Show Review: Michaela Anne, Annie Lynch & Keenan O’Meara at Lizard Lounge Concert Reviews Uncategorized by Brian Carroll - May 25, 2016May 25, 20160 "My dad called me up and exclaimed 'girl power!' after her heard this one off the new record," explained Michaela Anne before launching into the uptempo country swinger "Liquor Up" last evening at Cambridge's Lizard Lounge. Girl Power could have been the theme for last night's show despite 1/3 of the bill being, well a dude and the Nashville based songwriter's band being an ace crew of male musicians. The evening spanned the breadth of the beauty and intimacy of a single female voice to the harmoniously captivating layers of two singing together to the unbridled passionate fervor that a broken heart and a penchant to rhyme about it over a wailing pedal steel and more has to offer. To
Show Review: Bobby Long at Club Passim 5/7 Concert Reviews by Brian Carroll - May 11, 2016May 13, 20160 Club Passim may not have been nearly as full as it should have been last Saturday evening, but that didn’t stop singer-songwriter Bobby Long from putting on one hell of a performance. The NYC by way of the UK based musician lit the room up with his humor filled banter between songs and well balanced voice for an hour and a half of songs, stories and a good laugh or two. Long has this ability to maintain a certain sense of beauty in his voice despite it being frayed and tattered around the edges. There is an almost punk flavoring to his voice, the emotion seeps through his vocal and you can really feel the words that he is singing. The
Show Review: Mark Erelli at Club Passim 4/29/2016 Concert Reviews by Ken Templeton - May 2, 2016May 2, 20160 Mark Erelli was in his element at Club Passim Friday night. Erelli played a set featuring his fantastic new album, For A Song, and some old favorites to a very appreciative, sold-out crowd. “I’ve been thinking about this show for months,” he said, speaking effusively about Passim, citing it as the hub of Boston’s folk and roots music community, and encouraging those in attendance to take an active role in its success. As a singer, Erelli has not only incredible range, from low rumble to falsetto, but also a perfect sense of inflection and timing as performer. He knows when to sing just off the beat for emphasis, when to whisper and when to let loose. The band was incredible: Zack
In Perfect Harmony: Lula Wiles At Club Passim With Taylor Ashton Concert Reviews by Brian Carroll - April 25, 2016April 25, 20160 Just when I didn't think they could get any more electrifying...they go and actually go electric, sort of. Lula Wiles celebrated the release of their new self titled record this past Friday at their home court Club Passim. I have seen the trio here a few times now and each time they seem to get better and better. The girls have honed their craft and continue to get tighter with their harmonies, their playing, and broadening their sound and exploring the "what's next" to keep things fresh and exciting. The show was opened by NY based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Taylor Ashton. His voice was a mix of City and Colour's Dallas Green and something else I can't quite put my finger
Songwriting Sorcery And Pure Magic: Aoife O’ Donovan At The Sinclair Concert Reviews by Brian Carroll - April 14, 20160 “In the magic hour, when the moon is low and the sky's the kind of blue that you think you know”… As the lady and I ascended the stairs to The Sinclair I have an overwhelming sense of anxious tension wash over me. I had been waiting for this homecoming show of Aoife’s for quite some time. Where “In The Magic Hour” slightly departs from the songwriter’s more bluegrass folksy roots, the collection of songs commands ab it more presence and a heartier sound, sonically speaking. The textures are a bit more heavy and the strokes the music takes on the canvas of the record is somewhat more electrified and severe, but in the element that is is a bit more
Live Review: Geoff Muldaur at Club Passim – 4/9/2016 Concert Reviews by Ken Templeton - April 11, 2016April 11, 20160 Matt Smith introduced Geoff Muldaur on Saturday night, saying, “He’s been playing here...all the years and hopefully all the years to come.” Muldaur played at Club Passim when it was Club 47, both as a solo blues artist and as a member of Jim Kweskin’s Jug Band. He said that he had been working as an orderly at Massachusetts General Hospital when Betsy Siggins took a liking to the warble in his voice and started giving him gigs. Muldaur bookended the night with wonderful interpretations of Tennessee Williams poems that he set to music, the first of which was “Kitchen Door Blues.” From the start, he had us in the palm of his hand. He followed this song with two
Rock n’ Roll Will Never Die: Aaron Lee Tasjan At Atwoods Tavern Recap Concert Reviews by Brian Carroll - March 30, 2016March 30, 20160 People talk all the time about “the real deal” or “the savior of x genre” or “just what we have been needing”...literally all the time. Hell, I am sure if you go back through the past 3 years of articles here on this site you will run into something similar once or twice. Then there are artists who live on a plain that is higher than that. Those that leave it all on the stage, night after night. The folks who pour out brutal honesty and sincerity in their work and ask for nothing in return but for half an ear as you sit slumped over your micro-brewed IPA in some dim lit bar. Aaron Lee Tasjan falls into that
Show Review: Mount Moriah Middle East (Cambridge, MA) 3/15/2016 Concert Reviews by Ken Templeton - March 16, 20160 A few years ago, John Darnielle said in an interview with Pitchfork, “I think you don't see a stage presence like Heather McEntire's more than a few times in your life.” On Tuesday night at The Middle East, it felt like everyone in the room was in her orbit. Somewhat sheepish and understated between songs, she performs like a coiled spring, light on her feet, full of a truly magnetic energy. The rest of Mount Moriah are introverted performers but are so technically gifted as musicians that it works well to balance McIntire’s passion with their understated excellence. The set featured a solid mix of How to Dance, their fantastic new album, with previous efforts Miracle Temple (2013) and their self-titled
Show Review: Jason Isbell and Shovels & Rope at House of Blues, Boston, MA 2/27/2016 Concert Reviews by Ken Templeton - March 1, 2016March 1, 20160 Boston got a nice dose of southern hospitality Saturday night at the House of Blues: Shovels & Rope, from Charleston, South Carolina, opened for Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, “for the most part.” Although both Isbell and Shovels & Rope fit into the big Americana tent that has gained so much momentum over the past few years, they are pretty different live acts. They complement each other well, though, and the crowd was clearly made up of people who know these artists well--there were just as many people who knew every word of the Shovels & Rope tunes as the Isbell ones. Cary Ann and Michael (that’s Shovels & Rope) played a full-throttle set. They
Heartfelt Harmony: Honeysuckle at Blue Moon Coffeehouse (Rockland, MA) Show Review Concert Reviews by Brian Carroll - February 8, 20160 A woman tapped me on my shoulder and said "Hey, do you want to sit up there?" and she looked towards my camera and pointed into a rafter/windowed ledge overhang above the neatly diamond shaped tables in the Blue Moon Coffeehouse's main room. I took her advice and am happy I did. The Blue Moon Coffeehouse is a quaint and unpretentious listening room in Rockland, MA. This was our first adventure to the venue and I was unsure what to expect. The keyword here is on coffeeHOUSE and not coffee shop. Two very different things, sure there is typically coffee, tea and cake at coffeehouse shows, but they are rarely in boutique or hipster shops serving high octane espresso with a