Little Bigheart & the Wilderbeast - Red Sammy -- Velvet Lounge - Feb 18 2010

Red Sammy - Apologies to the opener as I had theater tickets for the Studio Theater's presentation of "In the Red and Brown Water" which was quite good. I have also seen the Folger's "Orestes" which I enjoyed and "Antony and Cleopatra" presented by the best theater company in the world, the Synetic Theater. If you have never seen their work, by all means go. They do stunning visual and audio presentations that make for innovative and accessible theater. Exciting stuff, but back to the music...
 
Little Bigheart & the Wilderbeast - This is my second time for these young upstarts and they were again able to perform a set I enjoyed. The sound was off early with too much bass and not enough lead guitar and inconsistent vocal microphones. But the soundman was on top of that and everything was corrected. I still enjoy their harmonies and find some of their songs quite inventive. They are all good players and have a really good start on putting together a package of progressive rock with lots of dynamic shifts from quieter pieces to heavy rockers. It's not Canterbury prog, but I was thinking often of some lesser known UK acts like Quintessence or Gravy Train. I can only hope they keep working up to the former's level as Quintessence is one of the little known jewels of the late 60s/early 70s. They closed with "Metropolis" which has some kind of King Crimson like counter lines surrounding the main melody. Good stuff. The crowd dug it, although it was loaded with friends as is often the case for younger bands and that is a good thing. The newcomers will slowly work their way in to see this band and the many other good local bands that keep playing out around town. At least I hope so.

Quote of the Night: I did not really get there in time to pick up anything, so I will mention my new gig as a CD reviewer for a Dutch on-line magazine that mostly covers the folk scene. I will provide a link and more detail when the next issue comes out. I am always available to review CDs or MP3s both for this site and that magazine. Just get in touch.