In Like A Lion

Coming up on Saturday, March 6th: all king of the jungle, no mutton!

We'll begin at 5pm with Chris Eastburn and Mike Barrett.  These Showcase regulars are always a lot of fun -- blues/country/gospel/folk music that will have you singing along.

At 6pm we'll bring on Nathan Thompson.  He's a graduate of Berklee, with musical chops and passion to spare.  He's new to the Showcase -- it's always a genuine pleasure to add another performer to the mix.

And then at 7pm we'll welcome back Ayan Sanyal and Ethan Schneider.  These guys play exciting, original alt-pop indie-rock -- truly inventive, talented musicians.

Check it out!

Saturation Point

Well, some evenings are like that.  One performer pulled out a couple of weeks ago, and we had a rare no-show from another performer.  And so our intrepid Showcase impresario stepped into the breach!  David Keevil and Don Strauss entertained the crowd for an extended set, and the Groove Pops filled out the evening in fine style from 7 to 8.  No animals were harmed, and everyone went home happy.

The highlight of David and Don's set might have been "I Say A Little Prayer," the 60's pop ballad sung by both Aretha Franklin and Dione Warwick.  David's been digging into his AM radio childhood for some interesting covers, and this one is probably the best so far.  What a lovely song -- with tiny little obsessive overtones of "Every Breath You Take": after about the third outburst of "forever and ever we never will part" you start to wonder about the other member of this putative relationship and how he or she is feeling about all this vociferous attention.  None the less, it's beauty of a song, and a gas to sing.

The Groove Pops were in fine form as they negotiated the moguls and slaloms of a few new tunes, mixed with the easy powder of some familiar favorites (tortured metaphor alert).  Michael Madera's most recent offering "It's Not Sweet" was a toe-tapping hit.  The song is about a specific person Michael met on his travels, but it also comments back on a staple song for the Pops (performed earlier in the set): "Sugar For The Day."  We like the inventive and engaging notion of writing successive songs that further a musical narrative or conversation.  Way cool.

OK, over and out.  Tune in on March 6th for another Acoustic Showcase offering!

That New Car Smell

I'm not really sure what our post title conveys, but we are excited to have a new performer with us on February 20th (and we bet he smells just fine).  He's Kevin Moore, an experienced acoustic singer/songwriter on both the New England and Alaska circuits (go figure!).  Kevin was born in Wakefield and began writing songs at the tender age of 13.  His genres range from Traditional American and Irish folk to Blues and Bluegrass.  This should be a blast!

 

Kevin's on at 6pm.  Providing the bread in this sandwich are David Keevil and Don Strauss at 5pm, and The Groove Pops at 7pm.  Check out previous blog posts from more on those characters.

See you there!

Showcase Sampler

A lovely evening at The Acoustic Showcase: entertaining, engaging, and enthralling (superlatives in the key of E).  We began with the nine-voice women's a cappella group Random Chants.

 

The Chants were in fine voice, and obviously enjoying themselves.  A highlight was during the slow roller "Fire" (think Pointer Sisters) when at a particularly intense moment the group was joined by a wailing infant soloist from offstage.  I love these multi-level vocal experiences...  The group also channeled Miley Cyrus and Kelly Clarkson to wonderful effect.  (You may not be wild about the stars, but the songs rock!) 

Next we heard from Via Perkins, (who goes by Kidd Strange when she's performing).

Via's guitar work is melodic and assured; her lyrics are thoughtful and evocative; while her vocal delivery is both understated and strongly felt.  She's a gifted songwriter, and it was a real pleasure listening to her again (though we felt our age when she referred to a "really old song from 2005").

And then came folk musician Diane Taraz.  Evocative, sometimes humorous songs -- guitar and dulcimer -- and a clear, pure voice that was beautifully in tune with her instrumental accompaniment.

Diane's an experienced songwriter, song interpreter, and performer -- and it shows.  Her set was a lovely mix of moods and attitudes. 

Another harmonious evening at The Acoustic Showcase.  We'll look forward to having all these performers back for more good music.  Stay tuned!