“Kentucky Homefront” & “Roots & Boots” @ The Bomhard (10.19.2008)

ok, i’m a little behind on this. sorry…

last saturday evening i attended a great 2 for 1 type music event. WFPK sponsored (technically) back to back shows at the bomhard (partially to celebrate the kentucky center for the arts 25th anniversary), the shows were a part of the stations excellent series; “kentucky homefront” and “roots and boots,” both featuring american roots music.

the first show was “kentucky homefront” which was celebrating and featuring louisville singer songriters (in order of performance); john gage (also the shows founder and host), danny flanigan, teneia sanders, mickey clark, tim krekel, leigh ann yost and johnny berry. the show was in the traditional “in the round” format, with the artists sharing the stage and songs, with each performer doing two original songs.

already being a big fan of tim krekel and teneia sanders and familiar w/leigh ann yost and danny flannigan, i was mostly looking forward to seeing them. and i certainly not disappointed, all were great as i expected. i had no knowedge or reference point with mickey clark or johnny berry but really enjoyed their music and performances and look forward to seeing them again, hopefully in the near future. i got to talk to mickey clark for a while after the show and found him to be open, kind, generous and appreciative man. i look forward to hearing more from him and seeing him perform again.

my favorite thing about the show was just the sheer joy and pleasure that these performers had sharing their gifts with the (very appreciative) audience. it was infectious. it was very loose and improvised set with them jumping in on harmony vocals, joining in on guitar, sort of an acoustic jam and it worked perfectly. tim krekel was by far the highlight providing some outstanding guitar on most every song but all performances were excellent.

we are fortunate here in louisville to have a station like WFPK to give us the opportunity to have this music heard, both on radio and live. we are also fortunate to have this quality of local music in our own back yard. the talent and dedication of this music and these musicians needs and deserves our support.

next up the “roots and boots” segment featuring the LA based, but originally from louisville critics darlings… “the watson twins.”

first, let me say, i enjoyed the show, but in my opinion, it paled in comparison to the first show. the “twins” were good, but far from what i expected based on the raves they are receiving in reviews and national music magazines. it might have helped had i been more familiar with their music, etc but in kind…i heard nothing that made me want to rush down to their merch table and pick up a CD either, which is often the case when i see a band live. they had a nice tight band, but no player that i would consider exceptional. their lyrics/songs were nice, but no song, line or lyric struck me as prolific or outstanding. and Iifound their stage presence and banter to be awkward and a little distracting. to sum it up, in my opinion, they were “good” nothing more, nothing less…just “good.”

missy higgins – louisville, KY (07.19.2008)

written & submitted by bill ivester

saturday afternoon, australian singer/songwriter, missy higgins delivered a nice short (but very good) set at ear x-tacy. her music ranges from the “folkish,” serious singer/songwriter vein to a nice popish (but a little pissed off too) vibe. however you describe it, quite simply, it works.

i was unaware of her and her music, but was interested in checking her out after hearing about the in-store and then reading her bio and decided to go see her play. i’m glad i did. her voice has hints of sarah mclachlan, maybe a splash of tori amos, but is uniquely her own. she and her guitarist did four-song acoustic set from her new record; “on a clear night.” it was pretty well attended, mostly by people that seemed to be fans and familiar with her and her music. she has a very charming and engaging stage presence and was good enough that i picked up her (again, very good) new cd and a ticket for her show at phoenix hill tavern later that night.

her show @ phoenix hill was opened by one of louisville’s better singer/songwriters, teneia sanders, who delivered a great 30+ minute set to one of the more horrible and rude audiences that i remember recently, i’ll rant more on that later. but, she was a trooper, made a few subtle statements about it, which were completely ignored, and did the best she could under the circumstances and delivered a nice set.

missy came on with her full band and played a great set, a little over an hour and a half, a nice mix of stuff from her new record and previous releases. she switched off between guitar and piano, playing about half the show on each. she backed by her 3 piece band (unfortunately, i didn’t write down their names and can’t find them on line) which was excellent. for me, highlights were “secrets,” a nice funky little number, “peachy,” and upbeat and poppy sounding song with some pretty pissed off lyrics. again, it works. and the show closer “steer” which she intro’ed as a song about taking control of your own life and destiny with a nice little reminder about our place in the scheme of things. reminding us that there are more stars in the sky than grains of sand on the earth and also reminding of the distance between the stars and compactness of the sand, putting into perspective a how small a place in the universe they we as people really occupy. in closing, she challenged everyone to go out on a clear night, lay on their back in the grass and to just look up at the stars. a good story, a nice reminder and a great way to close out the show.

this girl is a great talent, check her out.

ok, the rant… this was without a doubt the rudest, most obnoxious and self-absorbed audience that i have seen at a show in recent memory. for the life of me, i do not understand the mentality of people that go out of their way to buy a ticket to a show, drive to the venue and then sit there and incessantly talk louder than the performers who, by the way…have microphones and amplifiers! maybe you (the geese) just don’t care, maybe you are there to socialize and/or are just trying to get laid. maybe you are just a rude, inconsiderate and selfish person and don’t care. but for the record, you are not the show, you are not the reason we are there. the rest of us did not pay to see and/or hear you act like a fool. we are there for the performers, the people with their name on the ticket, the people on the stage. and FYI concerts are NOT (for the most part) an interactive experience, when a performer during their on-stage banter makes an observation or asks a rhetorical question that is not a cue to start a back and forth conversation with them.

and if you can’t drink more than 2 or 3 drinks without making a fool of yourself, ummm…don’t have more than two or three drinks. just a thought, show a little consideration and restraint. in other words, grow the hell up. it’s amazing how a small group (hell, one or two can do it) of inconsiderate, self absorbed asses can ruin and/or seriously diminish the experience for the 100+ others in attendance. but last night it was probably 25-30% of the audience that was horrible. i just don’t get it. we, and more importantly, the performing artists deserve better.

and if you think i’m kidding or over-reacting, to top off the evening, during the final song of the night, two girls got up and walked up to the front of the stage and one of them started posing in front of the stage, directly in front of missy, while the other took flash pictures of her. it’s like they were taking goddamn tourist snapshots and she was posing in front of the statue of liberty or something. this was far beyond any stupidity and lack of courtesy/respect, i don’t think i have never seen anything that stupid, inconsiderate or rude at a concert before. ever. idiots.

concert photography by bill ivester
or
what we need is music