Live music reviews from 2013
Photos and commentary from live shows I’ve photographed
WTMD Live Lunch: The Alternate Routes
Two of Connecticut’s favorite residents, Tim Warren and Eric Donnelly, were in the WTMD performance space on Friday, November 1, 2013 to play music and update fans on their new release Etcetera and talk about their song Nothing More. The co-founders of The Alternate Routes brought a bassist and drummer to add fullness to their show.
(l to r) Tim Warren, Eric Donnelly, their touring bassist and drummer
The song Nothing More was written to raise awareness for NewtownKindness.org, which was founded in memory of Charlotte Bacon, who passed away at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newton, Connecticut in 2012. The band is splitting the proceeds of the song’s downloads with the organization. You can learn more about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXb3qBRTtYk
Tight harmonies from the two high school friends who started a band and have continued to write and play music.
In addition to playing Nothing More, the band also performed fan-favorites Carry Me Home and The Future’s Nothing New.
WTMD Live Lunch: White Denim
The four-piece Austin-based rock band White Denim played for a large audience at the beautiful WTMD performance space on Friday, October 18, 2013. The day before they appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and shared some details about that experience. The band played many of the songs from their fifth studio release Corsicana Lemonade, and got an enthusiastic response after playing lead single Pretty Green. WTMD Program Director Scott Mullins interviewed front man James Petralli about life in Austin, the band’s increased national recognition, and his creative influences.
Primary songwriter and front man James Petralli.
(l to r) Steve Terebecki, James Petralli and Joshua Block (no relation).
WTMD Program Director Scott Mullins interviews James Petralli.
An animated James Petralli faces guitarist Austin Jenkins.
Music fans enjoy an hour of free music at the WTMD performance space.
WTMD September 1st Thursday Concert 2013
The last concert of the 2013 season featured returning 1st Thursdays performer Diego Garcia and his band along with headliner Joseph Arthur. The weather is always a concern, and thankfully, it was a beautiful evening. This was also the last season for the concerts to be held in West Mt. Vernon Park. The Washington Monument will be undergoing renovation, so the park will be unable to accommodate the several thousand people that attend the free shows. The station General Manager is tasked with finding a new home for the very popular concert series.
Diego Garcia and his band.
Diego Garcia sings love songs to the 1st Thursday audience.
Diego Garcia chose Baltimore to kick off a North American tour to support his new CD Paradise. Listeners were familiar with the lead single, Sunnier Days, and when it was played the audience responded by dancing. Garcia had a wonderful rapport with the crowd, encouraging them to sing along, remain dancing, and enjoy the beauty of the park.
Joseph Arthur
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based musician and visual artist Joseph Arthur, along with a drummer, wowed the audience with songs from his recently-released CD The Ballad of Boogie Christ. Many of Arthur’s songs are deeply personal, revealing flaws and shortcomings on his journey through life. After recently becoming sober, Arthur describes life lived through the eyes of an addict on I Miss the Zoo. The more upbeat and catchy lead single, Saint of Impossible Causes, got the crowd singing along.
Joseph Arthur and his touring drummer.
July 4th to remember
Happiness was in plentiful amounts in Baltimore last night, especially in West Mt. Vernon Park, where several thousand people gathered to celebrate our country’s Independence Day. The evening kicked off at 5:15 with local talent Cara Kelly and the Tell Tale, next up was Nashville-based band (by way of Colorado Springs) Night Beds, followed by The Wild Feathers (from East Nashville).
Lots of sweat was flying around, as the humidity was a sopping 100%. It’s all good… because after weeks of rain (the grass and flowers were quite lush), we all got our wish for a beautiful evening.
Cara Kelly and the Tell Tale
Unfortunately, I only heard Cara and her band due to driving around and around in an attempt to find a close parking spot. The lady has some pipes and a fabulous backing band. Next opportunity to see her and hopefully take some images, I will be front and center.
Night Beds
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Winston Yellin, his brother Abe on drums and friends on slide guitar and bass perform as Night Beds. The sad, whiskey-soaked songs (hence the image below) of heartbreak, messing up relationships, and begging for forgiveness are all laid out like an open wound. I have had the pleasure of seeing this band before—in March of this year at a sold out Washington D.C. Black Cat gig. The review of that show is posted as Night Beds/Indians/Cat Martino. This time, I just wanted to take in the show and give myself a break. I stood in my favorite spot near the stage and let Winston and his trio perform their magic. I was thrilled, along with the appreciative crowd.
Artisanal whiskey hauled from Ohio and a beer from Baltimore’s Brewer’s Art.
The Wild Feathers
Straight-ahead, loud rock-n-roll as it was meant to be heard. The five-piece includes Ricky Young (guitar), Taylor Burns (guitar), Preston Wimberly (guitar), Joel King (bass) and Ben Dumas (drums).
The Wild Feathers brought a Southern-inspired party to Mt.Vernon to celebrate July 4th.
Rockin’ out with The Wild Feathers.
The band as viewed from backstage.
WTMD June 1st Thursday Concert 2013
It was a humid, overcast June 6th evening with rain threatening as the crowd gathered at West Mt. Vernon Park to see Goldspot, Ivan & Alyosha and Alpha Rev.
Goldspot
The first band on stage was WTMD favorite Goldspot, playing songs from their new CD Aerogramme. Siddhartha Khosla, the band’s founder, has a new set of band mates and is now based in Brooklyn, NY after relocating from L.A. This band’s use of traditional Indian musical instruments brought a freshness to their songs.
I have fond memories of the original Goldspot lineup inaugurating the Towson University Arts Center in 2006 (I think it was that year). The band was based in L.A. then and played only three east coast shows; one in New York, one in Philly and one in Towson. The Towson show was the most well received, and Sidd always remembered the positive support from the Baltimore community.
Siddhartha Khosla on lead vocals and bouzouki.
Siddhartha plays a harmonium.
Side’s love of his Indian culture is represented with a colorful fabric table covering.
Ivan & Alyosha
The second band to play was 5-piece Seattle band Ivan & Alyosha. No one in the band is named Ivan or Alyosha, by the way. They were on a cross-country tour in support of their debut CD All the Times We Had. Four of the five band members sing, so the harmonies were powerful and reached the far corners of the park. I had a chance to talk music and touring with Tim Kim and Pete after their set. In addition to being very nice, they were genuinely thrilled with the enthusiastic response from the audience, in spite of the rainfall. They expected people to leave in droves when it was heavily raining.
Ivan & Alyosha brought lots of energy in spite of the threatening rain and 100% humidity.
(l to r) Tim Kim, Matt Yeates, Tim Wilson, Pete Wilson and Ryan Carbary
Tim Wilson belting out a song for the audience.
Alpha Rev
As Ivan & Alyosha finished their set the rain began falling harder, but that didn’t stop people from dancing and getting ready to hear headliners Alpha Rev. The quartet hails from Texas and is lead by singer-songwriter Casey McPherson. The songs on their 2013 release Bloom explore themes of redemption, creative expansion, personal growth and transformation.
Casey McPherson shared personal stories of family tragedy through song as only a singer-songwriter can.
Backstage view of Alpha Rev playing to a drenched audience.
WTMD May 1st Thursday Concert
The 2013 WTMD Concert in the Park season kicked off with a tremendous line up from Bobby Long, Baltimore’s Great American Canyon Band and The Lone Bellow. The combination of a stellar line up and fantastic weather (68˚ and no humidity) drew about 10,000 music loving people to West Mt. Vernon Park. It was the biggest crowd yet, topping the 7,500 attendees from 2012, and ranging in age from infants to the AARP set.
British singer-songwriter/rocker Bobby Long and his band opened the show. The trio was in fine form and Bobby seamlessly switched from electric to acoustic guitar. He sang many songs from his sophomore album, Wishbone. The song I’m most familiar with is Devil Moon, and many in the crowd were singing along.
Bobby Long’s expression says it all.
Bobby Long and his band mates.
This young man knows how to play the blues.
Bobby proceeded to play Worry About That Now, How Do I?, When I Come Around, Without Me and You, Somethings, Line of Sight, and Anytime. (I didn’t get to see a formal set list, so don’t hold my ears and memory to this song set.)
Great American Canyon Band
The second act to play was Baltimore’s Great American Canyon Band, consisting of married couple Paul and Krystal Jean Masson. As noted in an older post, I photographed the band in 2010 when they were going by Paul Masson Band. At that time, the Paul Masson Band opened for Joshua James at a 1st Thursday Concert in the Park.
The Massons moved to Chicago a few years ago, then moved back to Baltimore. They have found a solid ground in their new effort, and are getting the attention of taste makers such as NPR Music and the World Cafe’s Next Artist series of up and coming musicians.The duo played songs from their EP, Lost at Sea, and closed with the title track.
Not too many people got to see this angle, complete with lyrics and notes.
Singer songwriter Paul Masson
My only criticism is that their set was too soft. They were competing with the sounds of a city, and their lush music didn’t project the way I hoped it would. This is something that can easily be corrected, as I’m sure they’re used to playing indoors where the environment is more favorable to a quieter set of music.
The Lone Bellow
Headliners The Lone Bellow took the stage to thunderous applause and lots of cheering. Lead singer Zach Williams told the crowd “we’re playing 90 minutes and only have one album’s worth of songs, so we’re just going to start making up stuff.” He proceeded to toss out song titles that reflected his immediate surroundings, mentioning the Wyndham Peabody Hotel and That Lion I’m Going to Dream About Tonight. (crowd photo with lion below)
(l to r) Brian Elmquist, Zach Williams, Kanene Pipkin, Brian Griffin and Jason Pipkin
Their second song was the first single You Never Need Nobody and the very large audience was enthusiastically singing along. The band switched from up tempo songs such as Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold to the ballads Two Sides of Lonely and Looking for You. The tempo swings continued throughout the night, and at one point, almost everyone just stayed standing. What’s the point of sitting down when you’re just going to get up again and continue dancing?
Brian Elmquist, leaping Zach Williams and Kanene Pipkin
Zach Williams “conducts” the audience sing-along, while Brian and Kanene harmonize.
A small portion of the 10,000 attendees along with the aforementioned lion.
I have been coming to the concert series since it’s inception in 2005 (I think that’s when it began), and I can honestly say this was my absolute favorite show. There have been many fabulous performers, but The Lone Bellow really impressed me.
The fantastic set of music came to an end around 9pm. After giving their all on stage, the band members signed posters, CDs, and albums, and were photographed in countless smartphone pictures by appreciative fans. I had the pleasure of talking with Zach and Brian Elmquist while Brian was drinking a Natty Boh and trying to unwind. The Natty Boh was a nice touch, even if it isn’t brewed in Baltimore anymore.
If you were lucky enough to be present at this concert, you will remember the time you saw this fast-rising band in an intimate setting. Perhaps when you’re watching them perform on Leno in the near future, or at Bumbershoot, or Newport Folk Festival, or Wolf Trap when they open for Brandi Carlile this July.
Night Beds/Indians/Cat Martino
I had great anticipation for this sold out show as I have become a huge fan of Night Beds. Their CD Country Sleep has quickly become one of my favorite releases of the year. I was also looking forward to hearing Indians live. My only knowledge of them is from watching a three-song video created by their label (4AD). I had not heard anything about Cat Martino but was curious, so I arrived early to find out.
The Black Cat was full of ethereal sounds as I walked into the Backstage room on Sunday night. Cat Martino was singing over a wall of keyboards along with her bandmate Sven. It was quite dark in the room, since the stage was only lit by a single red spotlight. Their music was built with many layers of keyboards and Cat’s use of a looping pedal. Her voice was strong and soared over the lush, mesmerizing sounds.
The duo played songs from their latest release, Yr Not Alone, an EP which came out in January. In addition to playing keyboards, Cat also played a snare drum with one hand and used a kick drum. I couldn’t help but think of Wye Oak’s Andy Stack while watching her perform. According to Martino’s web site, she has toured internationally, opening shows for Rufus Wainwright, RIDE frontman Mark Gardener, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and more.
The Danish multi-instrumentalist Søren Løkke Juul performs as Indians. He primarily plays keyboards but picked up an acoustic guitar for a few songs. Reviews of Søren’s music have noted similarities to Sigur Ros blended with a bit of Bon Iver. I agree, and found myself liking the songs with guitar since it added another dimension to the music.
The songs I Am Haunted, Bird, New and Magic Kids are from his 4AD debut called Somewhere Else. The lyrics tell stories of love, longing and hope over languid melodies.
I recognized one of the two female musicians as Heather from Sharon Van Etten’s touring band. My guess was confirmed when Søren introduced her. Heather played an electronic drum pad when she wasn’t playing keys.
I noticed that Indians will be hitting Austin later this week as part of SXSW. They’ll be playing an HGTV + Paste Presents show at the Stage on Sixth. Their star is rising, and that likely translates to a larger venue the next time the band plays the DC/Baltimore area.
Night Beds
The five piece Nashville-based band led by Winston Yellen took the tiny stage around 10:45pm. They started with Faithful Heights and followed with Ramona. Winston said the last time he was here (guessing he meant DC and not the venue), there were eight people. He then added, “What happen?” Well, for one thing, a collection of 10 wonderful, hauntingly beautiful songs called Country Sleep. Music critics have made comparisons of Winston Yellen’s music, dark lyrics and soaring voice to that of the late Jeff Buckley.
Winston kept thanking the crowd, and seemed genuinely happy with a 200 person room packed to the point of people standing on the church pew along the wall. He announced that his Mom was present, along with other family and friends, on this last stop of the tour. Night Beds was also playing a full schedule of shows at SXSW.
The band played all of the songs on Country Sleep; the aching songs of lost love such as Cherry Blossoms, Was I For You?, and Lost Springs translated well in the intimate venue. An older song, Night Beds, in addition to a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Silver Springs and Mac DeMarco’s Dreamin’ rounded out the set. The range of Winston’s voice is quite wide, which provides the listener with a stellar live performance experience. As a raucous end to the set, Winston furiously strummed his guitar while facing the stacked amps, before falling to the floor. The band quickly ran off stage to cheering, whooping and whistling. After a brief break, Yellen returned, a bit winded, to sing TENN as the encore.
I had the opportunity to speak with Winston after the show, and he said the show they just gave was the best of the tour. I challenged him about that statement, and he expanded on it by saying he was happy the crowd was quiet during the songs. The audience wasn’t as respectful at the previous night’s show, and the band cut their set short as a reaction to the high level of chatter.
We spoke about his upcoming SXSW shows, and I was able to inform him of the circus-like atmosphere that the famous festival has morphed into. It was much more enjoyable for me to attend when there were only 5,000 attendees versus the 15,000 attendees (give or take a few thousand) in 2012.
I asked Winston if they would play in Baltimore on the next tour. He immediately said, “Yes, Baltimore is on our list for the next time we circle around.” With that comment, I left even happier than I already was after the Night Beds set was finished.
Winston Yellen covering a Mac Demarco song.
7Horse/Jerad Finck/dada
California duo 7Horse, Spokane, Washington singer-songwriter Jerad Finck, and rock-power pop trio dada played Recher Theatre on Saturday, February 23, 2013. 7Horse is a side project of dada drummer Phil Leavitt and guitarist/bassist Joie Calio. Baltimore band The Royal Wigs were added to the line up at the last minute and played for about 25 minutes to a very small audience.
dada has been touring since late January to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of their Puzzle release. I was introduced to the band in 1992 when I worked for Capitol Records’ distribution division, Cema Distribution. Money was so tight that I got paid in CDs every other month and Puzzle was included in my large stack one month. I’ve been a huge fan of that CD ever since, and have revisited it many times over the last 20 years. It’s one of my “stranded on a desert island” CDs.
Joie Calio and Phil Levitt (2/3rds of dada)
7Horse singing Low Fuel Drug Run
Total concentration from Phil Levitt.
Joie Calio tearing it up with the finger slide.
I had the pleasure of hearing 7Horse play live during the June 2012 WTMD 1st Thursday Concert in the Park. The duo played plenty of songs from their debut Let the 7Horse Run, including Blackjack Moon and Mind of My Own. The audience sang along to their first single, Low Fuel Drug Run and likely considered Phil’s offer to join the duo in the tour bus for a quick run up north. Three new songs were also played, Famous Faces, The Party’s On and Weeds.
Meeting Phil Leavitt and Joie Calio in the musician’s tent in June of 2012 was quite special for me. When learning of their winter tour, I reached out to Phil for an opportunity to take photos, and he gave the “yes” I was hoping to hear.
Jerad Finck played next and I’m guessing no one in the room had seen him live. That’s got to be a tough position to be in for a musician. He sang two songs and the audience was quickly cheering. It was my first time hearing him play, and I was impressed by his musicianship and lyrics. He said he’s just been signed to Warner Brothers Records and usually plays as a five-piece band. Finck used looping pedals to give his songs a fullness that is impossible to achieve with just one guitar. I was not happy with my photos of Jerad, so I’m not posting any sub-par images.
After a short break, dada finally took the stage. Michael Gurley, Phil and Joie entered the stage to cheers and whistling from an appreciative audience. Phil started drumming, and I recognized the riff from Posters off of Puzzle. Their long set was off to a rousing start! Other songs played from Puzzle included Dorina, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Dim, and their well known single, Dizz Knee Land, which the audience happily sang with them.
I first saw the band at Max’s On Broadway in Fells Point (before it was just known for craft beer), when they toured in support of Puzzle. One wonders if, after 20 years, a band can still pull off a high level of talent for 90 minutes. No one faltered on any of the songs and the interaction and smiles were genuine between these three musicians. More songs were played from American Highway Flower and El Subliminoso, their second and third releases respectively.
Two standout covers were California Dreamin’ and a slow, bluesy version of Take the Last Train to Clarksville. I did stop taking photos long enough to sing to my favorites and savor what I waited so long to see. After the last encore, Phil and Joie came out to sign CDs and talk with their fans. It was a fabulous night of hard rockin’ music with a sweet interlude of intelligently written songs! I’m already looking forward to their return to Baltimore.
(l to r) Joie Calio, Michael Gurley and Phil Levitt
Many years ago, Michael Gurley played guitar so fast and hard that he needed carpel tunnel surgery to repair his damaged wrist. Thankfully, those days are behind him.
Joie Calio tears it up with the finger slide.
