Off the Avenue

*photo by Jon Strymish

This one is coming to you from my new home in (south) Austin, Texas.

I sit here with a cup of some of the best coffee I have ever tasted and I am still surprised to be here and not in Camberville/Sombridge making plans to have margaritas with you tonight.

I have been out a few times in Austin, and so far I have found that the food and cocktails alone have justified the move. (!)

Now because you are dying to know... the live music here is fine. There are a lot of places to find it, and in just a tiny fraction of time, I have seen a handful of genius players at work.

I think anyone who treasures the musicians along Mass Ave like I do will agree that it is not just that it is a talented songwriter/player community. It is this along with who they are; people that if I were the weight of a sack of (red bliss) potatoes, I would run and jump into their arms when I see them. I would climb them like the oak trees that they are. (inspired by the famous words of Jess Tardy, "I'd like to climb him like a tree.") They are friends to love.

You never move to a new city and expect that you will find a replacement for everything you left behind. My psychotic loyalty is your assurance. I cannot imagine sinking down into the refuge of a place so beloved to me as the Lizard Lounge is, and seeing anything like a Dinty Child sitting among the SA setup, tuning up one of the dozen instruments they use up there.

In case I am unclear, I am happy and loving my new city. I am satisfied with having found a true love in the Cambridge music scene. There is not an equivalent to be discovered Anywhere on the planet, at least not for me. I did not move to Austin specifically to hear more/better/different music, I came here to discover more of me.

You who know me know this: my passion for what I love does not run out or stop functioning. I am in it. I will admit, and appear silly (because I am) and tell you that when I think about having cutoff my musical access to Tim Gearan and Duke Levine, I instantly plummet into stubborn, silent weeping. Rose P is not going to sit here and play her new song for me either, is she. So in the meantime, I just text Sean Staples. Because he oversees it all for me, and will undoubtedly text me back.

I need a warm-up for this Oaxaca blend coffee, and to get back to living in this fabulous new town I am in.

::n.a.s::

p.s.
Advice on making this happen is welcome:

"I was just thinking that you need live feed cameras at all the rooms in Sombridge so you can monitor all the musical happenings from your command central position. I picture a bank of monitors and speakers, with a continuous supply of margaritas. Of course you would want to pay the cover to these needy musicians, so you would have direct deposit to their accounts. We at least HAVE to get you a live feed of the Anais show next week (and Sub Rosa, and Kev, and Hayride, and, and, and.)" ~Dinty Child, Facebook

Barns and Pastures

As if the individual players in these musical collaborations were not cool enough, you can also marvel at the creativity that goes into what I have heard from them lately. I like Barn Star and Pastures of Plenty.

As I have said before, Zack Hickman is a master at bringing new sounds to old ones, and using the brilliance that already exists here among us in the Boston music scene, to do it.

Put Mark Erelli on stage in a suit, and immediately start fanning yourself- the man's voice alone, could make a proud man cry. If you get a chance to see Mark and Zack together, I think, DO. (not difficult these days, since Zack played on and produced Mark's latest record, the two have played together frequently.) I am a fan of the two men, and I hope for another chance to see them with the rest of this incarnation of Barn Star, Taylor Armerding and Charlie Rose, soon.

The show was at Toad, the house was full, and all of it embodied what I cherish about local music- seeing the musician and fan community rally for the love of song.

Alastair Moock has been putting his Pastures hootenanny together for nearly ten years. This time the gig was at Club Passim. (and on the night before the folk venue started serving wine and beer for the first time in fifty years! This alone makes for a memorable night.)

The audience had the pleasure of hearing and seeing Sarah Borges, Sean Staples, Laura Cortese, Nic Gareiss, Michael Dinallo and Paul Kochanski in action- with Pastures, the lineup is always this good. Moock's site reads, "the list of guests over the years reads like a who's who of New England folk and roots musicians." Some past players include Lori McKenna, Kris Delmhorst, Meg Hutchinson, and Tim Gearan... *swoons*

I am going to talk about Sean Staples, since that is what I tend to do... in general. Staples is, of course, "a prominent member of the Boston area roots music scene," as it says in his bio on the Session Americana website, but alongside prominent, should be beloved. (and not just to me, though I am likely near the top of the list of his biggest fans.) It is not just his smooth, lonesome sounding voice, or his killer mandolin solos, but the man has a presence that is sweetly missed when not among the players at his regular gigs.

At the Pastures show, Sean did a song that he heard a line cook do in Ireland. I want to thank Alastair for making it possible to hear it, and for giving me a sweet peck on the cheek, without even knowing how much I love to be kissed hello.

You Had To Be There

I have missed maybe two nights of Session Americana's ongoing Lizard Lounge residency, in the last couple of years.

SA is: Billy Beard on drums, Jon Bistline on (mostly) bass, Jim Fitting on harmonica, Sean Staples on (mostly) mandolin, Ry Cavanaugh on (mostly) guitar, and Dinty Child on (mostly) any old thing. They all sing. (loyal, adoring shout-out to former bass player, Kimon Kirk.)

The band is described on their website as, "a suitcase drum kit, an old electric bass, a bunch of acoustic instruments, a field organ: this format feels very theatrical and though the musicians face each other, the audience feels drawn into the circle by the warmth, joy and camaraderie that emanate outwards by the all-star cast of characters seated around the table."

If only these words painted the scene in the slightest- if only mine could. That is how you feel when you come the Lizard on a Tuesday night for the first time, when you go to tell someone about the show, but there is no way of telling. That is why, with Session Americana, you had to be there.

There are musical fiascos, inappropriate inside jokes, curious covers, and more beer replenishment than you will ever see on one little table, ever. You can do anything you want, just don't talk/laugh loudly during the quiet songs. (if you are anywhere close to me, don't make noise during ANY song) The band (mostly Ry) does not invite it, and will give you a good talking to.

Thankfully they don't play year-round, it helps to keep my record in-tact. The earth pulls me there even when I am sure I am taking time away... the earth, or my heart. The Session players know how to make you sing out joyfully and still break your heart. Brokenhearted is on my list of to-do, this and every Tuesday night in Cambridge.

Session Americana

Music = Life

Some time a ago, I caught something- it was bad. Always a music lover, it was inevitable that my condition would either sustain itself or grow uncontrollably. My natural obsessive nature made it very likely that this mostly healthy sickness would be at the center of my current existence.

That is where I find myself today, at 31- In absolute love with local music, out five nights a week, at least, purely devoted. When not out seeing Tim Gearan at Toad, Atwood's, or the Burren... if not at the Lizard Lounge for Session Americana... I am privileged to be seeing my favorite musicians and musician friends play at Club Passim and other venues around town.

Of all the sprouting incarnations in town, I must say my favorite is definitely Sub Rosa, a "secret society of friends and strangers" at the Lizard Lounge. Hosted by the deliciously talented Rose Polenzani, Sub Rosa is an ever-changing musical performance of originals and covers by Rose's community of songwriters and players, with one guest stranger chosen to play a couple of songs and be interviewed by Rose. One of the things I love most about Sub Rosa, is that there is very little, if any, rehearsing. When there is magic, and there often is, it is real and it is unforgettable. (here is a video from youtube, for your enjoyment.)

Speaking of the songwriter community and of musician friends, last night I went to see Chris O'Brien at Atwood's. Chris is currently at work on his second record, after much success surrounding his first full release, Lighthouse, in 2007. Chris was a Finalist on "A Prairie Home Companion" for the People In Their Twenties Talent Contest, and was the 2007 New Artist of the Year on WUMB.

I was really loving Chris last night, though he is already a high-energy performer, he came into himself even more with the cast of players who accompanied him on stage. If you have ever seen Josh Ritter with his band, you will probably remember the mustached bass player, Zack Hickman. This man has unstoppable momentum, and a sharp, elegant style made all his own- and well, he is ridiculously awesome at everything he does. Also playing, newer to Josh's band, guitarist, Austin Nevins. Austin is among my most beloved local players and he's someone you just want to be around for his humor and for his very essence. These two have a dynamic onstage chemistry that makes for an always impressive sound. Charlie Rose played banjo, and Mike Piehl was on drums- you could not go wrong. It was a blast.