—she said it was about someone she was dating who died in a car accident to memorialize him, but also to forgive the sobering moment and to keep drinking. I absolutely appreciated her song “Perfectly Imperfect” about trying to give up the idea of being perfect. Throughout her set she was incredibly sweet and personable. She also really knows how to make the most of her solo sound by beating on her guitar when she needs some percussion.

Sarah plugged Material Objects next door and told us she’d gotten her whole outfit, including grey cowboy boots there earlier in the day. It was a perfect segue to her song “Cowboy.” She closed with “These Summer Nights”—thinking back to warmer times, and said goodnight to us. I said hello to Sarah before I took off that night and she really was a dear. I’m always happy when good musicians are also good people.

Virginia’s Carbon Leaf took the festively decorated stage to an enthusiastic crowd, welcomed by 98.9 WCLZ’s Ethan Minton. My friends Don and Stacey joined me in the happy crowd, too. We met three years ago at the same venue the last time Carbon Leaf played Portland and have been in touch ever since. It was so great to see you guys!

Carbon Leaf concert friends Don and Stacey

Carbon Leaf’s setlist

There was an especially enthusiastic band of folks in the first few rows who knew a lot of Carbon Leaf’s songs by heart. We sang a whole verse for Barry on “One Prairie Outpost.” Someone in the front was using FaceTime to bring a female friend along for the experience and Barry grabbed the phone and took her on a quick backstage tour and then set the phone up on stage for a song as well. Apparently she was home sick but had really wanted to be at the show. It was adorable. Barry also gave Ethan Minton a well-deserved shout out for playing their music on 98.9. He also apologized because it had been three years since they’d played Portland.

WCLZ’s Ethan Minton introducing Carbon Leaf

Barry using FaceTime

I always like the gospel feel of “Raise the Roof.” All of the guys surrounded one mic in the center of the stage for a handful of songs, including “Red Punch, Green Punch.” We sang along on “Comfort” and Barry told us how nice it was to hear that we knew the words. He then moved into the sales portion of the evening. Carbon Leaf left their label in 2010 and is releasing music independently. He joked with us that they’ve put out two albums this year that most of us haven’t bought. After the Portland show, they had four shows left in a 50-city tour. Carter was featured on “The Fox and the Hare.” I’d forgotten how talented the guys in this group are because I hadn’t seen them in such a long time. They wrapped their set with “The Boxer” and really whipped the already appreciative crowd into a frenzy.

Carbon Leaf’s Barry Privett

Jason Neal

Terry Clark and Barry

Carter Gravatt

Bassist Jon Markel on lead vocals

The guys came back out onstage for an encore and had bassist Jon Markel set up the story behind his song “Carter’s Christmas Beard.” He joked that Carter’s beard is his favorite muse. It’s nice to see a band that clearly likes each other a lot. We laughed through the song with the guys. They played “Tombstone vs. Ashes” and then left us with “Let Your Troubles Roll By,” which is easily my favorite Carbon Leaf song. I thought as I left after the show how that was a really good last live song to hear in a year. I turned on my car to head home and Carbon Leaf’s “What About Everything” was playing on 98.9 WCLZ. This was a solid end to a fantastic year of live music. Thanks to everyone for your support of whatbreesees.com in my first two years! I’ll be back in 2014!

xo,

bree

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December 9, 2013 · 10:21 PM

Lucius with Kingsley Flood

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

*This is my 100th post on whatbreesees.com! Thanks so much for all of your support in the last (almost) two years!*

I was so excited to see Lucius again. Their website is ilovelucius.com, which is totally appropriate. I saw them over a year ago in Boston at Brighton Music Hall opening for Milo Greene and they were really unique and impressive. Mainers got to see Lucius this summer when they opened for Tegan and Sara at the State Theatre. Portland Press Herald’s Aimsel Ponti was so blown away by Lucius when they opened, that, for her, they stole the show. She called it “The Lucius Effect.” Their new album, Wildewoman, has taken off (check out this killer album review in Rolling Stone) and so the show was moved from its original venue to the larger Port City Music Hall.

My college friends Shaun, Harriet, and Atlee met me for dinner before the show at Empire. I rushed in to meet them after the best first date ever and was in very good spirits. They were over the moon about the duck buns I recommended. If you haven’t eaten at Empire yet, definitely check it out. Sweet Caroline got us out of the restaurant in plenty of time to grab our tickets and grab a spot up front. Naseem, Kingsley Flood’s lead singer, is our college classmate. I’d wanted to see them play this summer at The Newport Folk Festival (here’s their full NFF set), but I was marrying friends on top of a mountain at Sunday River that weekend. How exciting for Kingsley Flood that they’ve already played Newport!

With a decidedly folk-rock sound (emphasis on the rock), Kingsley Flood impressed with the fullness and variety of their sound. I especially liked their use of trumpet, saxophone, maracas, and tambourine. “Sigh A While” premiered on NPR’s All Songs Considered and was probably my favorite song of the night. I loved Janee’s intense and theatrical facial expressions and Naseem really left it all on stage (the pictures will prove it). If anything, I would have liked to hear a little more banter and background information about the songs because that’s really something I’m looking for at a show.

George Hall and Nick Balkin of Kingsley Flood

Jenée Morgan Force and Chris Barrett of Kingsley Flood

Naseem Khuri on lead vocals

I loved Jenée’s intense facial expressions

Naseem totally went for it

Travis Richter on drums is back there

Something I remembered seeing this summer that I think is very much worth sharing is that Kingsley Flood’s creative video for “Sun Gonna Lemme Shine” landed them a feature on the Huffington Post because it featured a little boy wearing a dress. Definitely check out the story and the video.

Brooklyn’s Lucius took the stage after a long break. I was immediately reminded of their unique 60s vintage style. I was so taken by all of the colors on stage that I ended up with hundreds more photos than I normally take at a show. It took forever (okay, a few days) to decide what photos to share in this post. I love context, so check out this New York Times interview with Jess and Holly of Lucius.

Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe of Lucius

I was looking through my notes from the show and I essentially wrote the title of every song they played with a heart next to each one. My concert buddy Colin joined me for the show and I kept looking back at him to see his reaction. He was totally on board. I also met Megan in the front row who was such a dear. I love shows that bring good people together, and this was one of those nights.

I love this sequence of photos and their playful facial expressions!

I love this sequence of photos and Holly and Jess’s playful facial expressions!

Lucius played a stellar, superb, strong set. I cannot say enough about the power and perfection of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig’s harmonies. I’m a big fan of “Don’t Just Sit There” and “Genevieve.” I really, really LOVED “How Loud Your Love Gets.” “Go Home” really shined, too. In my notes next to “Go Home” I wrote love, love, love!!!! So I guess I loved it?! Lucius wrapped their poppy set with “Wildewoman.” The crowd was so into their set from start to finish. From my vantage point, people were singing along—every single word. Drummer Dan Molad was so moved by our enthusiasm that he literally shouted out to us during the song with a huge smile on his face. This was one of those rare shows where a band said very little but I still felt like I knew them. Their music is a bit transcendent in that way.

The crowd roared for an encore and Lucius happily obliged. Jess smiled and told us “you guys are too cute. You’re amazing.” I appreciated the joy of the audience and Lucius felt it, too. Heck, they created it. They sang “Turn It Around” for us, which is another of my favorite Lucius songs. I may or may not have been watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy (an off and on guilty pleasure) sometime last season and heard “Turn It Around” as the opening song. Just as I thought they were going to say goodnight, Lucius stepped off stage and stood on milk crates that the bar dragged over for them to stand on in the center of the room and wowed with “Two Of Us On The Run” completely unplugged. They thanked us and said we’d made them feel at home. They left us with a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Goodbye” from the floor, a perfect way to say, well, goodbye. See Lucius live. I’m a teacher, so I can give you homework.

xo,

bree

An encore from the floor

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December 4, 2013 · 3:06 PM

The Devil Makes Three with Shakey Graves

Saturday, November 23, 2013

State Theatre, Portland, Maine

I was so pumped for this show. I’ve been listening to country singer-songwriter Shakey Graves for a while now. I am not at all embarrassed to say that I first recognized Shakey Graves (Alejandro Rose-Garcia) from his role as “The Swede,” Julie’s summer crush at the pool on Friday Night Lights. That show was brilliant. Austin, Texas’ Shakey Graves (click here to learn of the origin of the moniker) is truly a one-man band. He has a beautifully raspy, yet perfectly clear voice. He masterfully plays finger picked electric guitar and percusses along with a kick drum fashioned out of an old suitcase all at once. I can’t successfully chew gum and walk at the same time, yet he can do all that. Color me impressed. Shakey Graves was super live. He has clearly developed his chops onstage and was at total ease and put on a great show. He joked that Maine’s like Texas because we like our beer and have guns in Maine, too. But, he added, Mainers can handle the cold better. He said he’d been to Maine before, but this was his first show here. I ran into some friends from Portland’s first-ever adult kickball league I played in, and my friend Paulie said about Shakey Graves, “He sure does make a lot of noise for one guy.” Yep. Really good noise. I promise. Listen to “Roll the Bones.” It will leave you wanting more.

Shakey Graves

The Devil Makes Three is a bluegrass/rockabilly/Americana (wow, that was hard) trio out of Brattleboro, Vermont that had a loyal following in a very crowded State Theatre. I am quite used to seeing lots of bearded flannel-wearing men at shows in Maine, but this show took it to a new level. There was, however, the addition of a lot more folks in tie-dye with dread locks at this show. Everyone is clearly welcome at a TDM3 show—their music is diverse and appeals to a wide audience. I haven’t been around such a happy, dancing bunch at a show in a long while.

Cooper McBean, Pete Bernhard, and Lucia Turino are The Devil Makes Three

Pete Bernhard (guitar/lead vocals), Cooper McBean (guitar/banjo), and Lucia Turino (upright bass) of The Devil Makes Three are obviously great friends and have been playing together for a long while. I loved their energy on stage and the sideways smiles they sent to one another. They clearly love what they do, and that means something to the audience.

According to their website, TDM3’s most recent album, I’m A Stranger Here, is “part heartbreak songs and part barnburners.” I totally agree. People in the crowd were bouncing around dancing during the beginning of their set and I was impressed to see so much dancing even though there was no percussionist on stage. TDM3’s sound was so rhythmic that I didn’t really notice the absence of a percussionist until after the show.

“A Moment’s Rest”

I particularly liked “The Bullet.” I appreciated Cooper’s tribute to Woody Guthrie when he pulled out his banjo that had “This machine annoys fascists” written in marker on the face. “Spinning Like a Top” stood out, too. They covered Doc Watson’s “Walk On Boy.” “Hallelu” was fun. I noticed that I preferred (and this comes as no surprise as I love an acoustic singer-songwriter sound) TDM3’s “heartbreak songs.” The rest of the crowd, I think, preferred the barnburners. I loved when they pulled one of the guys from their road crew out on stage to play fiddle on “A Moment’s Rest.” TDM3 played a solid set and I particularly loved their great harmonies. A good time was definitely had by all. While we were all dancing inside, Mother Earth was busy outside snowing for the first time this season. It was an extra long drive home on slippery roads, but worth the drive.

xo,

bree

First real snow of the season!

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November 26, 2013 · 9:12 AM

The Lone Bellow with Aoife O’Donovan

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Port City Music Hall, Portland, Maine

*The Lone Bellow is my favorite band of 2013. Their live show is joyful, breathtaking, heart wrenching, and beautiful. You’ve really, really got to see them live. I’m lucky to have seen them twice so far this year and already look forward to the next time. I was so excited when I showed up to the box office and saw my dear friends Ken and Max standing there buying tickets for the show. I’ve been talking about The Lone Bellow for basically the whole year, so was thrilled to have motivated some folks to come out for the show. At least ten of my friends were there that night and it was lovely to share the experience with so many people I care about. I’ve asked just a handful of friends to write posts about shows we’ve seen together for whatbreesees.com over the past couple of years, but three out of the four (you know who you are) didn’t complete their homework. My college classmate and teacher friend, the extraordinary Ken Templeton, was so moved by the performance that he not only readily agreed to write the show recap for whatbreesees.com, but also sent it to me just three short days later. Ken was an English major at Bowdoin and is a former English teacher, so please enjoy how well written this post is. Thanks so much, Ken! I’m thrilled you loved The Lone Bellow like I do!*

The show started with Aoife O’Donovan (of Crooked Still) opening. She is a singer/songwriter with a gorgeous voice that is clear and strong, but she doesn’t try to blow you out of the room. She is often quiet and understated in her delivery. Aoife was joined by bassist Jacob Silver and guitarist Austin Nevins.

Austin Nevins, Aoife O’Donovan, and Jacob Silver

Aoife opened with “Red and White and Blue and Gold,” from her first solo release, Fossils. It’s a catchy tune, evoking carefree summer days, leaving it all behind–good stuff like that. [Aoife also opened with that song earlier in the afternoon when she recorded a Newsroom Session in the Portland Press Herald studio with Aimsel Ponti]. Aoife sings, “Come on sit next to me / Bury my feet, bury my feet in the sand. / There’s a hole, it’s twelve miles deep. / I dug it with my hands.” She introduced her song “Lay My Burden Down,” noting that another person recorded it first (that other person is Alison Krauss). That has to be a funny thing, when some listeners might mistake your song for a cover.

Aoife did a wonderful cover of Blaze Foley’s tune “Clay Pigeons,” which she said she learned from John Prine. (Here’s his version and The Avett Brothers’ version too.) It’s a song that sounds like many songs that Prine wrote; it opens like this: “I’m goin’ down to the Greyhound Station, gonna get a ticket to ride. / Gonna find that lady with two or three kids and sit down by her side.” Everyday experiences, everyday people–we can all see that “lady,” even though she’s not described in any detail. Aoife takes a similar kind of approach in some of her songs, although the ‘speakers’ of her songs seem like they might read more books than John Prine’s do. In “Thursday’s Child,” she writes, “No one’s riding shotgun, I’m driving alone. / I can turn up the music and do whatever I want. / When I get to border, I put a quarter / In the pay phone. / Oh, my tyranny’s gonna crumble. / So, sit next to me and fumble / With the buttons on my dress.”

Jacob Silver provided some sweet whistling on “Lovesick Redstick Blues” and there was a great sing-a-long on “Oh, Mama,” with a willing crowd belting out: “Oh, Mama, play me a love song / Pour me some bourbon / And lay me down low. / Mmm, baby, my poor heart is breakin’ / I feel the ground shakin’ / Under my feet / So put me to sleep.” Austin Nevins’s lead guitar work was exceptional. I’ve seen him play with Josh Ritter a few times, and have always been impressed with his spare decisions as a soloist. He is very efficient, picking notes here and there to accentuate the vocals and then traveling up and down the neck for his solos. Bree saw Austin play with Dietrich Strause a few months ago and with Josh Ritter back in May.

Now, as for The Lone Bellow…

Bree told me. She did. When she saw The Lone Bellow at the Sinclair, she said that it was one of the best shows she’d ever seen. She was right. They put on a show that picks you up and shakes you by the shoulders and gives you a bear hug–you laugh and say, “Stop, put me down,” but they don’t, they spin you around and when they stop the whole place is dead quiet and you don’t even want to sniffle because you might miss something. This is all to say that if you get the chance to see The Lone Bellow, don’t miss them.

Zach Williams plays guitar and sings lead vocals, with a raspy, gritty sound that belies incredible range. Kanene Pipkin plays mandolin and sings lead and harmony. Brian Elmquist plays lead guitar and sings as well. To be clear, any one of these three would be a great lead singer–they’re all that good. They share the stage really beautifully with each other and at times seem genuinely in awe of each other’s talents. Brian Griffin was excellent on the drums and Jason Pipkin (Kanene’s husband) played bass.

The Lone Bellow: Brian Elmquist, Zach Williams, and Kanene Pipkin

Brian Griffin on drums

They opened with “I Let You Go,” a lovely little tune that takes full advantage of their stunning vocal harmony. It was an intimate start to a set that from there went 100 miles an hour for the next thirty minutes. Next up was “You Can Be All Kinds of Emotional.” “You Never Need Nobody” followed, the first song I ever heard by The Lone Bellow (from their Tiny Desk Concert). Even on slower numbers like this one, the band is in full-tilt mode, stomping, sweating, and swooning all over the stage. They are physically exuberant about their music in a way that is, I think, uniquely Southern. You see The Avett Brothers approach their shows in a similar way. Introducing “You Don’t Love Me Like You Used To” as a song about marital strife, Zach got the crowd clapping while Kanene took over the lead vocals. The crowd sang along with “Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold.” How can you not sing along with that chorus; it’s too catchy: “Green eyes and a heart of gold / All the money’s gone and the house is cold / But it’s all right, it’s all right, / It’s all right, it’s all right.”

Clapping along with Zach

The best part of the night, I thought, was when they pared down to just Zach, Brian, and Kanene around one microphone for a few numbers. The first of these, “Watch Over Us,” was the showstopper for me. Brian on lead vocals, Zach and Kanene supporting. Brian’s performance was so charged and emotional that when he sang, “But my baby’s sleeping,” then paused for at least four beats, the whole crowd was si-lent. That is hard to do. No “woos”. No jackass shouting “yeah!” or “ow!” Silent. Because we were right up front, I know why he paused–he was catching his breath. It’s not often that you see a singer expend that kind of energy, but man he was wringing himself out on that song.

“Watch Over Us” was breathtaking

Jason Pipkin looking lovingly at this wife, Kanene

Zach dedicated “Tree to Grow” to his wife, who was there for the concert with their infant daughter. It’s a great song, with this stirring refrain: “A tree I’ll grow to let you know / My love is older than my soul.” The band returned to blast through “Bleeding Out” and then they had Aoife come back on stage to sing “Angel from Montgomery.” It was a really great performance and prompted more passionate singing from the crowd. (Here is a wonderful version from The Lone Bellow with Brandi Carlile).

The Lone Bellow invited Aoife up on stage for “Angel from Montgomery”

Zach then engaged in some serious banter. He said that he ate at Becky’s Dinner and had a drink at Eventide. At Becky’s, he described a guy there who “took off his buffalo plaid jacket to reveal his buffalo plaid shirt,” and described “the rope that was holding up his pants.” This transitioned to a story about his uncle Dale, who seems like one of the more entertaining people in the world to hear about. Southerners can tell stories, and Zach told us a great one about his uncle, his uncle’s wife in the hospital and Dale’s decision to buy a number of items at the trick shop. I won’t ruin it for you–it’s better live. The song “Fire Red Horse” is about Dale: “The fire red horse / That could not be tamed. / He could not be broken / My uncle’s red flame.” “Button” was another highlight, with Kanene rattling the walls a bit with her vocals.

Their encore–“Teach Me To Know” maintained the all-out energy of their set. Another (yes, another) great sing along and everyone clapping to the driving beat.

As they stood on stage to huge applause, each band member said “Thank you, thank you” to the audience. This was more than perfunctory thanks. This is a humble group that works incredibly hard and knows that there are millions of talented, dedicated musicians who never make it and they appreciate their shot. Throughout the show, you could almost see them in an apartment in New York a couple of years or so ago, singing and stomping, knowing they had something special to share.

The setlist

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Tagged as Aoife O’Donovan, Austin Nevins, Brian Elmquist, Brian Griffin, Jacob Silver, Jason Pipkin, Kanene Pipkin, Maine, Port City Music Hall, Portland, Portland Maine, The Lone Bellow, Zach Williams

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