Two months of music

And nearly that much work. Both Mrs. Dave and I have been buried lately, but I have had the good fortune to catch a few shows over the last couple of months.

01/08/06 - Erin McKeown at Club Passim, Cambridge, MA
I've seen Erin a few times over the last few years, most recently last June in Boston and Maine. For the most part she's played her brand of spunky and thoughtful folk music, but for her next album she's decided to pay tribute to some of her older influences - music from the turn of the century, Tin Pan Alley-type songs and a few musical numbers. She billed the show as "Erin McKeown's Show of Standards", and she and keyboardist Sam Kassirer graced us with 100 minutes of old-timey music with her own twist on it. Club Passim is a very intimate venue - the type of place where music lovers go to see music. There's no bar, it's not a "see and be seen" place, just a place to enjoy a performance. And enjoy it we did. From Judy Garland to Django Reinhardt to Fats Waller to a few originals, she had us in her thrall all evening long. The show is still available for download via BitTorrent if you're so inclined.

01/29/06 Storyhill at Club Passim
Back to the scene of the crime. My first experience taping at Passim was a success, so going back three weeks later, I was hoping for the same result. This trip was on recommendation from Mel, who'd emailed us in December telling us not to miss it. Chris O'Brien opened with a short set, including a haunting cover of Martin Sexton's "Can't Stop Thinking 'Bout You", and then it was on to the main act - some very heartfelt strumming and humming. The high point, for me, was a tune about a giant statue of the Virgin Mary outside of Butte, MT, called "Mary On The Mountain", but it was also great to just get to talk to Chris and John before the show - I'd written to them asking permission to record them and they responded positively. So I showed up plenty early and we got to chat about their earlier days and the last time they'd played the northeast (turns out it'd been close to ten years!) as well as bands they'd toured with and/or considered touring with. Very gracious, nice guys and excited to have sold out a 250-seat club after such a lengthy absence. Already looking forward to coming back.

02/03/06 - Mieka Pauley, Club Passim
By this point they're really getting to know me at the Club. I'd seen Mieka before as well - twice, actually - but had never gone to see just her. A friend of hers opened, but not with music - he opened with comedy. In one of those odd degrees of separation, Mieka is friendly with Baratunde, who went to Harvard with my friend Paul (by the way, congrats on the impending wedding!). At any rate...Baratunde opened with a half-hour of topical comedy but - at the risk of sounding geeky - I was almost more interested in the MicroTrack 24/96 he used to record his set. He did get a good reception from the hometown crowd, especially for his segment of what he calls MoJos - Momentary Jokes. For some more of his material from that night, check out his Podcast #009. Mieka's set had much the same material as I'd seen at her set in Boston last March, but with a significantly different flavor - the keyboard accompanist was the same, but she had an electric guitarist along as well to add some "tasteful licks" as she put it halfway through her set. And she was right - it definitely added a texture I hadn't heard before as a duo. She still did a few tunes solo, including what may have been the fastest request ever for her encore, and the results can be heard here.

02/18/06 - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
It's hard to regret not having gotten into a band sooner if they've only been around for a few years, but within a few songs, I started wondering why the hell I hadn't followed up on last October's set opening for Blues Traveler in Baltimore to see them at one of the FIVE Massachusetts gigs they played between October 8th and December 30th. Though to be fair, while they put on a good show even in the 26 minutes I saw them, it's enough to make you wish they'd play a full set every single time. No chance of disappointment this time around, as Grace & the Nocturnals plowed through a 2.5-hour set at the Rock Club, shaking the ceiling tiles and more than a few asses in the crowd. Four of us were there taping, three at the front pole, and I got to see up-close what I'd only seen from the remote balcony at the Rams Head Live - four people on stage having a hell of a good time. The band plays foot-stomping blues rock, and leaves it all out there on the stage, with Grace taking on triple duty on vocals, guitar and keys. By mid-set, when they were rolling through a ten-minute cover of Junior Perkins' "Mystery Train", I'd made up my mind not to miss them when they came back through again. Do yourselves a favor and do the same. BitTorrent if you're interested. The band actually came asking for a copy of all Boston recordings just a few days later, and they could well be listening to my discs right now. Pretty much the highest form of flattery for a taper...