If it's December, I must be at Largo (or an approximation of it)! This is just the beginning, folks; in case you're wondering, there's even more where this came from in the next few weeks.
Watkins Family Hour, Largo, December 6, 2007: Technically, I've seen the Watkins Family Hour only once before, but Sean and Sara have popped in at so many Jon Brion gigs that it's easy to forget the delineations. It doesn't take a lot to convince me to come to Largo, but it's still a testament to the Watkins' easy charm and prodigious talent (as well as the huge shifts in my musical tastes) that I'd come down to see their show, even without the guarantee of *ahem* certain special guests.
Here's what you need to know about the Watkins Family Hour: They play originals and covers taken from various eras and musical styles. They don't have a setlist, but certain songs are more likely to be aired. They like to take turns soloing and make sure that every player gets their time in the spotlight. They also make you think that siblings can be musical partners without heading into Osmonds or Jacksons territory--well, maybe with a tip of the hat to the latter, though in the best way possible.
Tonight was Sara and Sean's first gig at Largo since returning from the most recent leg of Nickel Creek's farewell tour, and joining them were familiar cohorts: Benmont Tench and Gabe Wicher. I'm not sure about Gabe, but at this point, I pretty much consider Benmont to be an honorary Watkins. They should really wrap up the paperwork and make the adoption legal.
Though I don't have much to compare it to, they all seemed glad to be back. Sara and Sean mentioned it several times during the performance, and their big smiles and playful spirit spoke volumes as well. The crowd, I think, responded in kind, and I believe it was Sara who called us their best audience ever, for what it's worth.
I didn't keep a setlist, and I'm not familiar enough with their music to know what is and isn't a rarity, but I can report they took on a Benmont original, beautifully sung by Sara and artfully played by Benmont himself. There was another song that caused Sean to break the strings on two different guitars before getting a single word out; ultimately, the nylon string flamenco guitar was the only one hearty enough to take on the bluegrass tune. And to add to the covers tally, they did Jon Brion's "Trouble," Jon Langford's "Tall Buildings" (an audience request), and Hank Snow's "Any Old Time." And there a whole lot of fiddling too!
With all respect to Gabe and Benmont, the night's surprise special guest was Willie Watson of Old Crow Medicine Show. He opened with about a half-dozen songs, at least one showing off a sense of humor that often goes missing in some of the more egregiously earnest folk and Americana songs. He also returned during the main set for a few more tunes with the rest of the band, including "Rock, Salt, and Nails." The version I know best is Jeff Tweedy's cover, and just a couple of months ago, I heard Buddy Miller do it too at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Listening to Willie's version confirmed how much I prefer a spare, acoustic rendering of the song to the full-blown electric take I heard at the festival.
One of my favorite moments in Willie's performance with the rest of the band was a nearly throwaway aside Benmont made while the players were tuning. I just about cackled when Benmont, who must've taken note of Willie's boyish looks and tousled hair, paired with his standard-looking but respectable wardrobe, remarked that we could catch Willie starring in the Bob Dylan movie.
In what I understand has become their traditional closer, the band returned to the stage. While Sean and Sara took up their usual instruments, Gabe sat down at the piano and Benmont slipped into a bass guitar. The song of choice: "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5. At the moments when the vocals proved too much for Sara, Benmont kicked in; in fact, he was the star of the song, even when Gabe pitched in exactly on cue with that sweep of the piano keys (the "hey, I did it!" expression on his face was priceless). At the conclusion of the song, it really was time to leave the stage, but I believe Benmont got the last word. After Sean introduced him as "Benmont Jameson" (we think), Benmont added, "And Gabe Lee Lewis." Give that man a mic!
See also:
» been hoping that you'd drop in
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
unless you hate baby jesus
With my own Christmas plans somewhat derailed this year, it's nice to know that at least some traditions are going strong. Also, if you have room at the stable for me and two dogs this Christmas, drop me a line!
Aimee Mann's Second Annual Christmas Show, Bimbo's 365 Club, December 2 and 3, 2007: Back when I sent out Christmas cards, I may have pulled the supremely cheapo move of collecting extras from years past and mailing them, with the hope that the same card wouldn't land in the same friend's mailbox.
I don't know if Aimee Mann does that, but her Christmas show, in a manner of speaking, does not.
So though we saw some of her friends (Paul F. Tompkins, Morgan Murphy) and bandmates (bassist Paul Bryan, pianist/keyboardist Jamie Edwards, and drummer John Sands, accompanied by new--for the group--addition Mark Spencer on lead guitar) return to the lineup, we also got a good dose of fresh material too.
The biggest update was a little film Aimee presented, charting her "Peanuts"-like "journey" to the Christmas show. I won't try to describe it too much, except to note that it was hilarious and that both Aimee's and Paul F. Tompkins's acting chops were spot-on. Oh, friends-of-Largo John Krasinski, Emily Proctor, Fred Armisen, Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt, Ben Stiller, and Will Ferrell turned in cameos too. But don't let those names dazzle and derail you; as good as they were, Aimee was the star attraction.
Also new this year was a seemingly local emphasis on musical talent, as Aimee tapped a couple of Bay Area figures for the show. This is where I hang my head in shame, as my incessant rock tourism has led me to squander a lot of opportunities to see the acts who happen to live and work in town. Thankfully, artists such as Aimee take up the slack, as both Sean Hayes and Chuck Prophet were pretty awesome, though in different ways.
Sean Hayes, who graces Largo from time to time, exhibited many of the characteristics you'd expect from someone familiar with the club. That is, his songs were thoughtful, wry, and effortless, and his stage presence assured and welcoming. On the second night, he and Aimee performed a duet that will appear on her new album, and both nights, he rolled out the only song in his repertoire that could be vaguely connected to Christmas: a tune about having sex on the living room floor with Mary Magdalene.
Chuck Prophet, on the other hand, brought the rawk. He and Aimee belted the Christmas song that Michael Penn and Jon Brion wrote a million years ago, then with just her band, he dug into covers of Iggy Pop and Alex Chilton songs. The second night, the band seemed to especially relish the second number, roaring out the "hey"s in unison.
Paul and Morgan reprised their roles as comic foils and showed off their musical bent along the way. Paul provided the especially louche-sounding half of "Baby It's Cold Outside," complete with a moral to the story ("no means no"), as well as the more authoritarian tone to "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch." In between songs, he also worked his stand-up, sharing a combination Christmas story/public service announcement that DARE might want to get behind.
Morgan donned the body suit and tutu once more (along with a big cardboard cut-out of the Star of David hanging on her chest) for her turn as the Hanukkah Fairy. This year, however, she was more than the window dressing for the show, as she also kicked out a rap about the story of Hanukkah, complete with backing vocals from Aimee herself. Yet again, I will invoke audience privilege and not attempt to replicate her rhymes, except to say that there was a shout-out to Loehmann's and the Trader Joe's on Geary and Masonic among the couplets. Though she stole the show, the Hanukkah Fairy couldn't join us the second night, as she had to fly back to L.A. for a one-line role in a Jeremy Piven movie. Hmph.
Aimee's musical contributions were fairly similar to what we heard last year, highlighting songs from her Christmas album, and for the most part, they hit the older tracks you'd expect too. Thus, we got some of the slightly more holiday-themed songs ("Clean Up for Christmas," "Jacob Marley's Chains"), as well as her go-to favorite hits ("Deathly," "Save Me"). I always want to hear "Deathly," but Aimee reworked it this round, starting out with just her voice and the acoustic guitar, bringing in the band, then ending on a gospel-like flourish, in the process delivering on the song's grand arc, both lyrical and musical.
On the second night, Aimee also tried out a couple of tunes from her forthcoming album (due out in the spring), including the aforementioned duet with Sean as well as "Freeway," which I recall hearing the one time I've seen her at Largo.
December means a lot of things to me, as it does to many people, but if Aimee's willing to make her Christmas show a regular gig, I'm glad to add another item to that long list of associated events.
See also:
» we can be us
» it's not going to stop
» i'm the stuff of happy endings
Aimee Mann's Second Annual Christmas Show, Bimbo's 365 Club, December 2 and 3, 2007: Back when I sent out Christmas cards, I may have pulled the supremely cheapo move of collecting extras from years past and mailing them, with the hope that the same card wouldn't land in the same friend's mailbox.
I don't know if Aimee Mann does that, but her Christmas show, in a manner of speaking, does not.
So though we saw some of her friends (Paul F. Tompkins, Morgan Murphy) and bandmates (bassist Paul Bryan, pianist/keyboardist Jamie Edwards, and drummer John Sands, accompanied by new--for the group--addition Mark Spencer on lead guitar) return to the lineup, we also got a good dose of fresh material too.
The biggest update was a little film Aimee presented, charting her "Peanuts"-like "journey" to the Christmas show. I won't try to describe it too much, except to note that it was hilarious and that both Aimee's and Paul F. Tompkins's acting chops were spot-on. Oh, friends-of-Largo John Krasinski, Emily Proctor, Fred Armisen, Bob Odenkirk, Patton Oswalt, Ben Stiller, and Will Ferrell turned in cameos too. But don't let those names dazzle and derail you; as good as they were, Aimee was the star attraction.
Also new this year was a seemingly local emphasis on musical talent, as Aimee tapped a couple of Bay Area figures for the show. This is where I hang my head in shame, as my incessant rock tourism has led me to squander a lot of opportunities to see the acts who happen to live and work in town. Thankfully, artists such as Aimee take up the slack, as both Sean Hayes and Chuck Prophet were pretty awesome, though in different ways.
Sean Hayes, who graces Largo from time to time, exhibited many of the characteristics you'd expect from someone familiar with the club. That is, his songs were thoughtful, wry, and effortless, and his stage presence assured and welcoming. On the second night, he and Aimee performed a duet that will appear on her new album, and both nights, he rolled out the only song in his repertoire that could be vaguely connected to Christmas: a tune about having sex on the living room floor with Mary Magdalene.
Chuck Prophet, on the other hand, brought the rawk. He and Aimee belted the Christmas song that Michael Penn and Jon Brion wrote a million years ago, then with just her band, he dug into covers of Iggy Pop and Alex Chilton songs. The second night, the band seemed to especially relish the second number, roaring out the "hey"s in unison.
Paul and Morgan reprised their roles as comic foils and showed off their musical bent along the way. Paul provided the especially louche-sounding half of "Baby It's Cold Outside," complete with a moral to the story ("no means no"), as well as the more authoritarian tone to "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch." In between songs, he also worked his stand-up, sharing a combination Christmas story/public service announcement that DARE might want to get behind.
Morgan donned the body suit and tutu once more (along with a big cardboard cut-out of the Star of David hanging on her chest) for her turn as the Hanukkah Fairy. This year, however, she was more than the window dressing for the show, as she also kicked out a rap about the story of Hanukkah, complete with backing vocals from Aimee herself. Yet again, I will invoke audience privilege and not attempt to replicate her rhymes, except to say that there was a shout-out to Loehmann's and the Trader Joe's on Geary and Masonic among the couplets. Though she stole the show, the Hanukkah Fairy couldn't join us the second night, as she had to fly back to L.A. for a one-line role in a Jeremy Piven movie. Hmph.
Aimee's musical contributions were fairly similar to what we heard last year, highlighting songs from her Christmas album, and for the most part, they hit the older tracks you'd expect too. Thus, we got some of the slightly more holiday-themed songs ("Clean Up for Christmas," "Jacob Marley's Chains"), as well as her go-to favorite hits ("Deathly," "Save Me"). I always want to hear "Deathly," but Aimee reworked it this round, starting out with just her voice and the acoustic guitar, bringing in the band, then ending on a gospel-like flourish, in the process delivering on the song's grand arc, both lyrical and musical.
On the second night, Aimee also tried out a couple of tunes from her forthcoming album (due out in the spring), including the aforementioned duet with Sean as well as "Freeway," which I recall hearing the one time I've seen her at Largo.
December means a lot of things to me, as it does to many people, but if Aimee's willing to make her Christmas show a regular gig, I'm glad to add another item to that long list of associated events.
See also:
» we can be us
» it's not going to stop
» i'm the stuff of happy endings
Monday, December 03, 2007
kill her off
Make no mistake: Music is the single factor that sparks the majority of my friendships, even way back to my preteen days. Although those ties are sometimes as fleeting as the NME's "best new band" proclamations, they can go pretty deep too. Case in point: This week, my old friend Sharon breezed through town with her band the Ropes on their first-ever tour of the West Coast.
The Ropes, Rickshaw Stop, November 29, 2007: If you've ever heard me use the phrase "visual violation," you can thank my old friend Sharon for the coinage. We met through a mutual friend, and I miraculously bumped into them at the bustling Liverpool Street Station on the way to the V Festival in Chelmsford, England, in 1999. Despite our 10-year age gap, Sharon and I got on famously and have remained friends as she went to college, then grad school in New York City.
Our musical tastes were never that similar, but it didn't matter, as I could always count on her unique take on the world and some world-class character portraits whenever we hung out. I was a little surprised, however, when she told me she had formed a band. Though her love of music and her way with words were always evident, I had no idea she had a lovely singing voice! And thanks to the Web 2.0 world, other fans have found the Ropes, the band she formed with her friend Top.
On the other hand, our musical tastes have certainly changed in the last several years, but I can assure you that the Ropes' wry, misanthropic lyrics are pure Sharon, as evident in songs such as "Kill Her Off" (their first MySpace favorite, I believe) and "I Don't Like to Get Dirty." Though I know bands dread the comparison/influences angle, I could hear hints of Shirley Manson, one of Sharon's former favorites, as well as the more electronic acts she's always liked (Bis, for one).
But as I'm all about the singer/songwriter types, my favorite song was probably a spare, introspective number she and Top performed. I can't remember the name, but it shined a charming spotlight on the two of them as artists. And I really had to admire Sharon for putting her voice out there like that (especially considering how silly I felt over Thanksgiving weekend, hoping my vocals would be obscured by Rock Band's lead tracks).
I'm clearly biased, as Sharon is my old friend, but I'm hoping they can make it out here again. I'll be in the front row.
See also:
» The Ropes on MySpace
The Ropes, Rickshaw Stop, November 29, 2007: If you've ever heard me use the phrase "visual violation," you can thank my old friend Sharon for the coinage. We met through a mutual friend, and I miraculously bumped into them at the bustling Liverpool Street Station on the way to the V Festival in Chelmsford, England, in 1999. Despite our 10-year age gap, Sharon and I got on famously and have remained friends as she went to college, then grad school in New York City.
Our musical tastes were never that similar, but it didn't matter, as I could always count on her unique take on the world and some world-class character portraits whenever we hung out. I was a little surprised, however, when she told me she had formed a band. Though her love of music and her way with words were always evident, I had no idea she had a lovely singing voice! And thanks to the Web 2.0 world, other fans have found the Ropes, the band she formed with her friend Top.
On the other hand, our musical tastes have certainly changed in the last several years, but I can assure you that the Ropes' wry, misanthropic lyrics are pure Sharon, as evident in songs such as "Kill Her Off" (their first MySpace favorite, I believe) and "I Don't Like to Get Dirty." Though I know bands dread the comparison/influences angle, I could hear hints of Shirley Manson, one of Sharon's former favorites, as well as the more electronic acts she's always liked (Bis, for one).
But as I'm all about the singer/songwriter types, my favorite song was probably a spare, introspective number she and Top performed. I can't remember the name, but it shined a charming spotlight on the two of them as artists. And I really had to admire Sharon for putting her voice out there like that (especially considering how silly I felt over Thanksgiving weekend, hoping my vocals would be obscured by Rock Band's lead tracks).
I'm clearly biased, as Sharon is my old friend, but I'm hoping they can make it out here again. I'll be in the front row.
See also:
» The Ropes on MySpace
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