Family and Friends

We got together with some familiar friends last night and heard some great music. But first (!) we stopped by Verrill Farms over in Concord, and watched some morris dancing!

Pinewoods Morris Men

That's my brother in law there in the middle, with my niece watching from the sidelines. Nothing says harvest time in New England like a good morris dance, don't you agree?


And now, back to our regularly scheduled program. We began this iteration of the Acoustic Showcase with house band Laughing Boy.

The "Boys" were in fine shape, with three-part harmonies and trickling mandolin all in order. Here they are in a pensive mood, singing their original "Up On The Roof" -- one of the songs they'll be recording later this fall. Stay tuned!


Next up were Tom and Ann O'Donnell, teaming with Robert Cedrone for a scintillating set of appealing cover tunes.

These folks make really nice music. Tom told me that he and Robert began playing out in their (very) early teens; imagine musicians too young to drive hiring three taxi cabs to take them and their equipment to the show. Their years of experience add up to responsive, flexible musicianship -- with deft guitar work and beautiful vocal harmonies.


Added to the mix was Ann's niece, the lovely Gillian Goolkasian.  

She's got a beautiful voice, a nice feel for the music, and a great future ahead of her!

Here's the band in full swing. Lots of fun for an audience of family, friends, and coffee shop passers by.


The O'Donnells left the stage to warm applause, while Robert stuck around to anchor the next trio, adding Noah Mendelsohn on bass and Acoustic Showcase guitar god Ron Chancey on (yup) guitar.

I know we call this show "acoustic," but it's nice to add a little electricity from time to time. With a set list of favorites from Van Morrison, Al Green, the Allman Bros, and others, the electricity was certainly flowing! Again, great music from experienced musicians. Can't beat it!

I know I go on and on about Ron Chancey, but he plays some of the sweetest electric guitar I've had the pleasure to hear live. Keep rocking, Ron!








And that about does it for another Acoustic Showcase. (Next time we'll come back to our senses and feature some soulful ballads from a finger-picking folkster or two.) It's good to make and celebrate music, whether you're jumping around waving handkerchiefs while the concertina plays, enjoying a chiming mandolin, or grooving to a wailing Strat.  See you next time!    

People Making Music

Let's hear it for people making music! In the shower, in the car, in the kitchen, with family, with friends, in a coffee shop, etc., etc., etc. A friend mentioned the other day that one thing he liked when he lived in New York City was that he could walk around in public, "singing my little songs," and nobody got upset or offended. Let's hear it for walking around in public, singing our little songs!


OK, got that off my chest. We had a great time at the Acoustic Showcase last night. (I know I say that every time, but it's really true.) A nice line-up of people making music began with Arl-Lex Five and Dime. Their number was diminished by one, as Kate Donahue is off in China (walking through Beijing singing songs, I hope!). That still left us with a crowded carpet, as Jack Donahue, Mike Barrett, Chris Eastburn, Paul Hatem, and Quinn Eastburn serenaded us with a lovely selection of great songs from the last 60(?) years of American popular music.

Here they are in full voice -- you can see they have four-part harmonies going on, with six year old Quinn adding the high notes. Great energy last night, and a great sound; as usual, the audience was singing along with at least half of the songs. This group has played the Showcase a number of times since the beginning, and it's been a great pleasure to hear their development.

As usual, a highlight of the evening was hearing Quinn's violin solos. He's got that country double-stop bend thing going on, with great conviction.






Next we welcomed Showcase newcomer DJ Parsons. DJ grew up in the area, and used to play out "back in the day." He's an accomplished luthier; he's repaired my guitar (following a series of unfortunate events that left it with an unsightly dent), and he's worked on the fretted instruments of various friends and relations. It was a pleasure to hear him play a number of familiar folk and pop songs from such greats as Gordon Lightfoot, The Beatles, and others.

Nice guitar work and a laid-back vocal delivery made for great listening. And again the audience joined in on various choruses and refrains. (Let's hear it for an audience that sings along!)

DJ was joined by his friend Beth Levin late in the set, as she hustled over from another gig. Two guitars, vocal harmonies, and some excellent folk standards rounded out an appealing set.


At 7pm Perry Desmond-Davies and Marc "Sonic" Bridge stepped in front of the mics, took off their sandals, wiggled their toes in the carpet, and started singing! This duo has a nice blend of energy and musicianship. Two strong, flexible voices, engaging guitar work, strong song-writing: what's not to like!  Each is a solo singer/songwriter in his/her own right, yet they often perform together, joining in each other's songs.  It works well.

Notice that they're both smiling! They smiled a lot last night, clearly enjoying themselves, and easily communicating that enjoyment to their listeners. (Cue Perry's refrain: "la la la la la la la, here's your damn happy song!")

They also played a couple of affecting songs devoted to memories of 9/11. As I said last year around this time, getting together and making music seems a good response to tragedy. 


So, one more time, let's hear it for getting together and making music! A warm "thank you" goes to our excellent musicians last night, their attentive, responsive audience, and the helpful folks at Starbucks in Lexington. We'll be back in a couple of weeks: stop by the Acoustic Showcase next time and join in!