Elvis Perkins - Kinsey -- Historic 6th + I Synagogue - Apr 21 2015

Kinsey - Thankfully, there were no jokes about sexuality, etc. as Nick Kinsey has probably heard all too many. So it is just a man named Kinsey playing guitar, singing and using a kick drum. But the ace up his sleeve was using Elvis Perkins' keyboardist for about half of the set. The little bit of coloring and subtle synthesizer runs really sharpened up the set. Perkins songs were decent enough by themselves and he had a strong clear voice with a gutsy rhythm cooked up on either acoustic or electric guitar. He varied the tones a bit more than the style, but it all came together rather well tonight.

 photo: Rob Gordon

Elvis Perkins - And speaking up famous names, although my first thoughts go to Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, this is actually the son of the great actor, Anthony Perkins and nephew of Marissa Berenson (among a lot more... see Wikipedia). But all that means nothing if he doesn't have the songs or the style. It was quickly evident that he had more than enough of each and he could maintain a keen interest throughout his full set. He played guitar throughout with occasional harmonica bursts and some sort of flute solo once. He also had his ace keyboardist and a woman on bass, zither, or glockenspiel. Nick Kinsey joined on drums for many songs and even the added percussion meshed well with the careful tonal accompaniment to create mystical settings or earthly calm. This was excellent music with intriguing vocal patterns, interesting stories, and deep music that could be playful as well. He is working a terrain I have enjoyed following before, perhaps somewhere between Perry Leopold and Jeff Buckley. But his own voice is confident and powerful with many flexible twists and turns keeping things quite exciting in a quiet way. Although there was room for a few more fans tonight, it appeared he had a strong contingent of people who figured him out quicker than I did. I will be back with them the next time he is through.

Quote of the Morning...  From my Mom earlier (and these days I can't use many of her quotes, sadly):  "Someone took me to an opera on Sunday. I made it through the first two acts but sat in the hallway for the third, which I didn't mind as someone always dies in the third act anyway."