Adam Haworth - or Adam Haworth Stephens, he of the Two Gallants which based on a brief listen sounds a little tougher than the solo show tonight. This was very smooth, soft pop-Americana. There was some subtle skill present in his guitar, both electric and acoustic. He had keys, bass and drums helping out, but none dominated. It was pretty much voice and guitar leading the way. His voice was just a little too mannered for me, as were the songs. Light Americana folk rock that may grow on me after several listens, but were not as immediate as other acts in the field. Decent enough for the opening bill and received warmly by the incoming crowd, but without a lot of excitement.
Felice Brothers - Keep in mind, that many of these shows I attend are to see bands I have heard of, but know little about. Instead of cramming myself full of internet listening and downloading, I prefer to just go in cold and see what they are about. So after some magazine articles and writing a CD review of Simone Felice's side project "The Duke and the King", I was anxious to see what this band is about. Even I sensed that they may be a little too big for the size of this club and indeed, it was a sell-out tonight. The brothers and band members lined up with guitar, bass, drums, violin, and keyboards/accordion. Three people took turns at lead vocals which made for nice variety. What struck me was that some of their songs had a lot more thought in the structure and execution than many of their brethren in the Americana folk-rock world. It reminded me of the last time I saw Sweden's excellent metal act, Opeth. Their guitarist played the first metal riff he every wrote and laughed at how naive it was. Frankly, it was comparable to about half the metal acts out there if not more. But it was nothing compared to the complex music Opeth was now performing. I get that sense here that these guys step it up a lot which of course makes for their positive reviews and this excellent set. They also varied the set with moodier pieces and crowd-pleasing drinking and boisterous songs. You can't go wrong with that. I may have a couple more favorites in this field, but I heard enough to know that I should be exploring this band more than I have.
Quote of the Night: I wrote down an amusing lyric from the Felice Brothers which got a cheer from the crowd, but I cannot read my writing (which gets a cheer from all my former co-workers and staff). The best I can do is "Fuck my whale caravan" or "Fuck my white camera". Those seem appropriate for somebody's band, maybe Syd Barrett. Wait a minute, was it "Fuck my whole career?" That makes the most sense.
it is indeed "fuck my whole career."
ReplyDeletewasn't sure it was totally clear from what you postd above, Simone Felice is no longer in the band. He actually left to form the Duke & the King.
good show though i though Ian (the guitarist lead singer) seemed very subdued - no crowd banter and a quick exit before the encore was even finished. good show though, those guys are awesome.
Thanks. Yeah, I looked it up later, and it could be that Simone who was drumming wanted to step up and do more, but I am sure it was a tricky decision. It is nice that we have two good bands remaining.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Ian was subdued (unlike the keyboardist), so I appreciate your addition as I wasn't sure how unusual that was.