Many Thanks

After four years of twice-monthly musical performances, this version of The Acoustic Showcase has ended. Many thanks to all the wonderful, talented musicians who freely shared their songs with us; many thanks to the people who showed up to listen, sing along, and (occasionally) dance; and many thanks to our hosts at Starbucks, 60 Bedford St. in Lexington, MA.

As of this writing, a new version of the Showcase is planned to begin in the spring of 2013.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Fun With Old Familiars

Since the Acoustic Showcase began in 2009 we've had regular visits from two musical groups: Laughing Boy and Arl-Lex Five & Dime. Last night they were the show (as we were unable to find a replacement for the performer scheduled to appear at 6pm), and what a satisfying show it was!
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We began with Laughing Boy, the bonhomous lads still chuffed from their rousing appearance at the Groton Main Streets Cafe open mike the previous night. The songs were in fine form, with flexible three-part vocal harmonies, steady instrumental work, and scintillating mandolin solos from Will Ryan.



Laughing Boy photos by Griffin Keevil
photo by Marlowe Miller
An appealing highlight was provided by 12 year old Griffin "Gibby" Keevil, who joined the band with a rousing guitar solo for "Knocking On Heaven's Door." We'll hope to hear a lot more from him in the near future!
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For the second set, Laughing Boy reformed as a couple of solo acts. Will Ryan treated us to a number of appealing tunes, ending with a rousing version of Jesse Colin Young's "Darkness Darkness" (graciously allowing David Keevil to back him on harmonica). Will's got a strong, clear voice and a ringing guitar style -- it's an all too occasional pleasure to hear him perform solo.
Will Ryan
Will finished his set, and David Keevil stepped in to play a few songs. Noting the near concurrence of Valentine's Day and his wife's 50th birthday, he devoted himself exclusively to love songs -- a mix of originals and covers. Particularly enjoyable were "The Way You Look Tonight" and "My Funny Valentine" (the latter with "Summertime" quoted on harmonica midway). And on that note, the Laughing Boy double album came to an end for the evening.
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And here was Arl-Lex Five & Dime! They sounded excellent -- nice, clear instrumentation, strong lead vocals from Mike Barrett, five(!) part harmonies, and exciting solos from six year old Quinn on violin and his dad Chris on mandolin.
Jack Donahue, Mike Barrett, Peggy Rose, Chris and Quinn Eastburn
Lots of good, foot-tapping, sing-alonging, smile-making music last night. Quinn continues to grow as a soloist, with some great improvisatory, double-stopping, bluesy licks. The band was hopping: nice tunes, nice energy!




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As always, it's lots of fun at the Acoustic Showcase. I hope we see you there next time!