Never Swim Alone

at the Canadian Embassy, 7/24/2006. (Part of the Capital Fringe Festival)

Well executed - clever writing, good acting. The show was a hit at the Edmonton Fringe. However, seemed to just present two stereotypical characters: Men. Business Men. Not much substance beyond that. Interesting use of rhythm, unison delivery, etc. - but not much substance?

Luxury Lofts Coming Soon

at Woolly Mammoth Theater, 7/23/2006 (Part of the Capital Fringe Festival)

It's a show by Arachne Aerial Arts. They were fabuloso. Live music by Alvin Hill. He rocked - perfect match for the show. Andrea and Sharon were amazing. The only trouble is that I have a hard time watching them because I get nervous - they're up very high in the air and doing things like Sharon hanging off a trapeze, with Andrea suspended only by Sharon's feet. I can't really describe it... one of those things that you just have to see for yourself. Anyway, great job folks! So glad I got a chance to see it.

Jolie Holland

at Jammin Java, 7/15/2006

Jolie Holland rules. This show was so damn good. I'm soooo glad I made the trip out to Vienna, Virginia. Jammin Java is in a strip mall in the northern Virginia suburbs - not exactly the hippest spot for cool music, but on this particular night it was the place to be.

Sean Hayes opened. I had mixed feelings about his set - really liked a couple of his songs, particuarly the more surreal / mystical ones. Halfway through his set, Ms. Holland joined him and provided backing vocals. She quietly, unobtrusively, totally stole the show with her inventive and surprising harmony lines. I have a theory that she treats perfect fourths as consonant intervals, and that's at the root of her strange melodies - and especially true when she sings harmony.

Her set was terrific from start to finish. She played with a trio: drums and lead guitar. She played piano, guitar, and a cigar box fiddle. That fiddle thing sounds crazy, and good. Good. Real good. Everything she did sounded real real good. She's simply dynamite - super talented performer.

More importantly (to me) she's also one of the most gifted songwriters around these days. My friend Dave wrote an interesting essay about two songs from her album Escondida - "Black Stars" and "Goodbye California" - two of my favorites. Unfortunately, she didn't play "Black Stars," saying something like "...it has so many crazy key changes in it. I don't want to mess it up." I guess that makes me feel a little better. I taught myself that song a few months ago (because it totally slays me and I wanted a peek "under the hood") and I can't sing it very well. Mostly, that's due to the fact that I'm a very bad singer, but I'm happy to hear that she's a little reluctant to tackle it live herself...

If I had more time, I'd write lots more about this show because it was so wonderful in so many ways. But for now we'll have to leave it like so. She's great. The show was great. A very special evening. Go hear her yourself - you won't regret it. Buy her albums - they are all exceptional and worth every penny and then some. In a perfect world, she would be the most popular songwriter - and singer -in the world. Oh well. Our gain, I guess, since this way we get to hear her in small venues. Her new record, "Springtime Can Kill You" is as good as "Escondida." You should buy them both. And "Catalpa" too. Get 'em all. "Black Stars" is one of the most gorgeous, profound, darkly wonderful love songs ever written. And on the new record, the closer, "Mexican Blue" is another love song of equally stunning greatness. The opening track, "Crush in the Ghetto" is also too fine to miss out on.

Kallmeyer, Merella, Sebastian, Whitehead & Zook

at Sangha, 7/10/2006

Nice event. Wonderful that Ted Zook put together a benefit show for Sangha - they've donated space to host so many outstanding performances and events, it was nice to finally give a little something back...

Mark Merella is a genius drummer. Totally fantastic. Mike Sebastian, well, I'm a big fan... Mr. Whitehead is someone I hadn't heard before - played trumpet and various related horns, with great patience (he was great at sitting out when necessary) and has a great ear. His interactions with Mike (tenor sax and saxello) were wonderful. I've only heard Doug Kallmeyer once, with his group 302Acid. I had no idea he was such a good improviser. Ted's monster gizmo rig was very impressive, even though it wasn't functioning properly (so he said, I thought it sounded good).

Shadow Puppet Drama from Java

at the Freer Gallery's Meyer Auditorium, 7/6/2006

This was really cool. It's been a few weeks now since the show - so only time for quick thoughts...
1. What a great opportunity. I've never seen anything like this live.
2. Too bad the gamelan players were mostly Americans - I'm no expert but I thought some of it was a little shaky. I could be wrong - see the "i'm no expert" clause above.
3. Damn that was long (two hours +)
4. Thank you Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian and Michael Wilpers. This show rocked.

Sean McArdle

at the Black Cat, 7/3/2006


(i'm very late getting to this... so it's gonna be a quickie) Sean McArdle performed with a nice little band (Ben Azarra, drums; Lida Husik, bass; lead guitarist who I don't know by name). Band was great - characterized primarily by what I'll call "elegant restraint." All working together clearly in service of the songs themselves. McArdle is a local performer who actually writes good, thoughtful songs. Too bad vocals were buried in the mix (typical Black Cat Backstage bad sound). Promising performance and I'm eager to hear him again... missed him at Fort Reno, but hopefully there will be another chance soon.

Songs from the Nitrate Hymnal

at Warehouse Theater, 7/1/2006

Back in 2003, Bob Massey and company staged an ambitious, genre defying, rock / chamber / opera show called the Nitrate Hymnal. Some of the backstory about the production, and this new concert version is covered in a feature in last week's Washington Post Weekend section...

Originally, the work was presented by Washington Performing Arts Society, and supported by a grant from Creative Capital. Now, they've successfully raised the dough (Jean Cook is a genius) for a recording from the Copland Fund, and got some Meet the Composer money to pay for two performances, one in Brooklyn and this event in DC (plus an informal brunch the following day which I missed, sadly).

Several "numbers" from the show have been reworked, and turned into a song cycle. This plays to Bob's strengths as a songwriter - and the new arrangements are really well done. Performers included members of Gutbucket, Anti Social Music, and Bob's group, the Gena Rowlands Band.

The performance was excellent. The ensemble was very strong, and pulled off a truly inspiring performance of DIY / Punk influenced chamber orchestra music. Personally, I preferred hearing Bob sing many of the songs himself vs. the original staged version that he didn't perform in. Hai-Ting Chinn was spectacular - bringing bona-fide operatic chops to the stage, which actually (surprisingly) worked perfectly with the more "natural" rock/folk style singing of Bob and Daisy Press.

The theater was full (no surprise after they sold out four shows at a larger venue for the staged version) - and this was not your typical classical music audience.

The recording is on sale now on Lujo records.