Roger's Return

Sweaty, sweaty, sweaty. That’s the most accurate description of the Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers show I can give. RCPM made their (nearly) annual trip to the historic Southgate House a few weeks ago and we were lucky enough to again sing and sweat with them. We caught yet another late weeknight show (thanks again SGH for accommodating my schedule) on a lightly rainy evening.

The show was opened by John Henry & the Engine from St. Louis (not a popular place to be from if you are in Cincinnati at the moment). With typical band set-up including two guitars and a keyboardist, they immediately offered up an instrumental sound that made them an obvious choice to tour with RCPM. The problem started however when lead singer “John Henry” opened his mouth. This “poor man’s Heath Ledger” who talked with a smooth and normal voice did not sing smoothly or normal. He sounded like he was trying to reach a depth that his vocal chords simply did not posses. Such a fake, strained and overly loud attempt at entertaining was one of the most horrific things I’ve ever heard. While the rest of the band was fairly solid in sound and talent, Henry brought the whole thing down… including a piece to close their set that included some acapella harmonies that were otherwise warm and soothing. Replace the lead man and they might really have something. Otherwise, I recommend staying out of earshot if at all possible.

After a short intermission RCPM took the stage as scheduled at the top of the hour – very un-Phosphorescent like. Not to cheat the depth and length (pft!) of their set, but it was a typical RCPM show. You know what to expect and they deliver on it EVERY TIME. They come at you with an energy and passion that could match any band anywhere. Early in the set we got a taste of “Americano”. Just part of what would be a full night of sing at the top of your lungs fun. For the most part the set contained everything you would expect… “Switchblade”, “Beautiful Disaster”, “I Speak Your Language”… however, it did seem they played more Refreshments tracks including “Mexico”, “Banditos” and a personal fave of mine “Mekong”.

Roger’s consistent ability to give his fans what they want including his personal attention and interaction is refreshing. He connects with his fans more than any artist I’ve ever seen – mostly by drinking shots of tequila that they purchase for him during the show. He is a true front man… and as Amy labeled him, a “sexpot” (I had to ask for a definition). I just hope he continues to go out on the road as consistently as I’ve known him to. Always a treat to see him leave it all out there and watch my favorite stylistic drummer PF Naffah do his work as well.

“When I see the faces that remember my own”

Well it’s been weeks now since I’ve seen what I’ll call the “Cope – OAR show” that I’m trying to rekindle memories of. I feel like such a slacker as I try not to be distracted by these crazy clouds out the window of the plane I’m writing from (on our way to Tahoe to get hitched).

Anyway, we did make our way to see Mr. Clarence Greenwood (aka Citizen Cope) with a super bonus of OAR over at the outdoor LC a few weeks ago. Having worked in Dublin that day it allowed us time to get over to our favorite Mexican joint in CBus – Rancho Allegre - before the show. As always, the bean dip was so delicious that we burned our mouths on it without regret, the veggie quesadilla was scrumptious and filling and the margaritas ARE the best you will ever have! So with our bellies full and wanting a nap, we loafed our way over to the LC just a few minutes before doors were to open.

A few little tips if you are a concert go-er in the CBus area and especially if you are going to the LC outdoor…

First, if you see any shows at Promowest venues, BUY THE DECIBEL CLUB MEMBERSHIP! This thing gets you to the front of the line for any show right before doors open. It’s the best concert associated $50 I’ve ever spent – and it’s a lifetime membership. You also get 4 “free” tickets to some of their less mainstream shows included in the membership. On this day we were the only ones in the DB Club line for the show. So awesome to see the disappointment in the faces of the annoying teens who have been waiting all day to get in when you walk right in front of them at the last possible minute. (Yes, I’m a jerk and I am proud of it!)

Secondly, if you are seeing an LC or Basement show, park behind the LC. There are always spots back there and the price is the same or less than parking across the street at the Arena. The other advantage that I later learned about this for outdoor LC shows is that there is an entrance into the venue from that back lot. I think about 12 total people used it to get into the show the entire time we were there. Just another option to get you to the front of the line without waiting.

Back to the show… Getting in early and knowing that we are too old (and my bladder is too small) to stand at the stage for the whole evening – we went to the terrace just above the lawn area. They’ve added some half-picnic tables up there to sit at right on the rail. You’re still at an acceptable distance from the stage and have the comfort of not sitting on the ground and avoid the worry of someone kicking over your beer. The tables have plenty of room for 4, however we spread ourselves out and hogged the whole thing to just the 2 of us for the entire show. (Again, I’m a huge jerk and am OK with it).

The show had a slightly early start time for some reason, so it was still very bright out when Cope took the stage. Not unprecedented, but it was nice of OAR’s Marc Roberge to come out and introduce Citizen Cope as one of OAR’s favorite bands. Just as was the case with the previous Cope show we saw (see previous Cope review), it started out a little slow and flat. Greenwood however settled into a relaxed mood much quicker at this show that the last. As he worked through renditions of “Healing Hands” and “Hurricane Waters” you could see the segment of the crowd (mostly youthful, but still including us) who were there mainly to see Cope. He really carried the entire crowds attention though with his spot-on performances of “Let the Drummer Kick”, “Bullet and a Target” and the most popular “Son’s Gonna Rise”. He’s one of those rare hybrids of rock and urban beats that even appeals to those who despise modern hip-hop. You can’t help but to tap your feet to his beats and get lost in his rhythm. Considering he was the only “opener”, he played an acceptably lengthy set including one of my Cope fav’s “Mistaken I.D.” before giving way to OAR. (I look at is as OAR were coming on in support of Cope afterwards, but whatever.)

Between acts we were somehow able to miraculously maintain our stronghold on our picnic table as Amy got us a large draft of the underratedly economical and delicious Amber Bock, then I “went #1” shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of douche frat dudes in what amounted to be a portable horse trough (ick). I swear they must have set a record for beer sales that night. The lines were redonk and people were double-fisting the big drafts.

As time wound down to OAR’s start, they made it do so literally with a countdown on a screen over the stage. Again, not unprecedented, but a much appreciated touch. It should be a requirement at every show. (I like structure dammit!) Being that OAR is seen as “the hometown band” for, they were introduced by the mayor of Columbus, who was met with a course of boos. (He proceeded to do a really poor job of faking like he knew them as he had to read all of their names off of notes he had there with him on stage… not sure how that lack of memorization worked into his successes in politics, but whatever.) If you didn’t know, OAR was formed in the late 90’s when all the members were students at The Ohio State University. Surely “hometown” enough for CBus to be proud of, however we would find out (prompted by a large flag a fan was waving) that all but one of the members actually have always called Rockville, MD home – a fact that certainly warmed Amy’s heart to them a little bit.

I must say that they put on an impressive stage show. Whoever the lighting director is definitely earned his/her paycheck. I thought their sound was really solid too, especially the horns… just clean throughout. While it was really good, very few specifics stand out to me now. There were some very energetic sing-alongs of “This Town” and “Crazy Game of Poker”. I just love how you can relate to those guys though. “Toy Store” conjured thoughts of my childhood, literally hanging out in the toy isle at K Mart waiting for my mom to shop… Even more so, “I Feel Home” takes me back to the glory days of ‘The Boys’ just hanging out before we had any cares or responsibilities… a time I’ll never lose my appreciation for.

Thanks to Karen Van Holf, whose pictures I borrowed without asking.

AND WE’RE BACK!!!

After a long delay, the late summer string of shows is on. Along with the hectic concert schedule came a crazy busy personal and work schedule, which equals being way behind on blogging about said shows. So let’s get started.

Two weeks ago now (I think) we hit up the Phosphorescent show at Southgate House. I’m quite thankful for the late weeknight starts at this place. Much easier to make a 9 PM show during the week than a 7 PM show… however staying fully awake ‘till the end can be a struggle for my rapidly aging ass. Based on the activity in the front bar it appeared to be a relatively adequate crowd for a weeknight. As we made our way into the Ballroom however we found ourselves as 2 of about 8 people waiting there only fifteen minutes before the opener was supposed to start. We obviously had no troubles getting a table in near the center of the balcony amongst the sparse population. What we found were that we were actually “early”. The opener didn’t make his appearance until around 9:30 or maybe even later.

That at least gave us the opportunity to enjoy a few drinks and enjoy one of our other favorite activities… people watching (and subsequent unjust judgment and criticism of said watched individuals). The rest of the still small crowd filtered in as we waited, including a young girl who we saw get dropped off from her father’s Audi just outside the venue. She walked over to the Levee (we suspected to satisfy a story that she was “going to the movies”) until her father was out of sight and then scurried back across the street to meet a friend and an older ‘boy’ to enter the show with.

So finally onto the opener. Doug Paisley lightly announced himself to the room of 20 spectators with some gentle finger picking and a soft southern voice. He brought a pleasant, yet forgettable sound to the stage as most of his solo songs seemed to run together. About halfway through his set he was joined by a fiddle playing female who leant her beautiful voice in harmonization with Paisley’s. While these two together produced the most soothing sounds of the set together, the real entertainment didn’t start ‘till this guy came to the stage…

Mr. Will Oldham (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – yes I had to Wiki him on my phone) who is apparently a very well known folk artist there in the Commonwealth was simply a statue of visual entertainment to us. We grinned and gave each other the “Matty O. look” as his ill shaped frame attempted to concurrently sing the lyrics Paisley had scratched down on paper for him to reference. While in theory he might have thought it a great idea to share the stage with this “legend”, it could not have produced the unified sound Paisley was desiring. It did however produce a lot of “pft’s” and nasal laughs as Mr. Oldham sang overtop of Paisley and with less than perfect timing. While I sit here critical of the performance they put together audibly, I certainly was amused by the whole situation.

Following Paisley’s set was a long wait for Phosphorescent. They are an eclectic group to say the least. You certainly get the sense that they are true “artists” in more than a matter of career choice. A mindset that lends itself to the “we’ll just go on stage whenever” attitude… which is what they did. For not needing any additional sound check or instrument adjustments, they took an excruciating amount of time in getting their set started. As the crowd built to maybe around 50 people we anticipated Phosphorescent prefacing their set talking about the recent theft of all of their equipment after a show in NYC that led to the cancellation of a few other dates and nearly this one. Fortunately their U-Haul was recovered two days prior with all of their gear still intact. With that said, we were utterly surprised that they didn’t even mention it throughout the whole show.

Sooooo… without real introduction the band came on and crept instrumentally into a stalling opening while waiting on the bass player to make it to the stage with a few extra beers in hand. With all members now in place, front man Matthew Houck opened his mouth to spill out the cryptic sounds of a young Willie Nelson. (For more on this comparison and an in depth visual description of the band, see my previous David Gray show post.) Between the first and second songs Houck spoke of the whole band’s influence from Nelson citing the LP of his songs named “To Willie”. What followed were seriously moving renditions of “To Sick to Pray” and the gorgeous “It’s Not Supposed to Be That Way” (which I am again obsessed with).

It’s odd to witness a somewhat national act that is so overwhelmingly and openly obsessed with another artist in this manner… refreshingly honest though. I’m sure there were other “Willie” tracks mixed in with the remainder of their originals that I did not recognize, but Houck sings in such a haunted Nelson-like style that you wouldn’t really know.

The show continued showing off the bands individual and collective talents including some beautifully crafted harmonies, finally culminating in an amazing instrumental jam fest sometime in the 1 o’clock hour… my tiredness at that hour reminding me of the age that keeps chasing me. Where does all the energy go? Anyway, I digress… I can’t wait to see this amazing live sound again that they can’t seem to capture in the studio. Some bands are just “live bands” and this is one of them. If you get your chance, don’t miss it. They will be worth the small price of admission and the lengthy wait.

PS – Thanks to Keith Klenowski for the photos I “stole”, um “borrowed”. His are much better than mine.