4/22/10

If you weren't at the Bama Theatre Thursday night then 1., you're a bad person (like, morally abhorrent), and, 2. all the cool people are going to laugh at you. It was one of the best shows I've been to, and it showcased all the good stuff about local music.
Josh Sawyer opened, C!C! played, and Josh Folmar played three songs with C!C! backing him as a special guest. C!C! also backed one of Josh Sawyer's songs, "The Warden" (a favorite of mine), turning it into a Dylan-ish rocker, and dueting with Sawyer playing a cover of "Long Black Veil." I'll get back to that in a minute.
Josh opened with his three originals, like I said, and then C!C! stepped up. Since it was acoustic night they opened with some of their more acoustic guitar driven songs from the EP. They're still good songs, and reward repeated listening (standout tracks from the EP are "Dying Doves," "Kiter," and "Breeze Like an Antelope." Good songs, and also (if one knows the chronology of their writing), interesting for the lyrical evolution display) (if you want the musical leap then you should listen to the The Bird's Run side by side with Sasprilluh Champange). Sawyer got back up on the stage to play "The Warden." C!C! backed him and upped the tempo, turning it from reflective to rocker (still reflective though). The song has always sounded Dylanish to me, and C!C!'s backing made it all the more so. Kinda like it could be a B-side from Highway 69. (It's not Dylan, obviously, more straightforward, for one thing). Then Josh joined Adam (C!C!'s singer) for a rendition of long black veil. They duetted, back and forth, which was great. Josh's voice is a little nasally, in a good Colin Meloy way, and when Adam needs to be a powerful singer he sings from the back of his throat (I think), and the contrast was really fun.
C!C! played some newer, unrecorded stuff, and stuff from the album. Once I got over trying to find the electric guitar I was able to enjoy their acoustic versions. It's nice, because they vary the songs up enough that it's never boring.
Josh Folmar arrived on stage. He played his song "Devil's Highway," first, by himself, quiet, the kind of singing you do all by yourself in room, half praying someone will hear you and hoping no one ever does. Then, C!C! kicked in backing him up and "Devil's Highway" exploded, a yell, a resigned help me going down with a fight. And it's one hell of a fight. If the narrator's life is falling apart at least the song remains, too real to quit.
And then he played Tuscaloosa Blues and that was pretty great, too.
So what made the show so great was all these different artists working together so seamlessly. C!C! became a great backing band not once but twice, both times graciously ceding the spotlight. It wasn't a night of egos on parade. It was just a couple of musicians who thought working together might produce something really cool to show anyone who cared to show up.
That's what's great about local music. When it works it works like it did Thursday, all these insanely talented artists working together to produce something amazing. When it fails it's a big fish in a little pond pissing contest. But when it works, it's brilliant.