Rockwood Music Hall

Hurrah! A Bolt of Light! at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

Hurrah! A Bolt of Light! headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 last night. It was their final residency show. They’ve played every Friday in May 2012 at 10pm on Stage 2. I’ve heard about them for quite a while now but this was my first time seeing them play.

I’d describe them as non-stop, hard-charging, loud (but balanced) rock. A number of people broke out dancing during many numbers and those that didn’t were certainly bobbing, swaying, tapping, stomping and generally unable to simply stand still.

Wil Farr is the front-man, singing on every number and playing electric guitar. He has a very good voice, but in classic hard rock fashion, it often feels like he’s screaming at the audience. He played mostly rhythm guitar last night (Hurrah also has a lead guitarist) but he did take one sweet lead.

I’ve seen Wil perform with Abby Payne as well. He’s also producing her upcoming CD. This is the first time I’ve seen him front and center.

Rebecca Haviland on vocals. If anyone is responsible for us going out to see Hurrah (yes, I’ve shortened it), it’s Rebecca. Basically, we’ll go see anything she’s in. Her voice is always great. She and Wil really get into each song and display a passion that is also classically rock.

Jacob Pleakis on grand piano, electronic keyboards and vocals. Jacob is one of two people in Hurrah that I’ve never seen before. He was quite good on the keys and quite passionate on the vocals as well.

Kenny Shaw on drums. If you’ve read this space before, you don’t have any questions as to my opinion of Kenny. Hurrah’s music is particularly hard-charging and Kenny was working equally hard (but making it look and sound easy!). Absolutely fantastic drumming. The fact that he was in constant motion the entire set before made it all the more impressive.

Doug Drewes on electric bass. Doug is the other member who I’ve never seen before. He too was quite good on the bass (no surprise given the rest of the talent in the band).

Dave Freedman on electric guitar. I just heaped a lot of praise on Dave a few weeks back when we saw him perform with The Thang Band at Lagond Music School. He was even better last night in this set, where he takes more frequent leads. He even spoke a bit into the mic and I think he sang a bit as well. I wasn’t sure before that he ever opened his mouth. It seemed he was satisfied to let his guitar do the talking. Smile

Hurrah themed each of the weekly residency shows, mixing their originals with those of a specific band. Last night was The Pixies.

Jay Stolar headlined the set before them and toward the end of their set they called him up to sing with them. After the song was over, they invited anyone who appeared in Jay’s to join. Kenny was already on stage, but four more members stepped up to the plate.

Jay Stolar stayed on stage to sing. Jason Wexler joined Jacob at the keyboards. Rob Pawlings played the cowbell. I still can’t believe that I could actually hear every strike of the cowbell with 11 people on stage all making some kind of noise, but I could, and I liked it!

Seth Faulk and Jim Perry each grabbed tambourines and help keep the lively beat. It was controlled mayhem. Smile

Here’s the set list:

Summary: the crowd loved it, and I appreciated the driving rhythm and individual talents. It just isn’t the type of music that I want to listen to for long stretches, so I’m not sure I’ll be catching future shows. They won’t miss me, they have quite a following!

Jay Stolar EP Release at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

May 26th, 2012

by hadar.

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Jay Stolar released a new EP (The Acoustic EP). Numbered CDs were available for sale at his headlining show at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2.

If you read my last post about Jay then you know that we weren’t going to miss this show (and there was strong competition for our attention down in Philly!). We made the correct decision, as I can summarize the show/performance in one word: Wow!

Seriously, among the many things Jay has going for him, the top three are:

Extraordinary voice
Unreal stage presence
A band that can keep up with him (at every position!)

I couldn’t help thinking how lucky we are (were) to experience them (Jay and the band) in such an intimate (yet mobbed!) spot like Rockwood 2. I have no doubt that Jay has the energy to fill Madison Square Garden to every fan’s satisfaction. I hope to get the chance to verify that claim some day.

In addition to playing all four of the EP songs, Jay mixed up his classic Soul/Rock/Pop genres to keep every song fresh throughout the set.

I’ve mentioned before that Jay could thrill on his own. He likely couldn’t do that at MSG though. He certainly could with his 4-part harmony and kick-a** band. Left-to-right on stage:

Jason Wexler on grand piano and vocals. We’re big fans of Jason’s and our fandom grows each time we see him (we had seen him guest with Jeff Litman the night before). He was atypical last night in playing only the grand (no electronic keyboards) with such a big sounding band. That’s perfectly fine with me, his piano skills are exceptional.

In addition to singing a ton of background vocals throughout, Jay gave Jason a really long lead during When I’m Acting Crazy. Holy moly Batman, Jason slayed it (and everyone in the room).

Jay took over the piano duties on one number and Jason stepped to center stage and played the accordion.

Grace McLean on vocals. Fantastic, but no surprise (other than I didn’t know Grace would be singing with him). I recently saw her for the first time at one of Sam Teichman’s Leave a Lasting Mark benefits and was instantly taken with her voice (and performance). I may as well repeat what I said about her that night:

Grace McLean was the final newcomer to us. Grace performed perhaps the second most famous song (to me at least), Chain of Fools. Let’s see if I can be succinct in describing her: Wow! (OK, that was succinct, but not sufficient, how about: Holy Wow, Unreal!, yes, that’s better).

In a small-world story, Grace’s upcoming EP was mastered by my good friend (and expert Masterer) Larry Lachmann. I discovered that just days after seeing Grace for the first time.

Seth Faulk on drums, percussion and vocals. Seth completed the vocal superfecta. In addition to adding his wonderful voice to the mix, Seth was one of two drummers/percussionists, another touch that makes Jay’s shows so special (I think 10 drummers might be too many, but less than that is all a plus for me, as long as they’re good, and these guys are more than good!).

Here’s Seth as part of the 4-part power harmonies:

Kenny Shaw on drums. Kenny is always great. Having him coordinate with Seth cranks it up a notch and is a sonic joy. Kenny and Seth are a large component of why I feel that Jay could fill MSG with sound. Let’s get on that one folks, please!

Rob Pawlings on electric bass. I’ve written about Rob a number of times lately and they’ve all been raves. No difference last night, another amazing performance.

Paul Maddison on electric guitar. When I last saw Paul, on May 12th, I wrote that I would finally introduce myself to him at the next show. I can’t say I totally followed through, but we did shake hands, so I’m making progress. He’s getting married on Sunday (tomorrow), so I didn’t want to break his concentration. Winking smile

On a more serious note, Paul is an excellent guitarist and Jay gave him one long lead with a bunch of other tasty licks. Wonderful!

That takes care of the core band. There were three additional guests.

Wil Farr came up to sing with Jay on a song they co-wrote. Very well done. Wil was the front-man for the band that was up next, so I’ll be writing more about him shortly.

Matt Simons joined for one song on the sax (I believe it was When I’m Acting Crazy). We had seen Matt perform a solo set on the grand piano right before this one. Now he switched to the sax and when he was let loose, he destroyed the room. That he ended up taking such a great solo in the same song that Jason did on the piano, made a great song all the more amazing.

Jim Perry on drums/percussion. Jim joined for two of the final numbers. I think I heard Jay say that Jim co-wrote one of those songs with him, but don’t hold me to that. For the first number, Seth gave up his kit (Seth stood and played a tambourine and shakers while singing). On the second number, Jim took over Kenny’s kit and Kenny played the tambourine between Seth and Jim. Jim did an excellent job in both spots.

Here’s the set list:

An absolutely incredible show. When do we all get together to do it again? Smile

Matt Simons at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

May 26th, 2012

by hadar.

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Matt Simons headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 last night. It was a last-minute surprise and such a lovely one at that. We were planning on attending the 8:30 set (the subject of the next post) which was originally scheduled to be the first one of the night. Once we heard that they added a set at 7:30 for Matt, our entire evening was set.

It’s a rare treat to see Matt solo at Rockwood 2. The grand piano there is fantastic and Matt tickled those ivories to perfection. His voice was spot on as well, as was his set selection (including 2.5 covers, which complemented his originals wonderfully).

I was surprised to catch myself toe-tapping (and even quietly foot-stomping) a number of times. The point is that even though it was understated, Matt’s piano play had a rich rhythm to it that filled the room and made me move (apparently involuntarily). Beautifully done.

Here’s the set list:

Miss You More
Fire and Rain
Emotionally Involved
Jolene
Let Me Go On
Already Over You/Rolling In The Deep
With You
Gone

I’m not going to try and stretch this out to my typically long post because I’ve already said all you need to know, which is that if you weren’t there, you missed a chance to hear a solo singer/songwriter captivate his audience completely.

Matt was also a special guest on one song in the following set so we got an extra dose of goodness from him a bit later on.

On June 9th at 10pm, Matt Simons is having a CD Release show at Rockwood 1. It’s doubtful that this will be a solo show (though I bet there’s at least one solo number). If you miss that one, I might have to refer you for some professional help. Smile

Jeff Litman at Rockwood Music Hall

May 25th, 2012

by hadar.

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Jeff Litman headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall last night. It was an early set, which we always appreciate and prefer. On the other hand, it coincided with a near-monsoon, so we got soaked coming and going.

It’s hard to believe that this was only our second night of music in May. Breaking the ice with a Jeff Litman show is a good way to go.

Jeff played the majority of the show on the acoustic guitar (obviously, he sang on every number as well). He kicked it off with the harmonica as well, on my favorite song of his, Maine. In fact, I think he’s caught on that if he puts Maine first on the set list, it will guarantee that I will have to be there on time (we were!). Winking smile

In the middle of the set, Jeff took over the piano duties for two numbers, the second of which he performed solo.

Prior to the show, Jeff announced that he would be joined by two guests. We would have gone to see Jeff solo, but he wasn’t taking any chances. Winking smile

Maddy Wyatt sang harmony, played the flute (beautifully, on What Hasn’t Happened Yet) and the tambourine. Great job on all!

Joe Brent on fiddle and mandolin. Joe has been great every time we’ve seen him. That he can replace the awesome guitar solo on Maine with his fiddle play, and keep me just as mesmerized, is a testament to his skills. Joe has a show in Brooklyn next Thursday (which we can’t make), then he hits the road with GangstaGrass for a while.

When we walked in, we both spotted Jason Wexler at the bar. We asked if he was just an audience member, or whether he was an unannounced guest performer. Jeff felt that it would be a waste to have Jason sitting in the audience, so he called him up on three numbers to play the grand piano.

Of course, he didn’t have those three songs consecutively on the set list, so Jason had to expend a bunch of energy going up and coming down from the stage before/after each song. Thankfully, his fingers weren’t affected and his piano play was as good as it always is. Smile

Speaking of set lists, here’s the one from last night, though I’m not sure Jeff got through every one.

Jeff closed the show solo on the guitar. He started with a long instrumental solo of Some Day My Prince Will Come which he morphed into his closing number. His guitar play was gorgeous. Nice way to end the set.

Be careful making any jokes at these shows. Right before the set started I noted (out loud) that there was an iPhone case attached to a small tripod. There was no phone inside the case. I joked that it must be a special case that could film the show without the camera inside.

Jeff thanked me for reminding him and popped his iPhone into the case. I then felt compelled to operate the camera, making sure that everyone on stage got at least some screen time. So, if Jeff posts any video from the set, I am 100% to blame (I wasn’t very smooth in my transitions) for any issues in the quality.

We’ll be out again tonight for a number of sets, but then it will more than a week before we get to see another show. Perhaps our lives are changing more than expected, I guess we’ll see how it evolves…

Nisha Asnani at Rockwood Music Hall

Apr 24th, 2012

by hadar.

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Nisha Asnani headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall last night. I ended my last post about her with the following:

Now anxiously waiting until the next show is announced…

OK, a little less than a month. Thank goodness, I was getting the shakes a bit. (Notice, no smiley to modify that statement!)

Each time we’ve seen Nisha has been a different experience (this was our fifth time seeing a full set). They could all be repeats for all I care (meaning, I’d still show up), but knowing you’re likely to be surprised is a nice bonus.

Nisha started off the set solo, accompanying herself on the grand piano. As I’ve mentioned before, that’s more than enough. Her voice will mesmerize even people who don’t like vocals (yes, I challenge those of you who only like instrumentals, you know who you are). She plays the piano beautifully, so the two together deliver a rich sound.

Nisha played a mix of older songs (one she hadn’t performed in over a year) and new songs (which will be on her first full-length CD, which she’s begun working on, yay!).

Alex Cooper (can’t find a good individual link for him) joined her to play acoustic guitar on a few numbers. He’s fast and tasty. He played mostly in a jazz style, finger-picking the chords and leads. They’ve played together before, that was evident. He didn’t sing last night, but I found a Vimeo video of him when he performed a year ago at Joe’s Pub (with a full band) where he was singing up a storm.

Allison Seidner joined for one number on the cello. We saw her play on one number at a previous Nisha show, where she rushed over from playing in The Addams Family orchestra on Broadway. In reading this short bio of her, I see that she also performed in Wicked. Considering how many times we’ve seen that show, we’ve probably heard Allison there as well. She’s excellent, and I hope she finds the time to make it out to these types of gigs more often in between her real job. Smile

Nisha closed with two songs that were awesome (she’s always awesome, so I’m referring specifically to the songs, whether or not she was singing them): Sandcastles and Chelsea. Chelsea really blew me away. Now I must have it!

When Nisha ended the set, everyone wanted more. She was practically stepping off the stage when she was forced back to the piano. She asked her friend to pick the encore since her set list had no extra songs written down. She picked Besides You. Nisha was (again) awesome, so everyone felt vindicated for making her do one more.

Here’s the set list leading up to the encore.

Once again, the clock is ticking until we get to see her again…

Greg Mayo Band Levon Helm Tribute at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

Apr 22nd, 2012

by hadar.

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Greg Mayo Band headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2 last night. The show was on opposite two others that I would gladly have attended, but a week ago I decided that one can’t have enough Greg Mayo in their lives, so with apologies to the others, I was going to see Greg.

Then on Thursday (April 19th, 20120), Levon Helm passed away. Greg announced that Saturday’s show would now feature a tribute to Levon Helm and The Band. Had I chosen one of the other shows, I would have changed my plans to attend this for that reason alone.

Greg split the show into two parts. The first was five songs written by him and performed by the full Greg Mayo Band (eight people, including a brass section). The second was the Levon Helm / The Band tribute, consisting of six songs with special guests joining on a few.

I was really glad that Greg chose to play some of his own material as well because one of our friends had never seen a Greg Mayo Band (GMB) show and he totally got how awesome they are (and Greg’s songs are!) before the first verse was over. I bet I’ll be seeing him at many future GMB shows. Smile

After playing It’s a Pity (typically the last song of a GMB set), the horn section left the stage and Greg gave a moving speech about Levon and what he meant to Greg, all of his musician friends and many others (including me!).

One of the first things he mentioned was that a few people had told him that everyone was doing tributes to Levon and perhaps he should consider not doing one. Greg had the perfect answer: “You can never have too many tributes to The Band, everyone should do one!”. Amen!

I’ll cover all of the band members below, but the spirit of the tribute deserves mention before the individuals who performed it perfectly.

In the GMB Greg plays the keyboards (last night he played the grand piano exclusively, amazingly, though he typically plays a bunch of electronic keyboards during these shows as well). Greg also plays a ton of guitar in many other bands. A few of those bands (including The Big Apple Singers and it’s various spin-offs and The Narwhals) specialize in songs by The Band. So I have personally witnessed Greg and his cohorts choosing to honor those songs over and over, ensuring that our youngins get exposed to these timeless classics.

There’s another reason that the timing of Levon’s passing was so emotional for Greg. Over the New Year’s weekend, as a surprise gift for his recent birthday, a very special person in Greg’s life took him to one of Levon Helm’s Midnight Rambles. I’m sure it’s a night that Greg will remember for the rest of his life. The fact that it ended up being one of Levon’s last Rambles makes it all the more poignant.

Greg began the tribute portion by inviting up one guest.

Patrick Firth on electronic keyboards and vocals. Patrick joined for most of the The Band portion, including stepping away from the keyboards to sing lead on a verse at center stage. He was great on the keys, always an integral part of The Band songs.

Then Greg invited up a couple of guests to sing on a few of the songs.

Evan Watson kicked it off with the lead vocals on the first verse of Up on Cripple Creek. Evan fronts a number of bands, including The Big Apple Singers. He’s as well suited for singing any song by The Band as anyone I know. Evan returned later and took over the electric guitar for one song in addition to singing on others.

Zach Jones sang a verse on Up on Cripple Creek as well and joining everyone else for a few other songs.

Circling back to the band, but first, a few more words about Greg. He’s never disappointed me at any show, whether he’s the star or a sideman. Last night his voice was as good as I’ve ever heard it (I’m tempted to say he was inspired, but that would detract from the fact that his worst is better than most others’ best). His piano play was as good as it always is.

His mic stand failed on one song (I didn’t see how). Armando cut through the crowd with a replacement. While he was swapping one for the other, Greg took the mic and stood up to sing without playing the piano. Of course he was incredible. When the swap was done Greg didn’t replace the mic in the stand until the song was over. Instead, he sat down at the bench and alternated playing the piano with one hand, then the other, switching the mic into the non-playing hand. Great job of making awesome Lemonade from the lemons. Smile

The rest of the band, left-to-right on stage:

Rebecca Haviland on vocals and tambourine. Rebecca was on stage for every number in the set. She sang a lot with Greg during his numbers, including taking the lead on part of It’s a Pity. Then she joined on every The Band song, including singing a verse on the lead of at least one song. Superb!

John Liotta on baritone saxophone. John played on every GMB number, then returned for half of The Band ones. He took one long lead on a GMB song and wailed a bit with the rest of the brass section on The Band tunes as well. Excellent!

Josh Reed on trumpet. He was on stage for the same songs as John Liotta (as was the next person, completing the brass section). Like John, Josh took a long lead on one GMB number. Excellent!

Matt Simons completed the brass section on tenor saxophone. Matt is awesome on the sax, but we don’t get to see him play it often enough, because his own original music (which I love!) is delivered on the keyboards. So, having him play at last night’s show was a very special treat for me.

The brass section alone, then bracketed by Rebecca and Paul:

Kenny Shaw on drums. I had to go three days between seeing Kenny playing the drums. Thankfully, the long drought ended with such a great set.

Chris Anderson on electric bass and vocals. Chris is always great on the bass. He sang a bunch of background vocals on the GMB portion. In addition to singing a verse on the lead in a couple of The Band songs, Chris came to center stage to sing lead on The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Fantastic!

Paul Maddison on electric guitar and vocals. Paul sang a bunch on the GMB numbers. He wailed on the electric guitar more during The Band portion, but was extremely solid during the GMB set. He relinquished his guitar and spot on stage for the number that Evan played guitar.

Most of the audience sang along to The Band numbers, with quite a number of people singing along to the GMB ones as well. It was a set most worthy of losing one’s voice. Thanks Greg and everyone on stage (and in the audience) for such an incredible, memorable performance!

Here’s the set list:

A few extra shots, including one of Greg’s little mascot:

Goodnight Levon and thanks for everything!

Apollo Run Acoustic Show at Rockwood Music Hall

Apr 20th, 2012

by hadar.

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Apollo Run headlined a special acoustic show at Rockwood Music Hall last night. I characterized it as special (that’s not how they billed it), because it gave me a chance to evaluate their core musical proposition relatively quickly after my first encounter with them three weeks ago.

In that first show, I had tons of good things to say. I also had some negatives, most of which revolved around everything being way too loud that night. An acoustic show would let me know what’s what (or at least should).

I now know everything I need to know about Apollo Run and you can take it to the bank. They are awesome, no ifs, ands or buts.

Big picture: amazing vocals (individually and harmony), excellent musicians, great songs (sounds like all of the ingredients to me).

Pesky details:

John McGrew on acoustic guitar, piano and lead vocals. John mostly played the acoustic guitar throughout the set. He switched over to the grand piano for one full number, then returned to the grand with his guitar still around his neck to finish another one. However, like I noted in my first write-up, what really separates John from the pack is his voice. It’s fantastic.

Graham Fisk on percussion and vocals. When I saw Graham line up on stage with the others, a different kind of shaker in each hand, I worried that I’d miss out on his drumming. He’s an exceptional drummer, which I fully appreciated the first time around, even though the volume was too high. Not to worry.

While I am sure I would have loved hearing the drums (with a light touch), Graham’s sensibility with the shakers was fine. More importantly (much more importantly), his voice is really great (as I noted last time) and he sings so well with John. Not having the drums allowed that aspect to shine even more.

Jeff Kerestes on acoustic bass, ukulele, grand piano and vocals. Even for the acoustic show, the formula for splitting the duties between the three seemed fairly constant. That meant that Jeff handled much of the melodic work, even on the bass. He’s an incredible bass player, so having him be front-and-center works well.

When he switched to the ukulele, he didn’t just strum (which is what the majority of uke players do), but also finger-picked a bit and played some lead. Very nicely done!

In a move that didn’t happen at the amplified show, Jeff took to the grand piano for one song. Another instrument that he can handle ably.

He sang roughly half as much as Graham did, always very well, creating gorgeous three-part harmonies. When John played the piano, Jeff put down all of his instruments and moved next to Graham to sing.

Even though it was an acoustic show, they project a power and energy which is palpable (you can even catch it on film):

They closed the show with the same bang that they did at Rockwood 2, with all three descending into the audience to sing All in Good Time, a cappella, clapping and stomping, with most of the audience joining in. Awesome.

Their set list was on John’s phone (I know that, because John had to call out to have a friend hand it up from the audience). Lois didn’t get to take a photo of the iPhone screen, so I reached out after the show to have Jeff send me a copy. He ended his note with “I think….”, so I don’t want anyone to sue me (or him), if this was the exact set list:

Desire
Nightingale
Love song
Annie Mae
That’s how it felt
Myography
Tiger blood
These kind of girls
Stars
All in good time

They mentioned that they had copies of their first two EPs for sale: Here Be Dragons (Vol’s I and II). We bought a copy of each. I listened to both this morning and love them! They are nearing completion of Vol III (produced by Dan Molad of Lucius and others). Looking forward to getting my hands on that as well.

OK, glad to know that all of the people who raved to me about Apollo Run knew exactly what they were talking about. If I find myself in a similar situation to the first show, all I need to do is climb up into the sound booth and force the sound guy to dial back the master volume. Winking smile

Buddy Mondlock at Rockwood Music Hall

Apr 20th, 2012

by hadar.

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Buddy Mondlock headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall last night. I am slightly embarrassed that I had never heard of Buddy. I was intending to see him anyway, because I was at Rockwood to see the set before and the set after him.

The set before was Jesse Terry, and Jesse sent a message earlier in the day that he was going to hang around to see Buddy because he has been a fan for a long time. Cool, now I didn’t need to worry about whether that hour would be good or bad. Smile

After the fact I feel even sillier having worried about Buddy’s set. It was fantastic.

Buddy’s music is classified as Country & Folk on Gracenote (the database used by iTunes and others). That’s accurate, but the Country part fits more from Buddy’s sensibilities. I would characterize the live performance as nearly 100% Folk, delivered as classically and beautifully as you could imagine.

I kept thinking Peter, Paul and Mary throughout the set. Not that the songs had even the remotest similarity, nor the vocals. The feeling, of soft, yet somehow still lush music, that just relaxes you and transports you to a meditative state.

Buddy is clearly an amazing songwriter (the reason for my embarrassment is that his songs have been cut by some pretty big stars). He’s actually recorded with Art Garfunkel and been on TV with Peter, Paul and Mary (which I learned after feeling the similarity noted above).

Buddy sings super softly. He’s well aware of that. He asked the sound guy (Armando) to crank his vocals to compensate. It all worked out well, because the audience was deadly quiet (not even a whisper, thank you, other people). That softness adds to the meditative quality I mentioned.

He plays the guitar so beautifully. I will guesstimate that he finger-picked 45%, strummed 45% and flat-picked 10%. All were perfectly suited to the song and vocals.

I have no doubt that Buddy could have performed solo and held my attention completely, he’s that talented. But he chose to enhance his sound with a partner and it was an excellent choice.

Mike Lindauer on acoustic bass and harmony. Mike played a 5-string fretless acoustic bass. So mellow, so good, so appropriate. He sang beautifully on most numbers. Wonderfully matched with Buddy.

The minute Mike pulled the bass out of the case I was mesmerized. It’s one of the most beautiful instruments I’ve ever seen, certainly the most beautiful bass. Buddy mentioned it on stage as well, saying the he’s sure some of us would want to talk to Mike about the bass after the show. He was reading my mind.

That’s exactly what I did. Mike told me that it was custom, hand-built by Rick Turner of Renaissance Guitars. Wow, Rick does amazing work.

After the show we bought two of Buddy’s CDs: Poetic Justice and The Edge of the World. Buddy signed one for us. I listened to both today and loved them equally. Practically every song from last night’s set was on one or the other CD. I often like live performances more than the CDs. That wasn’t the case for Buddy. His music comes across great live, but just as good on CD!

Buddy announced that he’s working on a new CD. Cool, I look forward to getting my hands on it. What a treat to have accidentally discovered him!

Jesse Terry at Rockwood Music Hall

Apr 20th, 2012

by hadar.

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Jesse Terry headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall last night. Most of the times that we’ve seen Jesse he’s performed solo. The last two times he’s been refining a group sound.

First he connected with Greg Mayo for a duo show, where Greg played piano on some numbers and guitar on others, singing some harmony with Jesse. Next, Jesse had a trio with Jeremy Goldsmith on guitar and harmony.

Last night Jesse used the same percussionist as the previous time (I’ll get to the band in the minute) and replaced Jeremy with a piano player (I believe Jeremy was unavailable, but I think Jesse purposely wanted to go for a piano sound).

I used the term refined above, because I think that Jesse has improved the sound each time and I’m not convinced he needs to tinker with it any further!

Jesse was excellent last night. His vocals are always great, as is his guitar play, but I think he was in a comfort zone with the band as well. Most of the songs were off of his upcoming CD, Empty Seat on a Plane, which will be released in July. There will be a CD Release Show at Rockwood on July 11th, 8pm, be there!

Let’s get to the band. That will also allow me to say a few more things about Jesse’s performance in context. Left-to-right:

Matt Simons on grand piano and vocals. There were two things about Matt’s performance that elevated Jesse’s set: 1) the piano complements Jesse’s already excellent guitar skills better than another guitar (which was great too) and 2) Matt sang substantially more harmony, and was incredible on every song (as he always is).

A month ago we saw Jeff Litman on the same stage. I wrote the following:

The test came right away. Jeff opened the show with my favorite song of his, Maine. Let me digress and define what I consider to be a perfect song. If I can put a song on 24×7 repeat, for a year, and honestly not beg for mercy to hear something else, then it’s a perfect song, even if it’s not technically perfect in all respects. Maine is a perfect song. Got it?

Jesse Terry is a great songwriter in general, but he too has written at least a couple of perfect songs (using my definition), perhaps more. Early in the set he played one of them, Noise. His finger picking on that song is extraordinary and last night he was flawless. He started it off solo (which is how he’s performed it most of the times we’ve heard it). After one verse, the band came in.

Aside from the piano and percussion complementing Jesse’s guitar and vocals, Matt Simons’ harmony took an already perfect song and lifted it up even higher. Matt’s vocals were so good on every song that I call this one out mostly to make the point that this song basically couldn’t get any better, and yet it did!

Late in the set when Matt came in on the vocals I turned to Lois and said: “Oh man, they sound exactly like Simon and Garfunkel!”. Not the song, Jesse definitely has his own distinct sound, but their voices blended as seamlessly and beautifully.

Matt was wonderful on the piano as well, so Jesse was right to want to try a piano player when Jeremy Goldsmith was unavailable.

James Williams on cajon and percussion. James played with Jesse at the last show and was fantastic. That was true again last night. I don’t know if he introduced new tricks, if not, at least I noticed them last night. One example: it was the first time I noticed any cajon player striking two different sides at the same time (in this case, the front and back), generating different sounds.

At the last show I joked:

He had something that looked like a giant firecracker on stage. I don’t think he used it. At least I’m still here to tell the tale, if he did…

I realize now that he did use it at that show, but somehow, I missed it. Last night, he used it late in the show and it was one of the most amazing instruments I’ve heard. Basically, it produces the sound of a large cymbal, but without the actual sound of the stick hitting the cymbal. It’s closer to the sound you get when a drummer uses two soft-headed mallets on either side of the cymbal and is hitting it really fast from the top and bottom. Awesome.

He had bells strapped onto his ankles and he had a tambourine under his right foot (so he could create the sound of a cymbal strike anytime he wanted).

For some songs he put a Swan Percussion Knock Box under his left foot for a full kick drum sound (they are competitors with PorchBoard which I have written about a number of times).

You have to love it when a musician gets exactly the sound he wants from a particular instrument such that when the instrument is falling apart he won’t replace it. James’ other tambourine fits the bill. It sounded perfect last night, but hardly looks perfect. Winking smile

Here is the set list:

The three of them were totally in sync. I’m very excited for the upcoming CD Release Show and hope to see you there (yes, I’m looking right at you!). Smile

As usual, we were not there alone. Here are some of our friends and other musicians who enjoyed the set with us:

Jay Stolar at Rockwood Music Hall

Apr 19th, 2012

by hadar.

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Jay Stolar headlined a set at Rockwood Music Hall. That, in itself, is not news. Jay headlines there every Thursday, but, at 1am, which we have yet to keep ourselves awake for. Yesterday, he kicked off the evening with the first set, at 6pm. For us, that’s as good as it gets.

For most people it’s not. Typically, even when someone awesome plays a 6pm show, the place is relatively empty. Not so for Jay. It was the best (biggest) crowd we’ve seen for an early show.

This was our first full set seeing Jay. Now that we’ve experienced it, I want to hit rewind and catch every one of his previous sets (including staying up for the 1am ones!). I don’t mean to sound surprised by Jay’s performance. We’ve seen him sing (at least one song) five times before, either at a benefit or as a guest. The longest stretch was at a Backscratch, where he sang three songs.

Here’s what I wrote when I saw him for the first time, in January 2011:

Jay Stolar (lead singer for Julius C) was up next, and he shared the stage with Chrissi Poland. He was also incredible. What a voice and what passion and energy on stage (very theatrical, in the best sense). I shouldn’t be surprised. For the past month, every time I ask a question of a friend in an audience (like: “Who’s that guitar player”?), the answer often comes back: “Oh, he’s in Julius C, you really need to check them out!”. Indeed, I do!

Ignore the Julius C part, they no longer exist. Since then, Jay was known as Jay and the Birds. I no longer see him use that moniker either. Now it’s just Jay Stolar, or Jay Stolar and Friends (for the 1am shows). No matter, Jay has enough talent to shorten it even further, to just J. Winking smile

So, it’s obvious that I knew before last night that Jay has an incredible voice. That’s been evident at every show. We also got a few tastes of his guitar play, so that wasn’t a surprise. Last night we found out two additional things. 1) He writes great songs and 2) he plays the piano quite nicely.

I have absolutely no doubt that we would have loved the set if Jay came out solo, accompanying himself on the guitar and piano. Jay had more epicness in mind though. He had more than a full band supporting him, left-to-right on stage:

Catherine Brookman on vocals. She was fantastic on every number. Very powerful and crisp voice. She never sang lead on a full verse, but she took the lead on a number of bridges/choruses, where Jay was playing around (amazing us) with his voice, dancing around Catherine (and the others). Catherine has been on Broadway in the revival of Hair (and possible some others). I can definitely see her in that kind of role.

Paul Maddison on electric guitar. I’ve always been impressed by Paul, but most of the times that I’ve seen him, the guitar hasn’t been highlighted (The Thang Band was one exception). Last night, Jay let Paul rip it a few times, and even when he wasn’t soloing, the lead guitar was an integral part of the sound. Excellent!

Jason Wexler on grand piano, accordion and vocals. Wow. I’ve only had glowing praise for Jason on every show we’ve seen him (which is eight times including last night). Toward the end of the set, Jay stepped aside to let Jason take a long lead on the piano. Holy moly, it was so fast, so clean, so interesting. Basically, mind-boggling. When Jay took to the piano, Jason came center stage and played the accordion. He also sang harmony on practically every number. An all-around wow (to repeat myself).

Rob Pawlings on electric bass. This was my third time seeing Rob. Last night’s performance was super solid, but not flashy. Obviously, he plays what’s most appropriate to the specific set. Here’s what I said about him the last time I saw him, when he supported Abby Payne:

Rob Pawlings on electric bass. Rob was absolutely incredible. I’ve seen Rob once before, as part of The Thang Band, where I also had only superlatives for his performance. Given that this was a trio, Rob carried a lot of weight and he never spilled a drop of water all the way up the hill. He sang a bit, but mostly too far from the mic to really be heard. I heard him sing with The Thang Band and praised him that night, so he should bother to step up to the mic next time he sings with Abby as well.

Seth Faulk on partial drum kit, cajon, percussion and vocals. Of course Seth was great on the drums, percussion and cajon, but I’ll admit publicly, that the biggest thrill was getting to hear him sing harmony on every song. I’ve written many times about how good Seth’s voice is, but it’s usually a taste here, a sip there. Last night it was every single song. It was almost always 4-part harmony (Jay, Catherine, Jason and Seth), but Seth’s voice was so easy to pick out and enjoy.

That Jay, who is such a great vocalist, shares the vocals with three others, is a thing to behold. Kudos to all four of them. In fact, there were a number of a cappella moments (or very near a cappella, with a very soft guitar, or extremely light touch drums) where the singing was a nearly religious experience.

Kenny Shaw on drums. One of Kenny’s floor toms was split off for Seth, who sat to Kenny’s right. On Monday, I noted that it was unusual that we had gone two weeks without seeing Kenny play. Last night was only two days later, so things were back to normal. Whew. Winking smile

I often write about my fantasy of having multiple drummers on stage at Rockwood. It’s happened occasionally (closer to rarely), so last night (in particular at Rockwood 1), it was a surprise and a major treat. Even though we were so close to the drum kit, even with two them hitting at the same time, not a single strike was too loud. Fantastic.

Jay’s songs vary in feel and genre, keeping the set interesting throughout. Rock/Pop/Soul/R&B, even a bit of Gospel feel. Quiet, loud, full band, a cappella and everything in between.

When he was done, the crowd would have none of it. Practically everyone in the place was chanting for more. It wasn’t obvious to me that he would give in, but eventually he did. He gave the audience a choice of a new song, or a favorite that a number of people called out. The overwhelming response was for the new song.

Wow, what a finish and what a great song. It’s obviously not on the set list, since he really didn’t expect to be forced to sing it. Smile

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Rockwood Music Hall

Hurrah! A Bolt of Light! at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

Jay Stolar EP Release at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

Matt Simons at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

Jeff Litman at Rockwood Music Hall

Nisha Asnani at Rockwood Music Hall

Greg Mayo Band Levon Helm Tribute at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

Apollo Run Acoustic Show at Rockwood Music Hall

Buddy Mondlock at Rockwood Music Hall

Jesse Terry at Rockwood Music Hall

Jay Stolar at Rockwood Music Hall

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