Open Mic, Monday, January 26, 2009

Ben kicked things off Monday with a song from Sting-ra. He played a cool recorded intro and also promised that at Wednesday's show he would have a stage full of synthesizers to provide us with the full Sting-ra experience. Actually that's tonight, when Ben and several others will be performing their rock operas and concept pieces at Sidewalk. Most everyone on the bill played Monday to plug their slot and give us a taste of what was in store tonight.

It was nice to see Eric Wolfson at Sidewalk. It feels as if it's been a while. He played Buddy Hackett's Niece and Sleeping is a Sucker's Game. Is it just me or did Eric sound even more Dylan-influenced than usual? Maybe it's sort of like when people from the South say that their accent comes out when they go home to visit their families for the holidays. Maybe coming home to Sidewalk has brought out Eric's inner Dylan. Anyway, I enjoyed his set and it made me remember many good times of hanging out with him and the very energetic crew of folks who were part of the core group at that time.

Level II--songs from his musical....first he played "The Social"...yikes it brought back every frightening moment of 7th grade dances. Next up was "It's Chlymidia." That also brought back the 7th grade.

Joe Bendik did his foot stomping rendition of "There's No Place Like Home."

Casey Holford mentioned that his residency was going to finish up on Tuesday. One of his songs was this one I like a lot called "Home Song."

Andy Junk sang a song and read a funny story called "Debbie Sheehan." In the story the main character has the Heimlich maneuver performed on him by Debbie Sheehan and as a result ends up spurting a big glob of food on his mortal enemy. It's sometimes hard to listen to stories when they're read, but everyone seemed to enjoy this one.

Josh Fox did "Walking With Strangers." Very nice.

Roland Beto played....some nice work with the Ukelele....sorry I can't remember the names of the songs, Roland.

Ariel did some of his Zelda-related material, which will also be on the bill at tonight's show.

Domino played her song about the tip jar and also Fuck the Mice. I don't know if she based that on Ben K's catch phrase, "Fuck the Mice," but I liked the song.

Brian Speaker and Amos performed Brian's song from HIS musical. The song was called...I think..."I'll be Landing Soon." Man, that dude Amos can sing. Then Brian did everyone's favorite sing-a-long tune, The Bird. Nice Burl Ives cap, Brian.

Ben Sadock sang a cool new song....it was something about a "hard landing." Looking forward to hearing that one again sometime soon.

About this time was when I was called on double deck and started getting antsy about my slot. Monday was the second presentation of The Sidewalk Talk Show and I started trying to make sure at this point that everyone was set and we knew how we were getting things and people on stage.

In the meantime Susan Hwang performed. She played Shaz Butter, which is a song inspired by Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions." I can't believe I've never read that novel, but evidently Shaz Butter features in it and Susan's song is kind of like a jingle for it. She also played "Devil Song," which is one of my favorites of hers.

Next up was Christine (?). By that point my mind was totally focused on what the heck I was going to do no stage in a few minutes, so I only tangentially absorbed Christine's performance, BUT...she did seem to have a lovely voice and I could tell there was something interesting going on with her songs, so I look forward to hearing her again soon.

OK, so we kicked off the Talk Show with a bit of fumbling around with chairs and microphones. That transition is something worth smoothing out in the future. I did some schtick about a bunch of ties that I inherited from the dead grandfather of someone in my office and then introduced and interviewed Schwervon!. Leading a conversation while on stage is taking more practice than I thought it would, but it's a lot of fun working on making these discussions better each time. I think there can be a kind of artistry to conversation, and I want these to be real interactions, not pre-planned. There are a lot of factors working against that, namely nerves, the short time frame, and the fact that fifty people are watching. But I think it is entirely possible to get to a point where the conversations rise to a level of discovery and creation of their own. Schwervon! and I spoke a bit about their era at Sidewalk and their style of performance. After the interview the played Balloon, off their new album.

Mike Baglivi and Ariel played.

Lola sang with Seth Shapiro

Three G Crewl played....huh? I think they were being satirical...not sure.

Brook played Black Spot on the Pavement.
Andrew Duncan did a song with background harmonies from Ben Sadock and Josh Fox. Josh ripped off a real nice acoustic guitar solo.

Learn Burn Build played and then Lisa from Argentina did a lovely song in Spanish.

And then it was time for me to say Hasta Luego, myself.

Till next time.

Sidewalk Talk Show with Schwervon, Monday, January 26

Hey-The second episode of the Sidewalk Talk Show is set for this coming Monday, January 26 with Schwervon! I'm looking forward to interviewing them and expect that they will also perform a song from their new CD, Low Blow. We should be on around 10 p.m. 

Next up is Ching Chong Song on February 2 and then Lach on February 9.

I am so glad I'll have the chance to talk to these folks and hear them play, and I hope you will be there too.

Herb

Open Mic, Monday, January 19, 2009

Hmmm. It seems as if it's taking me a while to get back into the flow of all the blog writing and reporting after the holidays and a couple other obligations kept me from fully focusing on all things Sidewalk recently. Even this past Monday I was a bit all over the place...but here is a cross section of impressions from the night.

Well, first off---Monday was the last day of Bush, and of course the transition to President Obama was in the air and on most folks' minds. Ben spent some of his opening monologue ruminating about this.

Ben then kicked things off with two songs from his Sting Ra opera. He also mentioned the "Night at the Opera" evening which is coming up on January 28. A slate of Sidewalk folks are playing selections from various theatrical, operatic, and concept endeavors of their creation. Should be fun (and I plan on being there).

Next up was Torn Curtain. Tom sang a song about Paul Revere and one called Ashes ("let the ashes speckle my work clothes")

Duck was next with Acronymous Fucks--I'm still not entirely sure I have the name of that song right... Duck mentioned that he is performing an upcoming show with his group Dinosaur Feathers.

Next up was Soce, who I haven't seen around at Sidewalk in a while. He was there to promote Borscht, an evening of vaudeville in which he is appearing this Friday. I remember Soce vividly from the first time I ever visited Sidewalk. He announced himself as a gay, Jewish rapper, and there definitely was something interesting and humorous in the tension between his hip-hop style and his good-Jewish-boy vibe. Soce's set on Monday was performed from the piano where he played an intro that seemed as if it was based on classical counterpoint. This meshed nicely with the rap feel of the main part of the tune, but again it presented a unique blend of styles. Soce got the crowd going with a call and response element to his song, which was a lot of fun. His second number was about Milli Vanilli and included Soce's imitation of a skipping record. Unfortunately a heckler decided to chime in.....

Although I'd seen Chloe Philip around quite a bit in Sidewalk's various schmoozing areas, I guess I'd never seen her perform. She did a very solid comedy set. She started off saying she'd just lost her job, so she's averaging about a wheel of Camembert a day...well, maybe this stuff doesn't translate so well in writing, but she was really funny (and the Scottish accent helps). Unfortunately the heckler dude started up again. Chloe handled it extremely well and the guy was ejected, but it was too bad. What's with people?

A group called The Relatives played. Lovely harmonies and arrangements. Very gentle, impressionistic.

Brook played Pocahantas, which he said was his favorite song of all time. (I'm pretty sure that's what the song was...the Neil Young tune).

After a bit of mosying around I came back in to hear Joe Crow Ryan finishing up "How High the Moon." He also played "If I was a Pirate," and although he accompanied himself on Banjo, he used it strictly like a drum.

Sometime soon thereafter I played a couple songs ("Electronic Devices" and "Gwen Stefani").

Lach read some entries from his blog...and also did what he said would be the last ever performance of "Former President Bush."

Don Cameron sang Nothing.

I was involved with a meeting downstairs about photography and visual matters during part of the evening. Ben K will soon announce what's happening with that, although I was glad to be part of the discussion. However I missed several performers during that time. I did rush upstairs when I heard the lovely vocalizing of Chilmark Valley a duo of two gals that I noticed for the first time. I was really impressed by the very precise a cappella harmonizing.  I look forward to hearing them some more soon. 

A bit later I heard Domino singing a song about "Barack Barack Obama" and then her tune Temperamental Cat. That concluded the evening for me.

January 17, 2009, Swampluck, Lach, Otis

Some quick notes from Saturday night....Sidewalk was jam packed for the debut of Swampluck the group featuring Jordan Levinson, Isaac Gillespie, Ariel Bitran, and Alex P. Swampluck has a kind of loose, rootsy sound and they played a very enjoyable set. It was so crowded last night that I was perched on a corner of the divan behind the sound booth and couldn't really see everything, but it seemed as if Jordan, Isaac, and Ariel were concentrating on guitar, switching off on bass depending on the song, and Alex P. focused mostly on piano--although Alex did at one point pull out a steel guitar. Isaac's brother Chris also joined the group for a song on banjo, as a ceremonial send off before leaving for China. Swampluck was followed by Lach who also played an enjoyable set, featuring a lot of his newer songs. He did work in some of his older tunes, including Former President Bush, which I've heard on numerous occasions, but I don't think it's ever had the same cathartic effect as it did last night, at least for me. I heard a bit of the group "Otis" which followed Lach. From what I remember they featured two guitarists, bass, a drummer and a percussionist. They seemed to be playing some pretty groovy funk/rock type stuff. Last night's was the last of a series of shows they played at Sidewalk.

Monday Open Mic, January 12, 2009

After a couple weeks away from the thick of the open mic, I finally got back into it for the most part Monday. It was really crowded with a good mix of familiar faces and new folks.

I must say that I was excited by the launch of the Sidewalk Talk Show, my new project which debuted last night. It was very gracious of Jeff Lewis to agree to participate considering that he and I barely had met before, although I've often enjoyed his work. I'm anticipating that the talk show will be a semi-regular feature that allows me to have conversations with some of the intriguing folks on the scene. I'm very interested in the history of the whole Sidewalk community over the years, so I was glad to be able to start with Jeff, who first started attending the open mic in 1996. He talked a little about what the scene was like in those days and also about what it's like to make his living as a performer, among other topics. I really enjoyed the conversation, but given the time restraints in a situation like this the challenge will be finding a balance between talking about one thing in some depth versus my tendency to want to cover a lot of topics. If there was any problem last night it was that I had so much I wanted to ask that I kind of threw a lot of questions at Jeff at once and basically asked him to sort it out. I'm sure things will get refined as we move along, and I'm looking forward to working at it. It looks as if the next guests will be Schwervon on January 26 and then Ching Chong Song on February 2. Somehow, with the help of Isaac Gillespie, we managed to get a video crew together and taped the show. Thanks, Isaac to you and your video dudes.

Coo was the first performer and sang a song about getting the "fudge" kissed out of her. At some point she said something like "who's gonna get the fudge kissed out of them tonight? --that's a new goal for 2009."

I was running around a bit at the beginning of the evening so didn't get to see everyone who played, but I did notice that Casey, Dan Fishback, M. Lamar, and Phoebe (she played Horrible Mood) were among those who had slots. It's nice to see Dan Asselin back on the scene after a long while. He covered a Fiona Apple tune (and also played one of his own). Waylon did a cool thing where he played against a backing track he brought in. Roland Beto (sp?), John Murdoch, and Becca Hasselbrook were among the performers on the early side of the night.

A guy named Roland Ramos, who was very proud of his Hoboken heritage, did a kind of Reggae styled rap. I thought it was quite good. It seemed as if he was improvising much of it and I got the impression he was performing with a guitarist he'd just met that night (not entirely sure about that). But I like Roland's energy.

Nick Mace. The song might have been called "When Time Stands Still."

The Telethons. John played Bird Watching and "I've Had Too Much to Drink" at the piano. No Mark on the scene, and in fact John had Waylon playing drums with him on a song. 

Debe Dalton played an instrumental tune with a fiddle player name Emily, and they did a lovely job. Then Debe did Normal.

Then Jordan Levinson played a tune with Isaac Gillespie and with fiddler Emily. Jordan has a real nice voice and made me think of this singer Iris Dement. I came across Iris Dement because I really loved this song of hers, "Our Town" that was used in the final episode of Northern Exposure. I'm not really a big follower of country singers, but she has a kind of traditional style and sings beautifully. 

That's the report as I have it for January 12. Back for more next week.

 

The Sidewalk Talk Show Launches This Monday, January 12

Hey,

On Monday I'll be launching my new talk show, The Sidewalk Talk Show, on the stage at Sidewalk during the open mic. First guest is Jeffrey Lewis.

Hope to see you there.

Herb

Open Mic, Monday, January 5, 2009

Ben kicked off Monday's Open Mic by bringing up Ameeda Chowdhury, the proprietor/creator of Snazl, the web interface that lots of folks have started using. As Ameeda talked about Snazl. Ben would follow with an improvised musical interpretations of her comments. I was helping out with the Snazl sign-up that was going on so didn't get to watch too many acts Monday. But I'll aim to be back in reporter mode this coming week. Thanks for tuning in, as always.

Open Mic, Monday, December 22, 2008

The cold weather seemed to affect the turnout Monday. As Ben was getting the list together at the start of the night he seemed to indicate that it was a bit smaller than usual.

Crabs on Banjo-opened the show with "Kick Ass Awesome, Part II." The song ended up having a lot of references to "Part II" movie sequels.

Isaac Gillespie, Alex, P, Jordan Levinson and Debe Dalton did "Midnight Special. Isaac also did a solo tune with a kind of slow-ish droning guitar.

The Young Dads did "Telling on You." I really liked their song "I Could Never Eat That" which was sung from the perspective of two teenage girls. On one level it was kind of odd to hear these two guys singing a song that dealt with eating issues and other matters that fill the consciousness of high school girls, but on the other hand they did it so well that it seemed organic and logical. 

The Venn Diagrams. Jeffrey was playing the saw, and whistling....did a nice job on a tune that might have been called "Work Tonight." They then asked if we wanted to hear a darker Kurt Weill song or something more upbeat fun. Most folks voted for the fun. We got a rousing, theatrical version of "Downtown," and most of the audience did sing along quite enthusiastically. A nice set from the Venn Diagrams, who have been playing a residency at Sidewalk this month. 

Steve Stivola. Nice melodies and a nice voice. "Help me keep the demons at bay, help me find better angels to take me away." Steve also sang a song all about the open mic at the Baggot Inn (prior to the unfortunate closing of the Baggot Inn a while back).

Aaron Invisible-He is a high school student it seems....Did a song with Isaac and Alex P. Hard to explain the quality of Aaron's voice, but it is unique.

Becca Hasselbrook played-a song along the lines of "I'm not falling in love." Had the feel of an old show tune.

Jack and Alton (?), two 14 year-olds, played a couple songs, including one that seemed kind of Radiohead inspired. Are the 14 year-olds really that world weary already? Well, I was encouraged that their musical tastes were as sophisticated as they seem to be and also by the inventive electric guitar solo one of them played.  Their next song they said they wrote when they were "like 9" years old. This one had a kind of pop feel to it "Take my heart, take my hand, take me to another land." Another nice guitar solo. One of the best things about Sidewalk is that it's a place where age is for the most part irrelevant. It's the songs that count. It's great to see younger people coming in--who can influence those of us who have been around awhile and also soak up some of the other music that's going on. Jack and Alton seemed to be accompanied by a large bevy of parents and younger brothers and sisters.

Julie Hill - a song called Mt. Rushmore.    "Your lips kiss my cement face and I disintegrate." There was something cool about how she sang "cement face." Then she played "Slow like a snail." "I'm gonna nail you slow like a snail." It's taken me a little while to get a grasp of where Julie Hill is coming from. I may need to hear her more to fully catch on but there's definitely an interesting and personal dynamic there. Will be nice to see where it all goes.

Debe Dalton played "Ed's Song." 

Ben introduced a new feature, The Monday Night Bulletin, and I was glad to accompany him on piano.

I went home a little early in order to get ready to fly out of town on Tuesday. I'll still be away next Monday, so there will be no update this coming week.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays.

Herb

Open Mic, Monday, December 15, 2008

Lach was back Monday, filling in for Ben. This is the first time he's hosted the Open Mic since stepping down in July. It was nice to be back in his familiar hands, but in general the evening proceeded without a lot of hub-ub about that. Lach seemed to pick up right where he left off without a hitch.

Lach-started off with a Christmas carol-Little Bummer Boy (?) I couldn't quite catch the lyric, but it was definitely based on Little Drummer Boy. He also played Former President Bush and was the target of a shoe thrown at him by Pablo Das.

I'm noticing that in lots of cases for performances during the two-song rounds I only remember or made notes about one of the two songs played. So, we'll have to assume that the full extent of each performance is remembered by the walls, time, and other folks there, and count the following as a general record for the future of what transpired.

Sam Barron-Little Sister and Chinatown Lights

Brook-played The Year I Got it Right

Hannah Fairchild-"You promised that you would be careful for both of us, that's why I like you." Hannah showed her circular circulars, and also played "Slow Burn."

Katey Gunn-a bouncy piano tune-I think she was singing "The people hate the people, Kill the people."

The Young Dads-"Bet you didn't know that I was hiding in your car" and "What's the point of having a threesome" They said they were playing the first song they'd ever written and the latest. "Hiding in your car" was the first. The second song had lots of techniques for lasting longer in the sack. Funny stuff.

Talk City, who is from Colorado, played some songs on the autoharp-For Free was the first one. It was kind of wacky somehow. He was wearing a black and red cowboy shirt with a khaki Communist kind of hat.

Dan (don't know his last name) played "Do I Still Have You," and a cover of "Girl from Ipanema," an interesting choice for a young guy like Dan. Most often I hear Girl from Ipanema covered in a jazz setting with a strong Bossa nova feel. But it is definitely a nice tune and it was nice to hear it.

Maggie Nuthall-Maggie was very excited about her upcoming full-length show on Sunday the 21st.

Smith Stevens from Scotland, sang "In My Room," a song about one night stands

Alex, from Yugoslavia via L. A. played.

Huggabroomstik, a slimmed down three-piece version of the group (Preston on Casio and Liv on bass were the other two beside Neil)--played a really cool song about a guy who gets in a suitcase to go to an island. Neil's much more complete description was better than my brief summary. Ask him about it sometime.

Elaine Romanelli played with accompaniment from Josh Fox and sang Naughty Lola. She has a really nice, strong voice.

Da Da Veda--an older bearded fellow dressed entirely in an orange robe with an orange turban was next. He spoke about how he had lived all around the world. He sang a song..."As the World Spins Around," "There's some people in this world withouth any voice, without any choice..."

Boy, I have to admit things get really vague here for the next few folks....Eon the Ace was a hip-hop dude who performed to a recorded track, The Fools played. They were lovely as usual. Brian Speaker did one of his songs of the day, a number called "Soda Pop," that had everyone singing along.

Eli James sang a song that he said was from a one man musical he was writing. It was a catchy tune about "Suzy."

Coo. I remember Coo from a long time ago when she performed this crazy song about discovering marijuana and about her pot dealer. It was sort of almost like a spoken narrative with some abstract piano behind it. Coo comes very sporadically these days, and she's played the same song, "If You See Something, Say Something," each time I've seen her recently. She gets up and introduces the song in a deep southern accent, which comes across as quite dissonant with her Asian appearance/heritage. At times she's worn this big cowboy hat, which adds to the whole surreal quality of her act. Her style is very funny, in a performance art kind of way. I like her a lot but I'd love to hear another song.

Oh yeah, at some point in there I played....Fishes.

Friday, December 12, 2008

I stopped by Sidewalk Friday to hear Liv Carrow, Nan Turner, Major Matt and Dan Fishback. Unfortunately, even though it was the night of his EP release I had to leave before Charles Latham played. I have enjoyed his songs very much before and regretted missing him the other night.

But I did quite enjoy the other acts I heard. There was some very good songwriting on display. 

I'm becoming familiar with some of Liv Carrow's songs, like Madame Rosie and Red Lentils, but there were some I didn't know the other night, including one in which she asks "will you still be around when my hair gets back to brown." You kind of have to hear it, but it asks whether the person to whom she is singing will stay around through all kinds of passages. She also sang "I'll be Your Canary," which includes a lot of whistling, and also sang an interesting song that was about, I think (I'm pretty sure) Albert Einstein's wife. She covered Barry Bliss's song about Joan of Ark and finished up with a cover of that song "Little Boxes" (all made of ticky tacky).

It was interesting to hear Nan Turner solo. I'm used to hearing her with Matt as part of Schwervon, but one of the things that stood out to me the other night was her strong sense of arranging, dynamics, and style. Nan played "Il Postino (inspired by the movie, I believe), a song "Lead Balls" at the piano, and a lovely duet with Dan Fishback in which he played drums and both sang. Nan also sang a rap song about Lee Iacocaa.

I've heard Major Matt play solo before, but each time I'm struck by how strong his songs are. They're very literate and melodic, even sung in Matt's kind of languorous slightly nasally style (I should say particularly because of that-it's a great sound). 

Matt talked about how when he was touring in Europe it was always mandatory that he explained the terminology in a song of his that referred to football. Over there they think of football only as soccer. It was interesting to learn that Matt had been a football player in earlier years, playing on the front line. The song, which I think he said is called Mr. Softy, had the line "every time I get to fourth down I punt," which was the main football reference.

Matt also played Tripping Myself, which is relentlessly catchy. I just looked it up on MySpace so I could listen more carefully to the words. I loved this part:

Every day you pull apart 

the macrame inside my heart 

and twirl it on a fork and spoon 

and serve it on a silver moon. 

Every time i hold your hand

the music of your favorite band 

begins to play inside your head 

and drowns out all the things i said

At another point in the show Matt listed all the types of milk available at the Fourth Street Coop, where he works as a member. After listing all the various rice, hemp, and soy milks available Matt pointed out that the list did not include "vitamin fortified chocolate soy milk," evidently because that would be just too much goodness for one food to contain.

Matt finished up with Rough, Rough, Rough. Which is about dogs and life.

Dan Fishback started off with, I'm pretty sure, a cover of the Pixies song Where is My Mind? As an aside, I can't believe I only just noticed the Pixies. Coincidentally they came up in a conversation with Matt and Nan the other day and I checked them out and they're great. Obviously a bridge between all the rock that came before and after the Nirvana/Pearl Jam thing. But that's another story.

A lot of Dan's songs are about his relationships, feelings for love interests, kind of combined with political or social views. One that stood out to me was "I'm going to make out with everyone who philosophically disgusts me," which actually was more about trying to work through personal issues about relating to people. He also has a song that has the line "Nan Turner gave me back my soul," which I found interesting, although I think most of the song is about Liz Phair. And he played "You found the only boy who needs less love than a machine."I was harboring hope that Dan would play his cover of Boy in the Bubble, which I really enjoyed the other night. No luck, but I'm sure there will be another time for that. 

Open Mic, Monday, December 8, 2008

Hey. Some of the previous posts here had gotten really long. I thought I'd experiment with a new, punchier style!

A cold night in the East Village.

Krieger-finally learned what a "duvet" is.

Speaker-announced the celebration of his 100th song of the day--a performance this coming Thursday. Played "Layin Low with the Dirt Worms and "Telephone Switch Board Operator," Good stuff, Brian, particularly the first one. Speaker-later on played Scrabble with Lach.

Baglivi, w Ariel. the two of them together have a great sound. Some really good guitar playing and Mike's voice sounded so impressive the other night. A random guy in the front row with a drum started playing along and it really worked. Songs: "New York Afterparty," and part of "Mary Rose" cause they ran out of time and couldn't play the whole thing.

Simone-hmmm. Don't know what to make of her quite yet. She played in a percussive plucking style that might be kind of cool or maybe a little weird. A genuine effort at something interesting though. The folks jamming downstairs were really loud and kind of competed with her performance.

Young Dads. Man, these guys are great. Can't say enough about them. I remember feeling the same way when I heard Ching Chong Song the first time. It was something so original and striking. If you haven't seen them yet, the YDs are two guys, one who plays bass and the other a box drum that he sits on. Yet with just the two of them their sound is very full. They played "I Have Planned Stuff for Us," and "Who Invited This Guy," about assholes we all have met. I noticed that they have at least two songs that mention random lists. In other hands something like this might seem like trying too hard, but they keep it well within the range of tasteful. Looking forward to more.

Anis Hofmann (sp?)

Was wearing a newsboy type cap and a 70s nylon shirt with Wagon Wheels. One of his songs was Shipwrecks on the Shore.

For reasons not worth recounting I had to leave really early last night so that's all I got. 

Anything else fun happen, anyone?

till later,

Herb

Casey's Birthday, December 5, 2008

Casey Holford put together a solid and interesting slate of performers for his birthday show. This will most likely be an abbreviated description, since I was a little zonked out by a long work week last night, but I did want to get a few things down. When I arrived Fruitfly was just finishing up. Although I didn't get to hear very much of them last night, I've always enjoyed them in the past. I saw them the first time out at Brooklyn Tea Party in a memorable show. Vin hasn't been around too much at Sidewalk lately, so it was nice to see him there. Dan Fishback came on stage with long brown locks flowing from under his orange knit cap It couldn't have been THAT long since I've seen him could it? Dan played several of his own songs, but also did two really impressive Paul Simon covers, The Boy in the Bubble, and You Can Call Me Al. He said he's working on learning all of Graceland. Preston Spurlock was rock solid Preston. He sat at one of his little keyboards and used the rhythm track to accompany his songs about Pacific Newts and his desire to be put in cryogenic freeze before dying among other things. There were lots of interesting covers performed Friday. Preston, Daoud, and Matt Holford did Joe Jackson's tune Steppin' Out. Preston closed with his song Pod Corn, which he says he's indifferent to but which other folks like a lot. It definitely is a catchy little song.

Erin Regan did a lovely set. She's another friend who hasn't been around as much lately and who I miss seeing at the old place. Schwervon did some of their new tunes, including at least one they said they were performing for the first time. They really have a great rock sound, and I'm always amazed it's just the two of them. Casey Holford's group the Outlines also rocked out. In addition to his brother Matt, the group featured Daoud Tyler-Ameen on drums, and a friend, Wes, on bass. I particularly liked the way Matt Holford's keyboards blended with the rest of the group. He seemed to use an electric piano sound most of the night, but also played some other whacked out synthesizer on a couple of songs. I loved the cover that they did of Regina Spektor's song Us. I really like that song anyway, but I think they did a real nice job with it.

Sidewalk was really crowded Friday. It was nice that a lot of folks came out for Casey's show, including various family and friends. Oh, and Brook Pridemore was on sound, starting off his new spot behind the board.

Open Mic, Monday, December 1, 2008

The room was full when I arrived Monday a little later than usual, around 8:15. But it soon thinned out and the crowd seemed a little sparse the rest of the night. Could be that the Thanksgiving holiday was a factor.  Yet, there were two transcendent moments the other night. The first was a set by a duo called The Young Dads, and the other was an amazing montage of sounds that came from an encounter between Julie Hill and her loop machine.

Although I missed Ben K's opening monologue, I did come in around the time he was commenting how his formative religious experience was so slight that although his dad and he would drive around looking for a place to go to services, they would eventually give up and go home to watch the Cleveland Browns. It was Isaac Gillespie, though who called Ben on the contradiction in his memory. Jewish religious services are on Saturday but pro football games are on Sunday. Ben moved on before straightening us out on that, so we're all still wondering!

Annie Crane sang beautifully on an a capella song, which she said was a traditional piece, and then played and sang on a song about Seneca Falls.

Touching You got up and started his set by criticizing the Mayor, as he usually does. Saying that he was inspired by Annie he explained that he would do an a capella song, although it was one that nobody liked but him. The song was something like "When toys disappear, it means lesbians are near," and consisted of a litany of rhymes about lesbians and various objects." Sophisticated stuff. Touching then proceeded to offend just about everyone in the room by singing a song about how only assholes ride the subway. Last week I was rather entertained by Chris's extremity, but this week I felt like he was just doing whatever he could to be provocative. That seems to be his approach to just about everything from what I can tell by reading news reports about his Mayoral campaign, arrests, and other political shenanigans.

Scott Alexander sang "Pennies are Annoying" and "You are Not a Market." Brian Bradley played a song at the piano that he said might be called "Eyes Open Wide. Casey Holford did an interesting song that had lines like "instead of hanging out, we play shows/we planted a garden of good art and our plans are to just let it grow." There was more to that thrust that I couldn't write down, but the song very much seemed to be from the perspective of someone whose life is formed around a creative community.

The Young Dads seemed quite inauspicious as they came onstage and set up, but I think just about everyone in the room found them to be surprisingly entertaining and original. One of the dads played bass and the other a box drum. They both sang and they harmonized in a high range. Their first song, "Forever Grateful for the Young Dads," they said, was about how their lives sucked before they formed their band. I can barely explain what it is that was so compelling about these guys, but for one they were just plain hilarious. Their second song was called "Four Item List" and was about lists of four items, things like "Books by Michael Crichton," and "The Hyundai Family of Automobiles." I'm not sure these songs were rife with deep meaning, but they were interesting, funny, musical and stylishly played. Ben offered them a show right away. I look forward to hearing them again.

Rafael peformed some interesting spoken word pieces., Lynn played two songs, Kaleidoscope and Double Down at the piano.

Julie Hill came onstage with her loop machine but soon realized that she couldn't use it with the xlr connectors on Sidewalk's microphones. She seemed intent on using the box though and decided to go home to get her microphone with the right input. Stay tuned for Julie, part II.

Lach was back at the Open Mic. Very good to see him. He played a song that I thought might have been new, since he was reading the lyrics, that was called "Lonesome For Ya," and another called "Comfort You."

Eileen, performed with her friend Britt, and a guy named Constantine who she and Britt met that night. They did "Bad Man" and "Let's Get Drunk." I must admit that I was transfixed by Eileen's midriff and, although was abstaining from my usual dose of Brooklyn lagers Monday, almost was convinced by Eileen's second song to pick up a pint.

Brook Pridemore played a new song on ukelele..."blood on my mouth, blood on my hands, getting too old to be an angry young man, made this bed and I intend to see the sun rise again." His second song was a new one too, about getting out there and getting it right.

I went out and schmoozed for a bit but came back in to hear Steve Stevola. This guy has a very lovely sound. I think the song was called "I Melt Away," but it had a gorgeous melody and was very nicely played and sung.

Frank Hoier played a laid back song with a soft guitar accompaniment. Nice to see Frank too. Frank was one of the regulars when I first started coming to Sidewalk, part of the group that would sit down front near the exit door. 

Isaac Gillespie brought Ariel Bitran, and Jordan Levinson on stage with them and explained that they were a group called Swamp Luck. It's interesting to see a bit of a contingency forming among these folks and a few others all interested in a kind of rootsy, bluesy sound. That's a bit of a different direction from some of the folks who have been identified with Sidewalk in the past who play with a little bit of distance from that style. They played a kind of ballad of a woman on a murder spree...shot down in the first degree.

Eileen, Britt, and Constantine were back. Britt did more of the singing this time. The song was about how he only laughs at the jokes of a girl he knows because of the way she looks. "I only laugh because you're hot. You think you're funny but you're not. I like to look at you, that's why I laugh like I do, because you're hot." Hmmmm. 

Candy Apples accompanied Andrew Duncan. They played "Part Time Woman." 

Soon Julie Hill was back, this time with a mic that she could plug into her loop machine. Julie covered Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah, and by mistake, intention or most likely a mixture of each, it turned into a thick montage of overlapping voices and sounds. At first she created a percussion track by looping a ch-ch-ch-ch sound that she voiced. But she was having problems with the rhythm when she tried to come in with the vocal melody over that. She made a number of false starts but finally just decided to go for it no matter what happened. So what happened was that she layered all these loops of her singing, some of which included random crowd noise and other sounds, and the song kept getting denser and crazier. Finally after it built to a cresendo she sharply cut the looped sounds out and went back to singing a capella. She then gradually added in a few more vocal layers and ended beautifully and softly as Ben lowered the lights.

Dave Deporis was next. The guy has a nice style and a lovely voice. I'm starting to get familiar with this song he does (and did on Monday) that has a hook that goes "You're my baby, you're my baby." If you've heard it more than once, it will stick in your head.

Debe Dalton did a new song, which I think she said was called "Just Love." What can I say about Debe? She never fails to impress. The song was just so thoughtful and rich. 

Theatrical Thoughts

I wrote the other day that I wondered why there isn't more theatricality in the presentations at Sidewalk, and Ben Krieger later sent an email to let me know about "A Night at the Opera," an evening of "rock opera/song cycles" by Phoebe Kreutz, Ben Krieger, Brian Speaker, Levell II, Aaron Jones, and Ariel Bitran. The bill is scheduled for January 28.

This evening points out that in fact a number of Sidewalk folks HAVE been working in a more theatrical vein. Is it a trend? Well, even though I didn't recognize it until now, it does seem that there are more folks these days creating work with a dramatic component.

Another type of theatricality, though, can show up in how people present themselves even when playing a set of individual, unrelated songs. I always loved how the Beatles, in their early years, had matching suits and would bow in unison at the end of a song, or James Brown's schtick when he would collapse on stage in a moment of overpowering emotion and then his aide-de-camp would come on and wrap him in a glittery cape and help him off stage. I don't think I've satisfied this yet in my own shows, but I've often wanted to try for something along those lines. If only I could find band members who would agree to wear coordinated outfits! 

November 25, 2008-Liv Carrow, Cornhole Connection, Phoebe Kreutz's Gilgamesh

We had a nice Thanksgiving down here in Miami. But even with the parents (and me) falling asleep on the couch after the big meal, my thoughts still drift back to Sidewalk. Just a few words on Tuesday's show with Liv Carrow, Cornhole Connection, and Phoebe Kreutz's Gilgamesh musical.

Listening to Liv lately, I realized that her songs remind me of what I consider real "Antifolk" (although on the other hand I still deny that there is such a thing as Antifolk). But anyway, she seems to fit in with the Moldy Peaches-ish, Jeff Lewis-ish, style that is still associated with Sidewalk in many ways. There was one song in particular where she was repeating over and over "you'll keep it to yourself" that particularly made me think about this. She got in a good number of songs the other night...I particularly like one that she does about Red Lentils. She also did a cover of a Roy Orbison tune, which I think was "In Dreams."

Julie LaMendola and Nan Turner made a return engagement in their improvisatory extravaganza "Cornhole Connection." The gals started the show side by side at the piano. They soon launched into a long piece about Hemingway. They also covered Stairway to Heaven in a very free style, and I know that I remember seeing Nan on the floor again in one moment of passionate expression. Julie sang a long rendition with several false endings of a song that went "Let the sun shine in/face it with a grin/frowner's always lose and smilers always win/Let the sun shine in/face it with a grin/open up your heart and let the sun shine in." Julie also rocked out on a guitar solo at one point. The gal is multitalented for sure.

Interestingly improvised acts have shown themselves with a bit of frequency recently. I remember that Lach used to improvise songs at his late night sets at the end of the Antihoots, and Crabs on Banjo has been holding down the Wednesday nights for a while now. And Cornhole Connection seems to be mostly improvised. It takes some guts to put yourself out there like that, and I sometimes wonder myself how it would be to try something like that. But on the other hand my actual writing method is just the opposite--to labor and labor and rewrite and rewrite.

Phoebe Kreutz's musical Gligamesh tells the story of the Sumerian King who battles the feral Inky Do. Eventually the two team up and become friends, but Inky dies. Phoebe explained that she wrote most of the musical quickly, like in four days. I was impressed with Phoebe's songs, particularly her lyrics. For one thing, she has a very strong sense of rhyme, and manages to find ways to get to them without straining. Phoebe drew on a big group of friends to play the different parts in the musical (and some parts were played by multiple performers)...I probably won't remember them all, but Preston, Matt, Liv, Amos, and Nan appeared. I hope to hear the songs again sometime. A cast album maybe? (Thanks to Wikipedia I've just discovered that the character is named "Enkidu" not "Inky Do" so let me stand corrected.)

By the way, seeing Phoebe's musical reminded me that I've often wondered why there isn't more theatricality in the presentations at Sidewalk. Maybe it's just that my own tendency seems to be to gravitate toward spectacle whenever possible. I'm always imagining costumes, backup singers, and follow spots. I know it can be hard to pull this kind of thing off, but I think there could be more collaborations that head in this directions. For sure we need more choreography and a Sidewalk dance corps.

By the way Sidewalk's waitress Adi (sp?) told me the other night that she is moving back to Israel. That was a suprise. I'll miss her.

Open Mic, Monday November 24, 2008

Brian K. opened with a long intro. He kept trying to wind up his spiel in order to start the show, but would then get off on a tangent until Brian literally brought the lights down on him. It was pretty funny. I do remember that as part of his opening talk Ben relived the evidently traumatic moment when his dad explained to him "what gay was."

I'm so used to seeing Ariel Bitran in the many groups for which he accompanies on guitar, that I realized I wasn't all that familiar with his own solo stuff. He surprised me with a kind of Carl Perkins/Robert Goulet/Adam Green voice (Adam Green on his solo records, that is). He played a song called (maybe) "The Opportunity is Lost" and then one from his series based on the Legend of Zelda. You know I do my best to stay current, but I must admit that I haven't yet gotten too hooked on the video games that the kids seem to love. The Legend of Zelda definitely has passed me by, so I wasn't too able to identify with Ariel's song about that world. But I'm sure for those who are captivated by Zelda it was a rich experience. I did like the mouth clicking that Ariel did in the intro to the song.

Brook Pridemore played a song that made us all think he was in dire straights. It had lines like "I don't want to live in this world anymore." I was a bit concerned until he explained that he wrote it when he was 20 and that it represented an earlier, unhappier Brook. 

Phoebe did a song from her Gilgamesh musical, which is closing out her weekly Tuesday residency at Sidewalk. It's a song all about Inky Dinky. I'll admit that since I'm writing this up a couple days late, I already saw Phoebe's musical and the Inky song makes a bit more sense than it did the other night at the Open Mic, but it has some of Phoebe's usual clever, intricate word play in lines like "Inky Dinky do that thing you know you inky do." Phoebe also did a funny song that she said she wrote while leaving Pianos about being in a "Horrible Mood."

Benjamin from Denmark played acoustic guitar, accompanied by his friend on double bass. He explained that although they were from Denmark, his friend had just bought the bass in the U. S. They did some nice jazzy stuff with scat singing and everything. It was cool.

Liv Carrow played a song that had a line something like "How I longed for an itty bitty star all my own." I didn't catch all the imagery, but it was a cool song and I hope to hear it again soon. She also played her song about going to the psychic, Madam Rosa, which is another nice one.

Jon Berger set his laptop on the stool and pointed a microphone at it and everyone started murmuring that he was going to play some electronic Berger Beats to accompany his poems. But---psych--no he picked up the laptop and read from it. Jon talked about how he started a swear jar at work and then Brian Speaker kind of stepped on Berger's joke about it (which was to then read a poem filled with cursing). As far as I'm concerned swearing is a legitimate form of expression that all should employ when it can be effective, but evidently in Jon's workplace there's too much of it going on. Jon stepped into the audience to perform his final poem about Jesus and urged Susan Hwang to come on stage since she was next up. In what I thought was a lovely exchange, Susan began interpreting Jon's poem in a kind of pantomime. Then when it was her turn to play, Susan called Jon up to offer some of his dance moves as accompaniment to Susan's music. So it was sort of a mutual exchange of movement between Susan and Jon. 

Susan did two songs, including one of her zombie songs. I usually have to hear her things a few times until they sink in, but as I've said before I often am truly amazed by what she comes up with, both in terms of her melodies which are unusual and interesting, and her lyrics, some of which are mindblowing. Oh, the second song was one in which she said that Tom's sister had challenged her to write something positive. I think it was called "Be Yourself."

Waylon, played a catchy, rhythnic song that accelerated in tempo as he played it. 

Abba Confusion consisted of two English guys. I think these were the folks who said that they'd come to the U. S. with the intention of starting a band in two weeks. Evidently when they've announced this from the stage at various open mics, people have come up to sit in right then and there, but they seem less interested in that than in finding a group of people to form a real band with. The guy was kind of down on the whole idea of people sitting in, but folks did it anyway---including some guy who practically swiped a tambourine out of Brook Pridemore's hand, only to get on stage and prove himself the worst tambourine player ever to have hit the Sidewalk and possibly New York City and the world. Brian Speaker appropriately heckled him in multiple ways once the song ended.

Joanna Kelly played a song with Beau Johnson accompanying on electric. Brook took the tambourine this time and showed 'em how it's done. Joanna's song sounded kind of like an old countryish folk tune..."rock me momma like a wagon wheel, rock me momma any way you feel."

Faceometer consisted of one of the guys from Abba Confusion and he played a long song about the toilet where Thom Yorke evidently wrote Creep. The guy's song was kind of interesting, although maybe a bit too long, but even though he was English he sang it in this weird faux American accent. He even apologized for that at one point, but it was strange. I guess I wasn't really offended, but I think one could have been if one were the sensitive type.

Brief View of the Hudson did some nice gospel-y, southern-influenced stuff. I am more impressed by them the more I hear them. One of the songs they sang was "Stay Out of My Coal Mine."

Joff Wilson played with a friend who I think he introduced as Kenny K. Hurricane, on bass. Joff was wearing glasses and had more of a John Lennon, 1960s, hippy look about him than his usual 1970s Joey Ramone style. He sang a catchy song called "Color Me Rochester Grey," and then went back to "When the War is Over."

Jon Telethon was up (playing solo) with a relationship song....might have been a new one, since I don't remember hearing it before..."You been thinking lately that I'm losing my mind....I can't unhinge my love." He also sang his classic "Truck Drivin Man.

Debe sang "Normal." Gorgeous as usual. She also did "Pack Up Your Sorrows," one of her favorite covers, which I hadn't heard in a while. 

Jason Trachtenberg was back with "Everybody Loves the Clown." 

Although it was still early in the evening, I was offered a car ride home and decided to grab it, considering the rain and the cold. So, I'm sorry I wasn't able to catch more acts. It was a fun night up to the point that I left and I'm assuming that the spirit continued late into the night.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Herb

Open Mic, Monday, November 17, 2008

Brer Brian made a surprise return to the Open Mic on Monday. His days as a regular were before my time but I met him on a few occasions, including a journey with Jon Berger out to Bed-Stuy to the church where he plays in the band (see the Urban Folk article on the subject). With a tiny trumpet in hand and what is a new mountain man beard since the last time I saw him Brer sat in on quite a few folks' songs, including mine. Brer is a frequent provocateur over at the Olive Juice Music board but in person he couldn't be friendlier. Maybe he'll become a regular once again. 

Interestingly enough, Lach was there Monday, too, hanging around with Henry at the beginning of the evening. It was nice to see him too. Henry is quite cute and was taking tentative laps up and down the stairs while Lach sat schmoozing in the basement.

Ben K. kicked things off. I was a little fuzzy on the songs he did: one was from his Stingra opera, but the second was something that might have been new. It was an interesting song but I'm fuzzing out on the details. I remember liking it though.

Emily Moment was first up with two new songs, including one she played with Debe that had the line "he won't do anything he don't want to do, if he makes a move you can bet he wanted to to." The more I've been listening to Emily lately the more I've been noticing how nice a voice she has. She certainly was a key member of the Sidewalk Cafe Gospel Choir when we all sang "Tower Records is Gone" together.

Corby, sang a song called Warm Smile, played on piano. Brook Pridemore did a new song and kept saying that the bridge of it was terrible. I think he even dropped the lyrics (intentionally) when he got to that point. Brer played trumpet with him on a song.

Chris Brodeur/Touching You, provided what was probably the highlight in extremity last night. He called a volunteer up to the stage--Julie Hill I believe was the lucky participant--and serenaded her with the song that went something like "If your vagina was burning afire, I would still love you...." I really can't do justice to Chris's out there performance, but eventually Julie ran off stage after Touching You did a little too much touching. His second song was his classic Subjugate Your Tits. Chris came out into the audience for that one where he worked on building up a bit of hysteria. I noticed that Chris had the words Crush and Smash tatooed on his respective arms.

Mike Hatchet played two songs, including a bluesy number "Sunday in Savannah." Jen Abounader did the Calliope Waltz "nothing much to see, just me and my calliope." Holy Ghost Tent Revival was back with a song about a broken heart and one called "Love Emergency."

Isaac Gillespie played a couple songs, including one with Jordan Levinson and Alex P. A guy named Duck played at the piano. His first song was filled with sea metaphors "eyes like the sea," "I'm alone on a ship I don't own," "I'm here on the shore," and his second song was something like "Equanamous Fucks." Not sure if it was my hearing or the sound in the room or just the song, but I was losing the words on that one. It probably had something to do with the impossibly high falsetto in which he sang and then the key change that pushed him up into an even higher falsetto range.

Jordan did a new song with Isaac and Alex P, all about how she's going to become a rock star and change the world. 

I came back after a bit of schmoozing to catch Brer Brian sitting in with Joff Wilson, who said he decided he can play songs other than "When the War is Over," now that it seems as if we might be making some progress to bringing the troops home from Iraq. Hudson Kay, a gal from Tennessee played a song with some bluesy touches on piano. 

Dinosaur Feathers, a trio, performed Teenage Whore. Jon Telethon played I am Not the Expert, which, in a switch up, he did on piano rather than guitar.

Susan Hwang did another in what it seems will be a series of songs about Zombies. Eli did a clever song that was called something like "My bass player's a 17 year old prep school jerk."

I decided at the last minute to ask Brer Brian if he would sit in with me on "New York City Funk." Although he'd never heard the tune, I kind of vaguely went over it with him. This is the kind of spur of the moment performance I never would have considered doing a few years ago, but, thankfully I've gotten to the point where I can enjoy the spontaneity that can come from hanging out in the Sidewalk arena, and it was a lot of fun to do that song with Brer. I started off the set, though, with "Chopping Wood," which I also had fun playing.

I didn't hang out too much after playing my set, I'm sorry to say. I did catch Nick from Brief View of the Hudson, who said that Brian Speaker convinced him to write a positive song, and performed "It's a Brand New Day."

Herb

Benefit for Threads that Teach, November 15, 2008

I think it's cool that Ben has decided to turn some Sidewalk nights into benefits for local organizations. It is very easy to be righteous about the importance of helping other people or creating change, but it is hard to actually do something about it. I was glad to have had the opportunity to help this group a little bit last night.

Emily Hope Price

I arrived at the end of Emily Hope Price's set. She uses one of those digital loop machines that let you record a little phrase of music and then instantly turn it into a loop. The loop becomes like an accompaniment to whatever you want to play on top of it. I've always been skeptical about the idea of using recorded music as a backing to live performance, but these machines do allow for some interesting possibilities, and it's a little different than using a straight backing track. I think, for example, it would be cool to build up layers and layers of percussion. So, getting back to Emily, she plays the cello and was able to loop a phrase that became like a bass line to her song. She also played a song on the accordion, which she said was the first time she'd played the accordion in a show. I'm sorry that I didn't get to hear more of Emily and that I was sort of settling in during what I did hear. She has a nice sound and has an interesting approach to the cello. More at a later time.

Jason Trachtenburg

Jason Trachtenburg came on stage with a scarf wrapped around his head, kind of like those bandages you see in old pictures after people left the dentist's office. Jason is very funny and usually spends a lot of time on stage setting up and joking around, which is really part of his act. Last night he said he was going to read some poems, which turned out to be a couple comedic bits, including one about trying to find his chapstick. The shows I've seen of Jason's lately have all featured this song "Everybody Loves the Clown." It's kind of a take off on "Make Them Laugh" from "Singing in the Rain." He'll usually perform it in English and then in some kind of awkwardly rendered translation in another language. After having heard this numerous times now I must say the whole thing is a bit surreal, which come to think of it, maybe is part of the point. Jason also played "All for the Sake of Art," and the ultra-catchy "I Don't Want to Tempt Time," plus a song he wrote with Julie LaMendola called "Giving Kisses." I like the idea of "giving kisses like it ain't nothing."

The Fools

I truly love The Fools, both as a group and as individuals. I must admit that when they first started hanging out at Sidewalk two or three years ago, my expectations of how they would sound, based on seeing them around, were totally off base. I think I expected some sort of raging punk act, but found instead a repertoire of delicate, beautiful, heartfelt songs. One of them, "Even Fools Know," which they played last night perfectly captures how I feel about many aspects of life today. There's a great line "you can't grow a tree by screaming at seeds." Their songs are short, but they say a lot. I also have always loved that they play a song in appreciation of mothers (and fathers too), another that they did last night. There is something very lovely about Jen's voice. It's a little husky and has a hint of a twang to it, but suits her songs just right. I think that Uchenna's bass lines mostly come from instinct and messing around, but whatever the case, what she's doing is very musical and melds really well with Jen's singing and playing. Last night The Fools tried a couple new songs, which they aborted mid-stream. I think the same thing happened when they launched into them the other night at the Open Mic. Looking forward to hearing those songs in their entirety soon. One of my earliest photo sessions was with The Fools, and I have always loved the pictures that came out of it. Plus we had a lot of fun that day. The one of them nested in the yin and yang pose is still a favorite of mine, but I also like the one of them with their dog. You can see them here: Foolish Photos.

The Venn Diagrams

I have enjoyed The Venn Diagrams on many levels when I've seen them previously. They perform a number of cover tunes, many of which are drawn from the musical theatre or related areas. The group usually comprises a duo, but last night it was just Jeffrey, who mostly accompanied himself on ukelele. Jeffrey is a very talented guy with a beautiful voice that can soar when he wants it to.  He played one of my favorite songs last night, "That Man That Got Away," a Harold Arlen/Ira Gershwin song from the movie "A Star is Born." He also played some songs on piano, including one or two originals. A related story: when my twelve year old nephew visited me about a year ago, I took him straight to Sidewalk (literally it was our first stop from the airport). I'd been talking to him about the place a lot and he is into performing himself so wanted to see it. We came in during the middle of a Venn Diagrams set in which Jeffrey was wearing something like a man's shirt and tie, and a dress and women's high heels. My nephew took it very much in stride, I must say. Also playing that night was Dan Fishback among other acts. The next day, while touring around New York, we went to the Tenement Museum, and as we walked into the gift shop, the first person we saw was Jeffrey, who works there at the ticket counter. And (drum roll) that night we went to see Avenue Q and Dan Fishback was sitting two rows behind us with his parents.

Elastic No No Band

Next up last night was....us. Elastic No No Band, that is. I thought the set went pretty well. There was a lot of good energy and things held together decently. I thought my piano playing came together ok, even with Preston Spurlock's arm pit in my face for much of the show. One thing about Elastic No No that's been good for me is having the opportunity to learn how to be part of a rock band. I never was in bands when I was younger or had much instruction in this style of playing so I have to figure things out as I go. Part of it is just having the confidence to go for something without really knowing if it's "right" per se. We did a lot of the usual ENB tunes although Justin added a cover of Warren Zevon's Excitable Boy, which was a lot of fun to play. I have to give a lot of credit to our drummer Doug Johnson for helping to raise the energy. So far I don't think Justin has been reading these posts, but there's one thing I do have to discuss with him, which has to do with his song Manboobs. Somehow the guy has written like four or five verses on the subject. I do appreciate the depth of his interest in the topic, but that is just a little too much manboob for my taste. Justin I think it's time to cut one of those verses.

Holy Ghost Tent Revival

We were followed by The Holy Ghost Tent Revival, a group on tour from North Carolina. They featured a guitarist who played acoustic, a guy on banjo who seemed to take the lead on most of the vocals, a trombonist, a bass player and a drummer. There was a bit of a retro feel to their look and their music but not as much as you'd expect from their name. They played rock with a kind of frenetic energy that had people up and dancing at one point. But even with all the energy I had a bit of a hard time connecting to the heart of their songs (although that may take some further listening). The house at Sidewalk was pretty full last night and I get the sense that much of the audience was made up of their fans.

The Telethons

I am a big fan of  The Telethons. They have some superior songs, plus I am always impressed how well they work as a duo. Having played with John Telethon a bit I know that he has some of the most robust musical skills of anyone on the scene, and Mark is a solid and creative drummer. Of the songs they played last night, I really like "Chord Chord (or whatever that one is really called), "Never Satisfied," and the part of "I am not the Expert" where he's going over and over "it's getting to the point, where I can't tolerate myself." I'll have to write about The Telethons in a bit more depth some time, because I think there is a lot that's interesting about what they do, particularly their reflection (conscious or not) of a kind of nerd rock, punk, new wave thing. I must say that John knows how to build tension by letting his glasses slip perilously close to the end of his nose before pushing them back up. After several rounds of this last night he finally flung them off and they stayed on the stage where the next level of tension came from whether he would step on them or not (he eventually picked them up before any irreversible crunching occurred).

Jeffrey Lewis

It was nice to see Jeffrey Lewis as the "special guest" who closed last night's show. Jeff played some newer songs and also performed three of his large comic book movie things. He said that from the songs he'd planned on playing that people were going to think he was more depressed than he really was. One of them was about eating alone in a restaurant and another about what happens after you die. His comic movies were his biography of Barack Obama, a film noir detective movie, and a very interesting history of Korea. I was impressed with the detail in that last one, and I also learned a lot from it. It only goes up to 1949 although Jeff indicated he still wanted to develop it further. Of the handful of folks who started at Sidewalk and ultimately developed successful careers in music Jeff is the only one who still comes back to play and hang out regularly. I wasn't around during the heyday of Jeff's time at Sidewalk so I've been absorbing his stuff more recently, but it's easy to see how he's developed a following. I've also been enjoying the pieces on songwriting that he's been writing for the New York Times blog Measure for Measure.

Thefts at Sidewalk

I wish I could remember at which show it was....but not too long ago at a night when everyone was dancing at Sidewalk and the room was filled with people I knew, I got careless and left my bag sitting unattended on a chair. I came back at some point and found it on the floor a few feet away, which I thought was weird, but picked it up and didn't think too much of it, until I was halfway to the subway and realized I didn't have my cell phone. 

The back room at Sidewalk is, unfortunately, a target for thieves. There was a recent thread over at the Olive Juice Board in which several folks mentioned they'd had items stolen, ranging from a wallet to a camera, to a guitar. When you think about it, considering the room is pretty open to anyone, yet folks leave their stuff all around, it's not that surprising that thefts take place there. Unless you come across someone going through your own bag, you really have know way of knowing if someone is handling their own stuff or someone elses.

It sucks that we have to be on guard in a place where we should be able to feel at home. It's a real pain, but I have been carrying my bag around with me everywhere, even when I go out front to hang out. I wish there was something that Sidewalk could do to make the place a little more secure, but definitely we in the community should make sure to let other folks know to be careful.

Monday Open Mic, November 10, 2008

Last night was the first time I stayed until the end of the Open Mic in a long time, and the first time since I started writing this blog. Lach and then Ben have always promised that those who make it to the end sit around and have tea and talk about what happened during the night (Lach used to say that the they would "dis" everyone who played while Ben has a more diplomatic way of putting it). However, for whatever reasons, the tea drinking sessions have never happened on the few nights that I've stuck it out. Debe Dalton now says that it's the sheer fact that I'm there that sabotages the whole thing. 

It was a full house last night. When I arrived, a little later than usual, the line was halfway out the door. However, it was maybe a less electrifying evening than some I've had at Sidewalk. Looking back there wasn't a new voice that really stood out.

Things kicked off with the Beards, an interesting mellow act with two guys who evidently share one guitar. Domino played a song called "Eating in the Rain," which has the classic line "probably he got wet-I know he did." I can't say enough how much I enjoy Domino's stuff. She's definitely different than the average Sidewalk performer, but it's amazing to witness a soul reveal itself through song. I did several long interviews with Domino for an article that was to run in Urban Folk before it folded and I owe it to her to get that written and published somewhere. It will happen.

Debbie Miller returned to Sidewalk after a long absence. She played a slow sad song--a nice gentle tune--and then a song at the piano...something about a "staring problem" which I thought was kind of interesting. I've missed seeing Debbie and it was nice to have her back.

A comic named Chris performed. Unfortunately I didn't get his last name, but he seems to have started getting to know folks on the scene from what I noticed later. He kind of went on a rampage about religion (particularly Mormonism), gay marriage, etc. There were parts of his act that were genuinely funny and had me laughing out loud. I mention this because it's rare at Sidewalk. Standup is hard as hell anyway and usually the comics at Sidewalk are just starting out and getting their stuff together. But this guy Chris has some potential. I one time tried a five-minute standup slot at a comedy open mic in Florida and it was an utter disaster. Not one laugh. I have a video of it which I have not been able to watch in the 20 years since.

Eli Maniscalco played Professor and Waldorf Salad (upon request). The Fools did the one that starts "you've gone...too far," and another that I think was called "Lost and Found." Alex P. played a slow country rock song as I remember it and a new song.

I'm looking back at the notes I took from last night and I'm realizing that it's really hard to document every act I saw because sometimes what I wrote down is rather cryptic. I'll still try to touch on as many acts as possible, but I guess this is just to say that detailed descriptions of any act will most likely only emerge after I've gotten to see them at least a few times. 

So, the next act was a group called Candy Apples, which featured (at least) a cello player, acoustic guitar, and snare drummer. Steve, the drummer, has his snare attached by a strap around his waist and plays standing up. In addition to playing his own stuff he's been accompanying numerous acts over the last few weeks.

Dave Deporis is a name I've heard a lot in connection to the Sidewalk scene, but I don't think I've ever heard him play or maybe just didn't know it, if I have. Anyway, he did some very impressive high-pitched crooning. Really nice vocal work. I look forward to hearing him again.

Mike Baglivi performed Mary Rose, a song which I am fairly sure is about his lovely mom, and he also played Life Within a Frame.

Jason Trachtenburg played All for the Sake of Art and his biggest charting single (as he explains it) Mountain Trip to Japan. I remember Mountain Trip from a performance by Jason at Joe's Pub sometime before I started coming to Sidewalk. I'd read about the Slideshow Players in various publications and decided to check them out at some sort of free gig at Joe's. Unfortunately Rachel was not playing that day (she was in Seattle "on business" Jason explained-she being about 9 years old at the time) but I really enjoyed seeing that song with the whole slide presentation. 

Toby Goodshank sang a song that mentioned explicit acts performed with Senators Obama and Biden. Kenny Cambre played. It was nice to see him back too at Sidewalk. Don Cameron performed Jaded Twilight. Susan Hwang did a song about zombies and explained that she's been doing a lot of research about them by watching a lot of zombie movies. She said that the song is based on the character Mr. Cooper from Night of the Living Dead. Susan is really a fabulous songwriter and her songs are always surprising and idiosynchratic. Some of her songs have moments that I find astounding, really, in how she expresses basic anxiety in a way that is very personal yet also universal.

Amos started off with a brief imitation of Brian Speaker (where was Brian last night?). Then he sang a song by Aaron Wilkinson. I didn't know Aaron but have come to learn he was an active member of the community who died in 2003. Aaron had a circle of close friends at Sidewalk who often remember and pay tribute to him. Amos played a song called Haystack. Amos is a fabulous singer...a great voice and a great interpreter, and he did a lovely rendition of the tune.

So, finally I was there to hear Monica from Norway again. It's very difficult to explain what this woman does. You almost can't even say that she's playing songs. It sort of seems as if she's making up her performance on the spot, but sort of not. She starts singing and the song goes in all these winding directions. She started singing about apples and polar bears again last night. She was chanting "apples and polar bears, polar bears and apples" and then asked "get it?" Which I thought was hilarious because no, I don't think anyone really got it. 

I missed the name of the guy from North Carolina who sang a blues tune called Mustang. He really looked like a blues dude though with a perfect blues hat. Josh Fox sang with his friend (Emily? Ellen?) They did some nice harmonizing. 

Ok, I did a bit of wandering and schmoozing. Made it back in to hear Seth from Dufus. He gave a powerful and skilled performance. I can't exactly tell you what the song was about...it was filled with words and had some fast moving almost rap-like sections. But it was a standout nonetheless. The refrain of the song was something like "Can't stop the train from running." I've heard a lot about Dufus over the years and have heard some of their recordings, which I've really liked. Will have to check them out a bit more seriously.

Nathania (?) from Holland sang a couple songs, including one in Dutch about a princess. Sam Barron played "Forget about Me" and "Blind as a Bat." Rebecca from L. A. played The Daughter of Thebes (Thieves?). Jordan Levinson played with Isaac Gillespie and Steve the drum guy, and then did a solo tune about "the artist and the modern man."

Brook Pridemore played a tune at the piano...about a black spot on the pavement. Debe Dalton did "Wait and See," which was beautiful as usual....I was unfortunately interrupted by a mix-up in the Sidewalk Cafe billing department and couldn't really catch Debe's next song.

Emily Moment sang a song about her feelings about what she wants from the guy she's singing to in the song....I'm not really doing it justice here but it was a lovely song about a relationship. 

Well, unfortunately I don't have much detail on performances that came next by Isaac G., and Mikhail. Waylon Daniel played a rousing number that had a line about being "kicked in the head by the lord." Will sang something about the devil fucking the giraffe...I know that's way off, but there was something about a giraffe for sure. I hadn't seen Joff Wilson play in a while but he was back and did his big hit "When the War is Over." It really is a very catchy and rousing tune 

I must admit that by 2 a.m. I was less focused on my reporting than I wish. Liv Carrow, Steven Stivola, Bad Town Redemption (?) and Constantine all played, as did Gene, who was cheered on by his son, and played an instrumental tune on acoustic guitar. Joe Crow Ryan sang (I think) Autumn Leaves--played on a banjo that he said was tuned like a ukelele and Scott closed things down with a tune played on a banjo, which he said that he made. Scott remarked about how he'd thought that he would be so unique by playing banjo and then both time he's played at Sidewalk he followed someone else who also was playing the same instrument.

Ben Krieger did a set to finish the night off. He explained that after writing for 10 years he finally created his opera about a jellyfish, a work that he felt was the first that reflected his true self. But he had all these other songs he'd written previously that his family liked even though he didn't identify with them so much. So Ben dug into some of that early repertoire. Although he kind of downplayed these early songs, I thought some of them were really nice....particularly the first one he played, the name of which I can't remember. He also did a tune at the piano, "Little Moon Bug," I think, and then delved into some of his "Stingra" material before winding up with what he said was the first song he ever wrote, one about an old girlfriend.

It was close to 4 by the time things ended, and as I said before, yet again I was cheated out of tea and the associated talking down of the night. Oh well, there's always next Veteran's Day.

Herb