Band of Heathens, James Hyland, Wisebird — Momo’s Club, November 25, 2010
The Last Waltz Revisited — Momo’s Club, November 23, 2010
The Band of Heathens show at Momo’s Club brought back memories … of when the band first got started, and our anticipation in advance of their very first gig — somewhere close to five years ago. At that time, Ed Jurdi had his solo CD from his East Coast days and Gordy Quist was working on one of his own, being produced in Nashville. Brian Keane was in the band, and when there was a drummer it was usually Eldridge Goins. Nobody had any idea are that this four-songwriter band would take off, but guys like Momo’s owner Paul Oveisi put a little faith into the project. Next we knew the formula was working, even though it took quite a while for people to see the band behind the rotating songwriters.
But what a band it has become! Gordy Quist, like Colin Brooks before him, was a Kerrville New Folk Finalist. Ed Jurdi can sing like Michael McDonald and can grow a full beard overnight. Bassist Seth Whitney has both chops and smarts, and the harmonies and guitar skills of the three vocalists are topnotch. Add to the mix John Chipman’s skill and energy on the drums, and all you need is a few songs. Oh, that’s right! These guys are award-winning songwriters. This year, the band was nominated for best group or duo of the year at the Americana Music Awards.
But back to the history — Colin Brooks had already moved to Austin by2003 when he shared the Kerrville New Folk honors with such bright lights as Jonathan Byrd and Anais Mitchell. Quist, who played football at Dartmouth after high school on the northwest side of Houston, won in 2006. Brian Keane has gone on to a successful career in Nashville and along the way stole the heart of Austin music princess Rachel Loy — but on this night, he was back in the band for a couple of songs, including the showstopper “Odysseus.” Trevor Nealon of Wisebird, whom Quist met while they were both at Dartmouth, was on keyboards all night.
And there were more special guests. Longtime buddy and songwriter Drew Smith shared the spotlight, doing his own “Silver Pictures” and Jurdi’s great song, “Bumblebee,” aka “Sugar in My Black Coffee.” Guitarist Steve Wedemeyer, who has just moved back to Houston, and a full horn section also joined the fun, along with Goins and producer and major performer Mark Addison. But then again, everybody was joining in the fun — and Colin was giving his infamous stinkeye look now and then to make us all sweat. And (though I had to step out and missed it) the grand finale, “Ain’t No More Cane,” reverberated through the night air with the full horn section blaring away.
Just as important, the opening band tonight was James Hyland and the Joint Chiefs (featuring Kim Deschamps, Robby Kidd on drums, Justin Wade Thompson on bass, and Robert Socia on lead guitar. Take note: Socia, one of my all-time favorites, has promised he will be back on stage with his own long-awaited solo CD in the very near future (so says his lovely wife Jen). I long for those wonderful days when Bobby was hosting shows at the Shoal Creek Saloon with his band.
ut I digress. Hyland, for the uninitiated, was the founder and lead singer of the South Austin Jug Band, and he had been a solo performer of some note even earlier than that. He is so known for his laid-back singing style that even he jokes that he falls asleep and keeps on singing in his lazy southern drawl that feels like cane sugar trickling down your throat right off the sugar cane stalk. The new CD, Celestial Navigation, produced by Stephen Doster, is a masterpiece of understatement.
Hyland is a LOT like John Boy Walton, but with more than a hint of Huck Finn. His songs just flow under your skin rather than into your head or heart. You just breathe them in. He uses old familiar players — Warren Hood, Dennis Ludiker, the incomparable Kim Deschamps, Willie Pipkin, Robby Kidd and Chris Maresh as the rhythm section, Chip Dolan, Rob Hooper, James Stevens, and Noah Jeffries — and of course, Mister Doster himself. This is a beautiful record, one that I want to play again and again and …
OKAY, I can hardly name, let alone sing, the songs (yet). But like I said, this is music for the skin that osmotes into your soul. “American Son” – a tribute to our guys in uniform – is the finale and only song on the record where the band builds above the quiet energy that Hyland sustains through 12 songs. The songs I remember best are the opening number, “RadioCity,” and “Girls from Lake Pontchartrain,” but “Paint a Girl” came close. But there is not a bad song here — and I cannot (I think I said this already) quit listening. Thanks, buddies (Hyland and Doster in particular), for the memories.
The boys from Utah known as Wisebird closed out the show — Trevor Nealon, Will Webster on lead guitar, Dave Meservy on drums, and my great friend Joe Beckham on bass. These guys are just rock stars — great musicians and handsome devils as well. Best of all, roommates of the wonderful Jazz Mills (which is why I know them a little). Trevor’s bandmates had just been on the Momo’s stage on Wednesday night — with Will doing a great job as Robbie Robertson and Dave playing both keyboards and drums during an evening dedicated to the memory of The Band and its historic Last Waltz (which of course was not The Band’s final show). What a night — the weather was still warm, so people sat on the rooftop and enjoyed hours of video starting with a show about the making of The Band’s Brown album and segueing into the Martin Scorcese movie, “The Last Waltz.”
Then the live music version cranked up — with Jeff Botta on drustarting out as Lems, Joe Beckham playing bass, Connor Forsyth and Dave Mservy on keyboards, and Will Webster on lead guitar. Through the course of the evening, there were many others playing nearly every instrument — and, yes, there was a horn section. Among the MANY highlights — Nathan Singleton singing “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and getting an encore orchrestrated by Mister Botta, Botta himself portraying the ego behind the man known as Neil Diamond, Ethan Kennedy on vocals and Kurt McMahan on harmonica as Muddy Waters on “Mannish Boy” (aka I’m a Man)l, Suzanna Choffel as Joanie Mitchell singing harmonies with Jeremy Nail as Neil Young on one of my favorite songs, “Helpless.” And there was more — Drew Smith as Van Morrison, David Jimenez (with help again from Mister Botta) as Eric Clapton, Dan Dyer as Dr. John, and best of all Jack Martin as Bob Dylan. [I naturally exclude my beloved Jazz Mills from any comparisons, but must note that she performed songs done by both Mavis Staples, who BTW has a brand new record out with Jeff Tweedy, AND Emmy Lou Harris.
As my pal Dapper Dan said to me during the evening, we live in an AMAZING CITY. Surely NONE of the performers on stage had ever seen The Band play live (they are all too young — whereas I got to see them in Philadelphia in 1968 or 1969 and they were wonderful!). Hats off especially to Grace Meyer and to Paul Oveisi for the beginning of what HAS to become a Momo’s tradition (yes, there is a separate group here honoring The Band at Club DeVille and an older bunch of guys including Walter Tragert used to do The Band tribute show, or so I am told).
