Saturday, February 28, 2009

Monday Night Open Mic, February 23, 2009

Lach was back filling in as host. He sang "I'm Lonesome for You" and also a song that he explained came to him in a dream, even though in the dream it was sung by Roger Manning. 

Joe Bendik kicked things off with his interpretation of a piece by Robert Schumann. I guess it was a punk version of a lieder song (which Joe sang in Geman). He also did his version of Home (Home, no place like home).

Ben Sadock did Bye Bye Baby and You and Me and Mr. T.
Casey Holford played a new song that asked "how do we not burn out, how do we not get stale."
Susan Hwang sang "Parking" and "Zombies are Zen" and also made the claim that she only writes songs so she can talk about her mom.
Crabs on Banjo did "How Could I Forget," (I may actually be forgetting myself if that was right or not) Brian on maracas, Ben on bass, Ariel on guitar, Brook on drums. Crabs on Banjo also said that their set at the Fest would be their last show EVER (I'm betting on some reunions now and then, myself).
The Venn Diagrams announced that their song was in Eb for those who wanted to follow along. Rick told a story about his job as a teenager which involved restocking the gay porn section at a video store and how he had to break up a fight among two guys who each wanted to volunteer their services to help with that task in order to get first dibs on the returned gay porn. Jeffrey and Rick sang "For the Rest of My Days" and a cool cover of "9 to 5."

I had to miss a few people while I went on a hunt of the neighborhood shops for a mini dv tape (I knew they'd be expensive at those little delis, but the place next door really had them jacked up, so if looking for mini dv tapes, you might want to try other options).

Andy Junk was on when I came back. He sang his song about Dr. Mario, the video game character
Josh Fox sang - "What is true? Everything is just the way it is."
Jen's Revenge - I got the impression that Jen's Revenge was an act that had been a regular at the Open Mic and was making her first return appearance in a while. She sang two funny songs, one about her period and one dedicated to her husband in which she explained that the things that get her horny are him doing the laundry and otherwise doing helpful things around the house.
The Telethons have been Mark Deocampo and John Mulcahey (who everyone calls John Telethon) on drums and guitar respectively, but it seems as if things are going to be shaken up there. On Monday a gal named Amy was playing drums and Isaac Gillespie was playing tambourine (and maybe singing too). I must admit that I'm pulling this from some rather sketchy notes, but I think the first song they played was Two Trains. Then John invited anyone and everyone on stage and a bunch of folks got up and did "I've Had Too Much to Drink."
A guy Lach knows named Eric Frandsen played a couple of tunes, and it turned out he was a really good guitarist who played from a jazzy point of view. I was a bit distracted by other stuff going on but I'd really like to check him out further.
Megan played some cool bluesy songs, including one that was called, I think, A Good Word. She has a nice voice and was offered a show.

I think it was at that point that I came on with The Sidewalk Talk show. My guest was Steve Espinola. I've always liked Steve as a pianist and songwriter and also as an interesting guy to talk to. The most interesting part of our discussion was undoubtedly his demonstration of the recordings that he makes on plastic plates. Steve brought in an old wind-up Victrola record player and played some music he'd recorded by Grey Revell. It was cool and afterward people seemed really interested. We also talked briefly about Steve's musical influences and about Jorge Regula. Steve played a song called Runaway With Me, which had a really nice piano solo at the end.

It was great to see Mike Boner back at the Sidewalk. He seems to disappear for long stretches and then make surprise appearances. He came onstage in tight red snakeskin pants and sang a song that was about the Zoo. "I am a juicy blue kangaroo...I don't have a clue why I live in a zooooo." Mike defies description. See him if you get the chance.

M. Lamar sang a song about lynching (hang me from the tree...string me from the tree).

The Fest continues....

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