Flanfire

I did not really want to go. I mean, you drive down this steep hill just to get in, then you park and walk up a lot of steps just to get to the box office. THEN you stand outside in the cold (or heat, or rain, or whatever Texas weather the day brings) before they let you in (or you stay downstairs and hobnob with the usual pretenders crowd of one-percenters, as they are now called). And, yeah, rain or shine you have to walk up this outdoor spiral staircase … and that’s all BEFORE you get into the theatre.
But, OK, it really IS worth it all, because the acoustics are great and there is not a bad seat in the house (unless you do not really enjoy getting up for late arrivers with middle of the row seats). You have to stand in line to get a drink, and there is only a single unisex bathroom upstairs (and who wants to traverse those circular steps and miss half the show?). The theatre seats really are from an old theatre, with oversized cup holders suitable for 40-ounce soda pops. And all of the music — until recently, that is — is out of towners whose clientele is the snobs who never come to the Saxon, the Continental, or even the Spoke. Well, ,mostly.
The truth of course is that none of those venues has what One World has to offer. Parking, to start with (OK, the Spoke has a parking lot!). A huge stage with great lighting. Great sight lines and high ceilings. Not even the heralded Paramount has as many seats that close to the action! And when it is Alyse Black and Little Brave, you feel really great that Austin musicians are on a stage worthy of Austin talent.
Little Brave opened, with Gum-B (Mark Williams) sitting in on cello — a stripped down Brave with K Phillips ONLY on accordian, Michael Christmas on drums, and of course Stephanie Briggs at center stage on guitar, keyboards, and ukulele. [After the show, a 16-year-old singer-songwriter was so thrilled to meet Stephanie, as she too plays those three instruments with her songs!] It was funny to see Stephanie wonder whether it was okay to “cuss”!
But this was Alyse Black’s night. She had a seven piece band PLUS special guests — notably Kalu James and White Widow. The band itself was pretty special: the afore-mentioned Gum-B on standup bass and cello, Shawnee Kilgore on backing vocals and guitar, Will Wallace on lead guitar, Alex Henley on electric bass and guitar, Bruce Logan on drums — and a trumpet player too. One of the things that makes Alyse’s shows special is the care she gives to her fellow players — it is as much their show as hers, in her view.
The show was officially to unveil Alyse’s brand-new project, “The Honesty EP,” along with her live album, “The Triple Door Sessions.” The set list, though, included selections from her two earlier releases and some special surprises — not the least of which was Alyse’s very sexy red sparkly dress, which she claimed to have found just a day earlier at Goodwill (yeah, right!).
The blown away moment was Alyse’s rendering of the Willie Nelson classic, “Crazy,” with only Will Wallace’s acoustic guitar (including an amazing, lengthy solo). Songs like these show off the power and tenor of Alyse’s radiant voice — and this was followed by a song from Shawnee Kilgore about her favorite pirate — with Wallace and Kilgore on twin guitars and Alyse also providing vocal support. White Widow and Alyse rocked out together, and Kalu’s powerful song about his Nigerian homeland was given quite a special full-band arrangement.
The new recording is stripped down — and thus I suspect it will rapidly become my favorite Alyse Black record of all time (until of course she puts out something even newer). I mean, people like her flirtatious spirit onstage and her bouncy songs (including an Adele cover this night), but truth be told, Alyse’s real strength is singing ballads without a lot of instruments to drown out her voice. The banter keeps the show alive and energetic — and then she drops the H-bomb on you with “Even the Best” (or really just about any song from the new EP).
Okay, I admit it. I loved going to One World when we won tickets to see Judy Collins (by knowing that Sandy Denny wrote and originally sang “Who Knows Where the Time Goes”) — but I never saw One World as a local music venue — until tonight! And better yet, the management is talking about an entire SERIES featuring local music … now THAT to me is worth the steep driveway, the outdoor climb, and the other stuff. [Aside - do smokers even care that they sometimes miss half the show to step outside?]
Other Music Highlights from Thanksgiving Week
Bar none — Drew Smith and the Lonely Choir in what may have been the best performance EVER by this amazing band — my favorite (and Ihor’s) for several years running. Jake Owen played what may have been the most powerful guitar solo I have ever heard during Drew’s song, “Bending Like a River Flowing,” and Ryan Bowman (bass), Kyle Thompson (drums), and Matthew Russell (keys), along with Drew, played inspired music in what may have been their last show for a while (the BoDeans are going on tour, taking some of Drew’s players with them).
Earlier that evening, the Beckham Brothers once again showed they are a band to be reckoned with — and one that needs to get off the Willis Alan Ramsey kick and RELEASE the music they have recorded. The Band of Heathens as usual really brought it — and yes I took a detour on Friday evening to go hear Max Frost along with Face, Tiny and Dave Scher rock the house at Beale Street Tavern. Even earlier I had caught a smokin’ set from Edison Chair — which plays Wednesday night at the Parish — if you like the Beatles you will love this band that has that same energy and real potential for playing bigger stages (for example, opening for Fastball New Year’s Eve at Uncle Billy’s on the lake).
Thanksgiving Day was wonderful, the crowd gathered for the third year in a row at Donny Jones’ country estate to chow down and jam. Later I slipped out to catch Dustin Welch’s set with Steve Bernal (cello), Mike Bernal (percussion), and Roberto Riggio (violin) … and it was the way I have been hearing Dustin’s music ever since I saw him with Joe and Trisha Beckham and Brian Standefer on cello at Lambert’s. And Saturday night we stopped by to see Dale Watson (who will be taking a hiatus from performing starting in February to act in a play) and ran into Sunny Sweeney and her new husband at the Spoke — and then dropped by Momo’s to see George DeVore with his brand-new hot band. And there was even MORE!

Flanfire decided to take the night off from carousing around town listening to live music and instead catch up a little on his backlog of unreviewed CD’s (and EP’s, for that matter).  But before we get to new music from Alyse Black, Colin de los Santos, Kevin Higgins (of the Dust Devils), and Courrier, we have a few brief announcements.

First, thanks to everyone who performed, came out, or even said a good word about the Flanfire Favorites benefit concert last Saturday at Central Market (and thanks especially to bassman Sean Hopper, who made it all possible).  We raised significant seed money for the domestic violence library project — enough we hope to pique the interest of the University of Texas in securing this unique resource for its Perry Castenada Library.  But just as important, we all had a barrel of fun.  Thanks to Jarrod Dickenson, Ben Mallott, Charlie Faye, Margo Valiante, Stonehoney, Noelle Hampton and her band (including a special thanks to Teal Collins), and the Tiny Tin Hearts.  Thanks to State Representative Valinda Bolton and to Professor Noel Busch and to Amanda Winters, without whom we could not have kept track of the donations or the people who kept coming by.  Thanks also to KUT for the many promos and to KXAN-TV for coming out and interviewing me for the Six O’Clock News.

Kudos, meanwhile, to Blues Mafia for making the finals of the HOUSTON Blues Challenge.  One more victory (October 25th at Dan Electro’s there) and it’s off to Memphis!  Meanwhile, catch the band with Hector Ward and the Big Time on October 24th at Tim’s Porch at the Backyard — or at midnight on Halloween at the Saxon Pub.  Kudos also to my pal A. J. Vincent and his bandmates in Bright Light Social Hour, who won The Sound and the Jury and got to play in the mudfest also known as the Austin City Limits Music Festival!

In other great Austin news, the Lonesome Heroes are back after an extended summer tour (no school any more for Landry McMeans), and Shelley King’s long-awaited collaboration with members of the Subdudes — entitled  “Welcome Home” — is finally ready for release.  Good stuff!

ALYSE BLACK – Hold Onto This

Alyse Black came to Austin nearly two years ago from Seattle, then went back there — with her new Austin-based band — long enough to complete work on her second CD, “Hold onto This.”  Cody Rahn on drums and percussion and Juke Wyatt on bass, with help from Jeff Miller on trumpet and Kimo Muraki on just about everything else, have created with Alyse a collection of grown-up songs whose themes range from breakups to bombers — songs that float along on clouds that all too often carry rain and too rarely yield rainbows.

Alyse, who is on tour with Aly Tadros across the Eastern U.S. right now, is a redhead full of energy and a sensuality that comes across on stage as playfully flirtatious – you know she is having a good time just being gorgeous for you, and yet she never takes herself that seriously.  Or maybe she does, but just does not want us to realize that life is more than a video game existence — hurt hurts!

I well remember the first night Alyse and Aly played on the same stage at the Shut Up and Sing! songwriters’ showcase at a “dingy bar” on Sixth Street.  Who knew these two would become musically inseparable so quickly?  OK — the songs?  I like “Into the Sunlight,” as here Alyse demonstrates her vocal range … and her romantic aspirations.  “Up in the Air (Not Too Late)” shows off the lady’s lower vocal register in the opening lines — this woman can flat out sing!

My favorite cut, though, has to be “B-17 Bomber Girl,” for which Alyse says she was inspired by the full-sized pinup girls whose images once graced the planes our servicemen flew — and how seeing such women helped her overcome youthful disdain that her own shape was more than perfect.  [Totally different genre, but one quickly recalls Susan Gibson's "My Best Feature."]  Truth be told, you can hardly keep your eyes off Alyse she is so vivacious and you never had any idea she used to be or may still be a little self-conscious on or off the stage.

COLIN DE LOS SANTOS – Songland

I know Colin de los Santos through Doug Boyd, Kalu James, and the bratpack of guys who used to hang out at Shut Up and Sing!  So the other night I was at Botticellis and Colin hands me this disc, “Songland,” and I had no idea the power he had unleashed with great help from producer (and fellow songwriter) Chris Hawkes.  The lads are all playing on Friday (October 16th) at Lambert’s (high end BBQ, expensive beer, but a great music venue) and I plan to be there.

Colin spent his last few years at Sam Houston State University along with Zach Arrington and Jon-Michael Hamman, and the three have this singer-songwriter collective known as StrangeLove.  The key word on this recording is “strings” (they get you at the outset) – kudos to Mike and Erin Ross for their work here, as well as to Joe Gerfers (drums), J. T. Holt (lap steel on “The Ripper”), A. J. Siedner (guitar strum on “You Lovin’ Me”)), Aly Tadros and Stella (sultry backing vocals on “Silhouette”), Sara Hamman-Ludwig (vocals on “Megan Rose”) , and Doug Boyd (trumpet — I did not even know he played!).

This record just SOUNDS good — I am still deciphering the lyrics, but this is just good music.  [BTW, Aimee Bobruk and sister Erin hail from Huntsville, home to SHSU.]  From the opening notes of “Texas Pearl,” though the bouncy “You Lovin’ Me,” to the funky “The Ripper,” Colin captures your attention.  “Silhouette” is like an entire suite with a broad range of emotions, notably hot passion.  “Gypsy” has some nice acoustic guitar work (well, what else, given the title?); but it is “Megan Rose” that is the CD’s signature song (or at least Colin thinks so — it is the featured cut on his website).  The strings that opened the record [with "Texas Pearl" and the two "Pink Buzz" cuts (Austin and Boston)] are back and even more beautiful — this is like a ballet set to song, and Sara Hamman’s voice is that of the ballerina (Megan herself, one supposes) searching out the elusive sun and moon.  But “maybe this is just fantasy, I suppose” ….. hmmmmmm.

I love the intro to “Old Blind Man,” maybe MY favorite song here … perhaps because I too often “remember what it was like to truly sing.”  “Shadowed Fervency” further reveals Colin as much more than superficial in his lyrical patterns — there is a humility here, though, that is uncommon in the young poets I have known (and been).  The final cut, “Something,” again opens with acoustic guitar and strings — this is a love song for two people who have been through some tough times yet have the grit to keep on going.  “The way we danced with no shoes to some old reggae blues….” Yeah!

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 — KEVIN HIGGINS and COURRIER!

FINALLY Flanfire gets out to the Old Settlers’ shindig — and what a lovely day (despite rain all day Friday and ominous skies early Saturday morning)!  Got there just in time to hear the 1 am set from the Fireants (while wearing one of their T-shirts) and a wee bit of Green Mountain Grass (that’s mando player Dave Wilmoth and fiddler Adam “Pickles” Moss shown below) at the Hill Country Stage before heading over to the Bluebonnet Stage for a great set from Lone Star Swing (featuring Gemma Donal on fiddle and my pal Stretch MacFayden (Dawrson) on snare. 

Lest anyone not know, Lone Star Swing is fronted by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Gary Hartman, who is director of the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State and a heluva guy.  Bassist Terry Hale and guitar virtuoso Rick McRae long ago found a young singer named George Strait and are still members of his Ace in the Hole Band, mandolin player Paul Glasse may be found with Willie or Lyle on a given day, and youngster Billy Curtis (well, he has a 2-year-old!) on fiddle, saxophone, and great vocals has done duets with Johnny Gimble.  Billy’s vocal on “Faded Love” was one of the highlights of the entire week of music.  Plus, these guys are maybe MORE fun than the Austin Lounge Lizards.

It was also a day when my pals from Stonehoney (happy birthday, Dave Phenicie) backed up legenday songwriter Dan Navarro and then did their own set on the Discovery stage.  All of these guys had told me to be sure to listen to the Lovell Sisters — and was I blown away by these three north Georgia bluegrass darlings who were debuting their brand-new (second) CD, “Time to Grow.”  Jessica (age 23, fiddle), Megan (age 19, dobro), and Rebecca (age 18, mandolin, guitar) are on their way back to MerleFest and a major world tour — well, of course, their sisterly harmonies are perfect, their musicianship is excellent, and they will hopefully remain unfazed by the publicity that may focus all too much on their good looks than on their talent (think Dolly Parton, one of the finest pure bluegrass singers I have ever heard).  Here they are on stage, and here is Rebecca with Dan Navarro, who got to know their whole family over chicken tacos he made at a festival campsite far away and long ago.

As day turned toward evening (and after listening to the McCoury brothers for a while), I had to stroll back to the Hill Country stage to catch Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women (mostly Austinites of course) — Lisa Pankratz on drums, Cindy Cashdollar on steel guitars, one-time Austinite Amy Farris (and her lovely red hair) on fiddle, the legendary Sarah Brown on bass, and Seattle’s Christy McWilson on vocals.  Earlier, I had caught only a small part of Sarah Jarosz’s wonderful set (with Alex Hargreaves on fiddle and Sam Grisman on bass)  — that’s the downside of too many stages to see everything!  I also caught just a tad of the Colorado-based Spring Creek but enough to be blown away by their banjo player.   Down there somewhere is a photo of Gemma with Billy Curtis warming up before their smokin’ set.

So here are photos of Stonehoney’s Phil Hurley and Shawn Davis with Dan Navarro, Ms. Farris, the Belleville Outfit, and Lone Star Swing.  Yeah, we COULD have stuck around to see more of the McCourys, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Robert Earl Keen (all good!), but the big “miss” was the campground jam with the “Grass” and The Blue Hit (which features Pickles’ brother David on cello), just back from their West Coast tour and with their brand-new CD ready for a May 9th party at Club DeVille.    But, heck, we were tired enough, and Stretch and Gemma had a long drive out to Turkey, Texas, for a Monday night gig with the house band at the Church of Western Swing just days before the annual Bob Wills Festival there.  But before I move on I have to mention the harmonica workshop with Jimi Lee, Dave Spalding, and Cara Cooke and the songwriter showcase featuring Jenny Reynolds and a heart-wrenching duet by Ben Mallott and Betty Soo on Gram Parsons’ “Grievous Angel.”

To catch up with missed days and nights, there was that Sunday night at Shut Up and Sing when I caught up with Alyse Black and Aly Tadros, who are about to go on tour together.  And here is the handsome (just ask Wendy!) Chad Pope on the indoor stage at the brand-new Red Shed Tavern and a photo of the tavern’s backyard that shows the SHADOW of the beautiful stage that Chad bdesigned and built for the venue, which hopes to get through the tangled web that is the city of Austin to get an outdoor venue permit.  [I also caught a set from Paul Finley, but will write about that when reviewing his new CD, Butterfly, which features both this acoustic virtuoso and artwork by Gregory Gruett Smith.]

But I cannot depart without a short diatribe condemning the city of Austin for its very trange poplicy that has already shut down live music at Freddie’s, Botticelli’s (at least amplified music), and apparently Guero’s and is having a stifling impact on the ability of the Austin  music community to earn a living — not to mention on the entire live music scene for those who want music with their meals.  It is as though the city is telling folks, you can have music or you can have dinner — but not both!  Elections for city council are coming up in just a very few days, and it is time for these candidates to go on record so that we will know for sure who are enemies are and not let them ruin Austin.

 Have to mention the set  I caught at Flipnotics by the Celestialites (Jonny Konya from Belleville, the wonderful Carley Wolf, and Najeeb Sabour), the new trio that I really like, and a very enjoyable Sunday brunch at Threadgills featuring Hank Alrich and his lovely daughter Shairdri, shown here with Threadgills’ own Melanie in what we hope will be a regular feature … their harmonies wowed us!