most singer-songwriters play songs of a somber-variety. tennessee troubador henry daggs is more likely to inspire a shit-eating grin. in his songs, daggs tells you why he'd rather visit graceland than go to heaven and why bears are like giant dogs that want to kill you. the light-hearted nature of so many of henry's songs makes it that much more effective when he wants to drive home a serious point about loyalty or a friendship gone awry.
on a recent night in january, henry blazed through kansas city with his collaborators children of spy. henry played an early show at davey's uptown ramblers club with ben summers and chad rex and a late show at the riot room with the grisly hand, remarkably filling both venues--something out of the ordinary as any touring musician who has played kansas city will tell you. at the matinee show, henry played a solo set to a quiet and attentive audience. later on in the night, things got substantially more raucous as children of spy filled out the arrangements.
listen to "fuck heaven" off of henry daggs' record "effing the ineffable."
Hello everyone. Please meet Mr. Matthew Davies. Many met him in Chicago a few years back, but he has since returned to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his wife Steph Davies. They both are involved in some very exciting activity creating original music and original works of art.
Here are a few videos of Matthew playing a house show (The House That Willi Built) in Madison, WI in early 2010.
Whiskers is REALLY tired. It was a great evening in Milwaukee. We saw our friend Pezzettino again, that was brilliant of her to come out to a second performance in one day. Now we are are all eating loads of food bought from Walgreens by Rob Reid and Chris Darby, this was after determining that Grub Hub doesn't help us in Wauwatosa, WI at the early hour of 2:30 AM, nor does that fine American establishment, Denny's. Denny's doesn't open until 4AM.
3 shows in one day. Fun and we have earned the right to be deservedly tired.
It wasn't a second after my last tablespoon of tasty chili that the Damn Kids and Rob Reid said, "Back to the journalism!". So here I am with a few pieces from the show.
Rob Reid during his opening song.
So there you have a quick update, within minutes, direct to you from Derelict Songs blog. Stay tuned for more adventure....up next, Them Damn Kids...then Bremen Cafe in Milwaukee and then a house show in Madison Wisconsin tomorrow night with El-Tin Fun! It will certainly be a fun time.
The rascals just finished the 1st of 3 shows today. The first one was at the Racine Arts Council, it is quite a rad place. Good proprietors and great sound. Great chai.
Writing this new post at a great new little cafe (site of the 2nd show), that is only 5 months old, according to the only principal remaining. Apparently his partner in the enterprise was his brother, but the sibling has already headed off to Eugene, Oregon. Correction: the chai provided at the Racine Arts Council was Almond Joy Chai tea, hot tea. Name of the location for the 2nd show today is Cafe Celeste in Racine, WI.
The woman that runs the Racine Arts Council, her name is Jessika, a great, friend lady. Real swell place, Chris from Them Damn Kids reported that the natural reverb in the room has not even be touched yet on this tour. A beautiful room to play in. The sun was popping on through the large storefront window, all throughout the show. Pictures to follow, charging the camera's battery at the current.
Rob Reid played an encore, per the audience's request: he played 'Engineer from Gary'.
Them Damn Kids up on stage as they opened up for The Sometimes Family.
Currently the temperature is -4 degrees in Spring Grove, IL as I put together this little bit on the House Show's New Year's Eve New Year's Eve show in DeKalb, IL on Wed Dec 30 2009. We had a good night of sleep. We all smell like fire and our host just offered to make us coffee to get things going.
The headliners for the evening and the show stoppers: The Sometimes Family
The Sometimes Family headed-up by Rebecca Sometimes really brought the soul to DeKalb, IL this night. The band includes Rebecca (guitar, lead vocals), Mollie (flute, vocals, and percussion), Steve (bass and vocals), Phil (drums and percussion), and Julius (organ and vocals). The crowd instantly took to their music as they broke into the first song 'Love'. There were several moments when I had interactions with other audiences when we both motioned to one another that the music was amazing. That was the general sense for the entire set.
I didn't realize I had a decent shot of Phil, the drummer. This also has a snap of Rebecca shredding on the Les Paul.
It had been many months since I had seen The Sometimes Family last. I was delighted and pretty overwhelmed by what they are accomplishing with their soul music. The whole band pretty much consists of five music savants. It was so great to hear that they enjoyed the show, as well. In putting any show together, when bands get invited to come along for the show, one always hopes that it is a fun time for all, indeed that was the case for both bands. The music that The Sometimes Family is coming up with, all original material, is going to be perfect for the DeKalb community in the coming months and years. Look for big things to come from this band, on the order of a global soul music domination.
Last, but not least. The maestro of the evening, the dear and beloved, Matthew, from the House Cafe in DeKalb, IL, in this last photo. This man is brilliant, as are the staff that create the wonderful atmosphere and community at the cafe. If a person gets a chance to go to the cafe, be sure also to have a conversation with local farmer, Chris Stanley. You'll be sure to always have a great conversation. That man has some great stories.
Matthew is prepping the crowd, in this last photo, for the balloon drop as the time neared midnight. Shouting Daylight was on-stage at the time. They were a very fun band to close out the night. That band had a really swell vibe, apparently a good many of them are open-mic all-stars at The House Cafe on Monday nights. Communitize, revitalize, and heal.ShareThis
The first two photographs for this post were taken by Rob Reid from the show he co-headlined with Bile Greene at The Satellite Cafe in West Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday Dec 22, 2009. The word coming across the telegraph was that the show took place in the midst of the most recent blizzard that walloped the East Coast and Atlantic Seaboard before the winter holidays.
(Note the Marshall amp that is situated on its side, beneath the Vox amp. Rob was disappointed in himself for not taking a photo of Bile lugging that amp from the apartment to the venue and then back to the apartment. Apparently it was a remarkable feat in the snow, which I suspect was anywhere from 8 inches to 15 inches at that time.)
The people in Chicago miss that grimace now that he has moved back to West Philadelphia.
(Another shot of that grimace. Taken at a show in late October 2008 in Skokie, IL. It might well have been his last official show as a resident of Chicago, in the general area.)
I have played a number of shows with Bile, here in some of the surrounding states. I really wished I had a copy of the song 'Death' by Bile, at least on this laptop. I am sure it is somewhere nearby, I'd post it alongside the others below if I had it accessible. The first time I heard the song was back in Oct 2007, he played it at a venue in Oshkosh, Wisconsin that he and I were both performing at. Wow, what a composition it is. Anyway, this man is a gem and I hope more folks get a chance to experience his music. There is a live video of him, performing another song from an earlier album of his, that I'd like to put up on this blog soon, I just need to learn how to edit video first. Look for the video in the coming days or weeks.
Here are a couple of pieces going up regarding Rob Reid, as he travels with Them Damn Kids. Rob and Them Damn Kids played at a location called 'The Nook' tonight in Kenosha, WI. Here are a few photos from the evening. Currently, the temperature is 5 degrees in Spring Grove, IL. The fireplace is lit, most of us are snoring. It was a fun way to start off the new year. The trek has included shows in Chicago, DeKalb, tonight in Kenosha, tomorrow in both Racine, WI and then Milwaukee, WI. Sunday will be the conclusion of this brief trip with a house show in Madison, WI. Enjoy the photos.
Rob Reid, that reliable rascal, was here Tuesday, & we put on a hell of a show at the Satellite Coffeehouse in West Philadelphia that night. I mean, those five people were really enjoying themselves, even the baby. (Yes, a real baby came to see us! And with all that snow on the ground! That's dedication.)
(above picture is Rob's percussion set-up seen from the stage)
"I'm glad I could be automated. I felt like a robot anyway..."
Rob brought his own kitchenware with him & a tiny guitar. And his loop pedal (the robot who helps him do his job). These pictures were taken with my cell phone camera, which is a pretty poor piece of machinery. Sadly, no pictures of us dragging equipment through the snow drifts. (A bad mistake, by the way. Rob sprang for the cab home: $4 plus tip.)
Rob & Zhenya & I went back to our place, had a couple bottles of Bell's Kalamazoo Stout (not a bad little stout), and looked at pictures of cities, especially a cd of Detroit that Rob was packing, and some Philly shots i have on my hard drive.
(above: Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia, looking east from the top of Calvary Church at 48th & Baltimore)
The next morning i accompanied Rob to the Greyhound station via the Reading Terminal Market, where Rob purchased a banana for the bus ride. Then he was gone. _________________________________________________________________________________
Me texting Rob the morning of the show: Very important. How do you take your coffee? Milk? Cream? Haffenhaff?
Rob texting me back: i don't drink coffee, but in social settings i like to carry an empty mug.ShareThis
Perhaps every entry I develop and submit reminds me of exactly why this blog exists: to be a vehicle and a conduit for getting good music across to a more broad audience. Here, in this particular entry, I have some words to share about Adam Faucett. It was a pleasure to host him with some friends one day last June 2009, the 5th, to be exact. Some nights are so shockingly brilliant, a person has to write about them, just that they might perdure. I'm hoping to do just that with this posting. The story follows below.
To frame this properly and give some context, the audience that given night was completely different than any kind Adam had ever played to before. I suppose every night is like this. This show took place at my job, so I think all of us, musicians and audience alike, had some trepidation going into this. And, much to our delight, it worked out extraordinarily well for all involved.
If there were a snapshot of me from late this morning, I could've been seen reading a little article from Tape-Op magazine about how music and the brain interact with each other, in the process of creating music, editing new songs in one's notebook, listening, re-listening, and performing, etc. There was a brief segment of the interview/conversation that dealt with the emotions in humans. At the time of this writing, it is once again music that is the victor or hero, this evening in my life. Things aren't right at the moment and music seems to be tipping the scales so that matters can get realigned. Part of that process of calibrating the emotions, tonight, involves listening to a song, which will be depicted in the video for this blog posting, 'No More Story'. It is the right song, the right cadence, and it is the right prescription for now. So the author of the song and the performer in the video need to be discussed.
Adam is another one that, when I watch him perform live, I wish i could play and sing as well as he. The experience of listening to Adam, if one were to take a moment to step back for awhile after hearing a few songs, often situates a person into a state of being grateful to have come across such good songs in a lifetime. Once again, the story is repeated that there exists a body of song in this world, written and unwritten, that astounds and that is not heard enough of. These songs from Faucett cause a man to shake the head in disbelief. Slap the face to wake up from a dream. It is probably the voice. Its dynamism. Couple that also with the fingerpickin' on the guitar. The J-45. The patterns of arrangement, the construction of the melodies. The mood. Mix it all together and a person could come up with some of the reason why this man's music is important. But undoubtedly, Mr. Faucett can craft a song, tell a story. Just knowing Adam and encountering him, a person can tell a good story.
I cannot wait to see the trajectory of this man in the coming years because the story isn't going to conclude anytime soon. From Hotti Biscotti to where? I'm looking forward to it. He recently completed a lengthy 8-week stint (Sept into early Nov 2009) of touring with his backing band, Chad Conder on drums and Jonny D on the bass guitar. I didn't have occasion to watch their show at the Gallery Cabaret due to my line of work preventing such good fortune, but I hear the tour, in general, was a real outing that took them across the the span of the country, one coast to the next. Surely they had great nights where all parts of the band were dialed in, as it is often said. Shame I missed it. Last time I heard the band in full was at a house show in Russellville, Arkansas in Aug 2008, They blew me away then.
About this show from June 5 2009, I'll be working hard to get it posted online soon, in the mp3 format. Stay tuned to this here blog for the updates. I heard from my bandmate that Adam recalled blowing out his voice on a song that he shouted during that moment of the night when the crowd just can't let go of the magic: the encore. I believe it was a soul song, might have been funk, but Adam rendered it using the acapella method. I am embarrassed that I can't bring the name to mind. It was the kind of thing that might equate to eating a wonderful dessert item from The Bleeding Heart Bakery on Belmont at Damen, which used to be near the old Lithuanian grocer on Chicago by Damen, their desserts finish off the coffee really well, they also conclude a meal in an profound way. Adam's encore was no exception, it rounded off, nicely, the audience's collective music palette, that one special evening in Skokie. Got some photos to show, too.
There's William Blackart right behind the blurred Adam Faucett during his impromptu encore.
Adam was traveling with William Blackart that night. They both played a set and brought some good friends along, as well. The apprehension I felt about the night was because I wanted these guys to have a great show. I just didn't know if the folks at my job would be a receptive crowd. All of the feeling quickly dissipated within minutes of Adam and William arriving and meeting the folks I work closely with. As I get to realizing that the seasons just changed by calendar, we are now freshly into the vernal equinox. The snow is on the ground and more is falling right now as I edit. I was waiting for the change of seasons, for the snow, and now it is here. It is also about due time that I see Adam perform again. This season of not having seen Adam Faucett and his band perform in a while has now passed. I better go reference his tour dates. I will be waiting for the next time Adam rolls on into town with Chad and Jonny D.
oh, yeah.....here's a photo from said house show in Russellville, Arkansas August 2008 p.s. A special 'Thank You' to Daniel Makos, from Warsaw, Poland, for the permission to use his photos from the show in June 2009.
I wanted to write a review of a show I saw the other day, and I did just that. Only, when I read it back I thought to myself, "I hate it when writers do that!" It was full of fancy words, thoughts about what led up to my excursion to see the show, and in the end, I think I was trying very hard to sound like a writer. If I'm not carefull, I can easily do that again. So let me cut to the chase.
Ty Maxon is great. Go see him perform sometime. He brings Simon and Garfunkel to mind, but there's is a melancholy about it. I saw him Wednesday, 12-9-09 at Underground Lounge with Ryan Suzuka accompanying on harmonica. This is a favorite hangout of mine, and what is lacking in sound-system quality is made up for in gritty ambience. You will be hard pressed to find another bar in Wrigleyville that isn't infested with that very Wrigleyville type that Logan Square types such as myself have come to loathe. However, this little oasis, in it's stinky, underground way, somehow doesn't attract that crowd.
It isn't perhaps the best suited place for a singer-songwriter night, though I find singer-songwriters will play just about anywhere. Like I said, the sound isn't great, and it can be hard to catch what the perfomer said, let alone what he sang. Also, there was an annoying, loud clicking coming from the room with the pool table.
I know Ty has great lyrics. Though I would have liked to hear them better, his melodies enchanted me throughout his set. There were times I thought he must have been singing about something so sad. His song "Dawn is When I Go" grabbed me from the first line and didn't let go till it was over. His album Furthest From the Tree is worth owning. When it's snowing outside, this is what should be playing on your stereo.
I love Ryan Suzuka, and he is brilliant on the harmonic. In this case, though, I would have like to hear a little less of him, just enough so that Ty could have cut through a bit better. But all in all he did a terrific job, and when he played his set, with his soulful voice accompanied by his 6-string ukulele, I got to hear some of my favorites. His banter is adorable, and it's hard not to love him.
What a great night it was! Finished off by Jessica Robbins, I wish there could have been more people there to see them, but the intimacy of the evening was perhaps a contributing factor to the joyful feeling I had when I left that place.ShareThis
This was a classic evening for Whiskers. I had a plan to catch the Rob Reid show at the bar called Weeds, he was opening for the local ukulele sensation Populele. The night was Thursday Dec 3 2009. So my traveling companion and I drove on into the city and grabbed the North Avenue bus on toward the intersection of North and Clybourn. We jumped off the bus and onward it was towards the bar. I rather enjoy taking the bus over the new North Avenue bridge spanning the Chicago River. It provides an great view of the downtown region of the city from the bus. Anyway, as the bar grew increasingly closer and closer in sight, it seemed very dark along the street. I thought this was a bit suspect. Indeed it was. A sign was posted on the door that the bar was under renovation and would re-open the next day. Needless to say, the show didn't happen, but I actually had the wrong date in mind. My fault. We laughed it off, made a call to Rob to see if the show was tonight. He confirmed that I was confused, but proceeded to give me instructions on how to have the "Greatest night ever in America, so far.": go to Little Bucharest bistro on Elston Avenue to watch Alfonso Ponticelli. Ponticelli is apparently playing every Thursday night at the restaurant from here on until further notice.
Alright, so I thought it was a bar that we were going to. Turns out I had to actually spend money at this place, which was not a problem at all, I just didn't listen well enough to Rob's description. Besides writing this little piece about Alfonso Ponticelli, I should really Yelp about the restaurant since it set me off on a good course that night. I could probably go on and on about the restaurant and the human component to the place. My advice: just go and take a date or a friend, or three, and enjoy a night with Ponticelli, on any given Thursday. A person would be hard-pressed to regret for having gone.
Plan A didn't work and I needed a miracle. Laughing it off can only work so much before the emptiness of it doesn't replace the fact that the original plan didn't pan out. Plan B worked. And I should've known better, that any time I see Ponticelli perform, the night always gets the label 'Remarkable', in the discussion afterwards. Typically I see Ponticelli at the Green Mill on Lawrence and Broadway during his usual Wednesday night residency. This given night was the exception, not only did I see him in another setting, but also his configuration was as a Trio (Jason Miller on rhythm, Alfonso on lead, and, I think, Lou Marini on upright bass...still needing to fact check this.). UPDATE: The bassist must've been Beau Sample, who is listed on the band's website: Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan. I kind of had a hunch it wasn't Louie Marini just by looking at posture and coolness factor.
(My only decent photo from the night.)
And now a clip from the night. My fellow adventurer and I tried to snap video in a less than conspicuous manner, I don't think we were successful in the least. But we did manage to create a pretty cheezy table setting so that these videos could be salvaged, well at least to my eyes (note the removal of table accouterments from seconds 2 to seconds 5 in the filming - very classy). The alternative is that I could've left the camera in my coat pocket and flipped the camera on to only capture the audio. So here is a nice glimpse into the world of Alfonso Ponticelli and his trio format while doing the weekly performances at Little Bohemia.
As with many other guitarists and musicians, Ponticelli fits into that category of folks that, once they start playing, I really realize the true effect of music on our human lives. That particular night, during the given week in which this all took place, hearing Gypsy Jazz on a Thursday was a very tangible celebration of La Dolce Vita.
As for me and my own, I have yet another place that I can take out-of-towners to for an evening in Chicago. Ponticelli at The Green Mill is always an event I keep in mind. For those needing a locale to take guests during the month of December, Ponticelli is always reliable on injecting holiday songs, for guitar, of course, into his sets. And with that statement, I have officially revealed my identity as that sucker that always ambles down the aisle of the department store where one can see a selection of New Age music, and by the press of a button, play 'O Come All Ye Faithful', with the new age acoustic guitar sound.
As I think about it, I don't believe Ponticelli's sound has made it to the department store morass. Sometimes you just have to press the Play button on Derelict Songs blog, give the music a listen, then amble your own way down Elston Avenue to Little Bucharest 3661 N. Elston Ave., Chicago, IL, the Thursday performances start at 9:30PM. For those of you staying at home, bring out the glassware and a bottle of your favorite vino. My traveling partner described the night as their 'Greatest night ever in America, so far.'. For anyone residing in Chicago, enjoying an evening of music as interpreted by Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan, their own next 'Greatest Night ever in America' is very much within grasp.
Hey Everyone! This blog was based out of Chicago since its inception (summer 2009). However, I just moved to Columbia, Missouri in early August 2011 and now am trying to capture a snapshot of how things are going here, with regards to music. The locals call this place 'COMO', for short. I might try to document things capturing my attention as I travel to St. Louis or Kansas City, or anywhere else nearby, for that matter.
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