Gareth Asher - 03/14/09

Gareth Asher brought his powerful voice and medley of popular songs to the Evening Muse Saturday night. It had been a while since I had seen Gareth and I was very much looking forward to this show. He is a very unique singer-songwriter in that his voice is crystal clear, in tune, and booms loud enough to probably not need a microphone! I mean, Gareth can bring the soulful ballad to your ears and your heart!

Gareth shared that many things had been going on in his life over the past several months. He mentioned he is "newly single" to the applause of the ladies in the house - but its obvious that he is not quite so happy about it. On a lighter side he shared with me that he had enjoyed both The Simple Man cruise and the Rock Boat cruise this winter. Lot's of performing, eating, and partying with friends durting those couple of weeks in the Caribbean.

Gareth is working on a new CD. When asked when it would be available, he said "when its done". I guess these things don't happen on a schedule but rather in due time as the various components come together, one song at a time. One thing is for sure - his vocal ability sets him apart from anyone else doing acoustic sets. Not to mention that you won't meet a nicer person.

Listen to a few of Gareths songs at his MySpace page and have a look at a few of his performance videos. You'll want to add his music to your collection - I promise.

Here's a link to a few photos of the show.

Cheers,

Monty

Malcolm Holcombe - 03/14/09

Shuffling around the Evening Muse prior to the beginning of the show, Malcomb Holcombe had the look of a humbled soul, lost in the noisey buzz of the people who had come to see him perform. Slight of stature and unassuming off the stage Malcolm blended with the crowd, occasionally stopping to say hello to a fan who had recognized him.

As the Evening Muse continued to fill it was obvious that the Charlotte locals had been waiting for Malcom to come back to this listening room. Many of the conversations were stories of the last time they had seen Malcom, either here in Charlotte or at a folk festival somewhere in the Carolinas. The chatter supports Joe's introduction of Malcolm as "The man, the myth, the legend". He's certainly one of Carolina's sons and a favored mountain trubadour.

There's a lot that changes when Malcomb takes the stage. I'd swear he gets 6 inches taller and puts on about 40 pounds as he begins his set. His graveley voice and rustic appearance combined with some unique guitar picking/strumming/banging mark the unique sound that is Malcomb Holcombe. A gifted guitarist and storyteller indeed! The country fried stories which introduce each song are filled with anticipation as one never knows where Malcolm is going to take a story or what adjectives are going to come out of his mouth. It's an adventure! Over and over again, the crowd let's out a chuckle as Malcolm transitions from a story to a song.

On this night Malcolm played a number of upbeat, bluesy, rockin' songs which kept the toes tappin'. Of course the night would not be complete without several ballads as well. As the set drew to a close and the house stood in ovation, Malcom continued with an additional three encore songs as people shouted out favorites and Malcolm quickly acknowledged them. Once finished, Malcolm stepped off the stage and began greeting his fans and friends as he melded back into the unassuming man whom had blended in with the crowd as the night began.

A few photos of the show....

Cheers,

Monty

Review - Feb 26th - Anya Marina, Jay Nash, Greg Laswell

There was so much music going on at The Evening Muse during this early show that its hard to keep straight in my mind who was doing what with whom! These three musicians on tour together is pure musical ecstasy, that's for darn sure! It's not often that three nationally recognized musicians get into the same schedule, but these three are friends from way back and it shows - not only in the ease with which they support each other but also in the friendly banter that only occurs between real friends.

Read on for the rest of the story & photos......

Cheers,

Monty

Saturday Night Lights! JoAnna Lynne, The Stellas, Last November, No Second Troy, Flagship

Overall this night was a definition in sensory overload - in a good way. All of the musicians that entertained us this evening had a distinctive sound within the defined boundaries of rock'n roll. It's this diversity that has kept three generations of music lovers rocking and I personally hope it stays that way. Keeping the music scene live, keeping the energy level high, keeping the rest of us guessing about what will come next around the bend.

JoAnna Lynne & Chidori

As is normal the night was split into two shows. First was an early show featuring an acoustic set by The Stellas with folk/indie singer-songwriter JoAnna Lynne. The abnormal part of the evening was that the usual transition of people did not occur between the early and late show crowd. The people and genre generally remained constant between the shows. It did get a little younger, but generally because the younger folks tend to come out later in the evening.

The Stellas

The late show continued a theme of high energy rock'n roll with Last November leading off followed by the Washington DC group No Second Troy. The closer of the night was Flagship, a hard driving group from Charlotte.

Last November

No Second Troy





Flagship

Click on the appropriate links to reviews and photographs of each group from the Early show as well as the Late show.


This was a really nice night of music at Charlotte's Evening Muse.



Cheers,



Monty

Sunshone Still

Chris Smith, the brainchild behind the alt/country sound of Sunshone Still, brought his unique sound and story to the Evening Muse Friday night the 13th of February. Supported by a group of guys including Flavio on Bass and an amazing add of Steel Guitar by Rodney, Lanier Sunshone Still played most of the songs from their debut album "Dead Letters" and about half of the tunes from "Ten Cent American Novels".

The uniqueness of this contemporary alt/country band cannot be understated and requires a little explaining to gain a full appreciation for what was heard Friday night at the Muse.

It starts with Chris Smith being from Columbia, SC - via Austin, TX - via Nashville, TN. It's that Austin component that influences the sound the most as the songs from "Dead Letters" were all written during Chris' tenure in the Texas music capital. It took three years for this debut album to come to fruition, but it gave Chris the confidence to undertake a rare musical task - writing a concept musical production chronicling the life of Kit Carson. This biography takes its form in the sophomore album titled "Ten Cent American Novels". As I listened to this nights performance I felt the quiet of a west Texas night in the Chisos mountains of the Chihuahuan desert.

Chris' amazing talents, storytelling ability in almost a whisper, performed perfectly by the band in the style of arrangement envisioned for this album allowed the listener to follow many of the stories with visions of the events.

Probably the best news of the night was Chris' recent discovery that he had "slipped one by the goalie" and will soon be a proud father! Reason for this talented musician to celebrate!

I truly hope you take the time to go out to the Sunshone Still MySpace page and/or website to have a listen to some of these tunes. I know you'll find them as amazing as I did.

Hit this link up to see some photos of the nights performance.

Here's the set list from the night:

1. A Pallet Of Buffalo Robes (Widows Blues) - Ten Cent American Novels


2. Roan Mountain - Dead Letters


3. Land of Tar & Cotton - Dead Letters


4. Fireflies - Dead Letters


5. Damn You California - Dead Letters


6. The Winning of Waa-Ni-Beh - Ten Cent American Novels


7. Barstool - Dead Letters


8. Saturdays In The Sky - Dead Letters


9. Blood and Thunder (Burn The Damn Thing) - Ten Cent American Novels


10. Black Weeds' Submission - Ten Cent American Novels


11. Klamath Lake (It was a Perfect Butchery) - Ten Cent American Novels
    

Cheers,

Monty

Lucy Kaplansky

New York City singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky graced the stage of Charlotte's Evening Muse Friday night, the 13th of Feb '09. Performing to a very full house, Lucy mixed her story-telling melodies to guitar as well as keyboards. Lucy reveled in stories of her daughter Molly as well as a few of her recently passed Father. She shared one his songs - entitled Pi - a cute mathematical number playing on the value of Pi as well as several other algebraic terms.

It was a pleasure listening to this intellectual (PhD in Psychology) serenade the audience with her diversity of self scribed indie tunes as well as well known numbers from other songwriters & well known singers. Sharing these songs of sweet beauty had members of the audience thanking Lucy for coming to our little house and allowing such an intimate interaction.

It was certainly a performance which will not soon be forgotten by the numerous fans present. Be sure to check out Lucy's website and her latest CD - Over The Hills (2007) Red House Records.

You can check out photos of her performance at this link.

Cheers,

Monty

Girls Guns & Glory - 02/10/09

WOW!! These guys are for REAL! Girls Guns & Glory may sound like the title of a Billy-The-Kid western remake, but its the nombre of a Boston band that rocks Americana style with the lyrics of a Roy Orbison and the sound of progressive country.

The groups lead singer and primary lyricist, Ward Hayden, has written some witty tunes that tell life's stories with smooth eloquent vocals - has hints of the Roy Orbison sound too! Colt Thompson shreds the lead guitar with crystal clarity providing exceptional rock'n sound when called upon and can also bring tears from his instrument when the country tunes call for a love song melody. The group is completed by bassist Bruce "IV" Beagley and John Graham on drums.

These guys are solid in their timing, experienced in entertaining the audience and full of confidence in their musical capabilities. They should be too. They've just released their fourth album - Inverted Valentine - which has reached No. 8 on the national AMA Chart and No. 2 on the Roots Music Report!!

Another charming aspect of these guys is the time they spent with the folks that came out to see them on this Tuesday night. They spent at least 45 minutes after the set just talking and having a beer with the 30 or so folks who hung around after the show. I hope everyone who wanted a CD was able to get one. I and the people around me all purchased one of each of the three they had with them. This was an easy decision after listening to them for the 100 minute set they performed.

Normally the Evening Muse is closed on Tuesday but I'm sure glad Lea and Joe booked these young lads in on this night. Wouldn't surprise me at all to see this band break out in 2009 - might be the last time I get to see them in a listening room from 10 feet away!

Here's a link to some photos from the great fun!!

Link to Girls, Guns & Glory MySpace page where you can hear a few tracks as well!

Cheers,

Monty

p.s. A special set of props to Laurie & Don for the heads up on this show!

Amy Speace & The Tearjerks

Thursday night I was once again able to enjoy the uplifting ballads and soft americana rock of Amy Speace and The Tearjerks.

The pure pleasure of listening to her in such a fine listening room environment as The Evening Muse kept all senses on overdrive! You feel personally attached as Amy shares stories ranging from her favorite beer to attempts at being creative in upstate New York shacks - sorry, Cabins. Amy has a lot of stories to tell..

With Manhattan as her front yard and Newark as her backyard, this city girl from a place just south of Fort Lee, NJ on the Hudson river creates her sound from what she hears in her head and what she experiences around her.

Amy's Americana/Folk/Indie sound is highlighted on her 2006 CD titled "Songs From Bright Street" and continues on her next CD "The Killer In Me", due out this spring.

Currently on tour, Amy will spend the next month or so in Tennessee and North Carolina before heading back north for the spring season. Keep an eye out for this singer-songwriter in the hopes she comes to a venue near you. You can preview her music on her MySpace page.

Here's a link to a few photos from Amy's performance.

Doug & Telisha Williams opened for Amy. Go here to view photos from their set.

Cheers,

Monty

Tosco House Party - Feb 2009

Providing a safe environment where musicians are encouraged to reach within themselves to explore their talents, given an opportunity to try new material on a live audience, afforded a platform to introduce themselves to a new city, or simply a box to stand on from which to showcase their individuality - all of this is embedded in the formula that is known as the Tosco House Party. It's been said over and over that you never know what you'll see the first Wednesday of each month as John Tosco welcomes these folks into his "living room" and this month was no exception.

Several folks joined the party for the first time. South Africa native Justin Taylor is an impressive singer/songwriter whom we were fortunate enough to hear sing a couple of different tunes. Carey Marshall also joined us for the first time at a THP night. Carey sang a beautiful ballad while caressing the ivories of the piano. Since she is newly relocated to Charlotte I hope we get to see her again real soon. And a first for me was seeing the extremely talented Ben Hernandez just tear it up on a harmonica while serenading us with his powerful voice.

Of course another benefit of the THP is being able to watch the young budding musicians of Charlotte continue to gain confidence and explore their talents. I continue to be impressed with the songwriting of Charlotte Parrot, a local high school sophomore. Isaac Strap of the band Moses Cherry reached way down deep to entertain us with a great rendition of a 1920's era blues tune - I didn't catch the name, but perhaps he can post a comment here to share it with us?? :-)

Another cool night at the Tosco House Party - its really comfortable in John's "living room" at the Evening Muse. First Wednesday of each month - hope to see you there.

Photos from the show can be seen here.

Cheers,

Monty

Mel Washington w/John Krueger

John Krueger was first up at the Early show Thursday night. John is a solo artist out of Augusta, GA and has been touring in promotion of his newest work entitled Rock & Rhyme. It's a digital album which can be picked up here - for free. I applaud the emergence of another new artist, making his way and putting it out there for our enjoyment. Cheers John.. Go here to see a few images of John's set..








Second up this evening was Charleston, SC singer/songwriter Mel Washington. Mel is a dynamic singer with a strong, raspy, and at times mellow voice capable of pounding out his melodies in ways that grab your attention. Several of his songs caught my attention - Oh Jessie and Lions Roar are two examples. Check Mel out on his Myspace page.

Link to photos of Mel's performance.

Cheers,





Monty

Mieka Pauley

Mieka Pauley graced the Evening Muse with an Early Show performance that dazzled as well as entertained a very full house. Mieka opened with a powerful rendition of "Marked Man".

It set the tone for what was to come. Powerful lyrics, powerful voice, a talented group of musicians backing her, mixed with a little humor made for a very entertaining evening at the Muse.

You can listen to a few of Mieka's tunes at her MySpace Page.


Some photos from the show can be seen here. Right now the lighting is excessively warm at The Muse, so I apologize in advance for the redness in the photos.


Cheers,


Monty

Jupiter One w/ Katy Mae

The New York rock band Katy Mae opened the late show for Jupiter One with a 40 minute set of what I would term Americana Rock. Katy Mae is a four piece band featuring Philip Doucet as lead vocalist/guitar with Hans Gutknecht supporting on vocals and guitar. These two compliment each other well. Bradford Hill is on Bass with Mark Levy providing percussion. Katy Mae has a good sound - you can check them out on their Myspace page. Here's a link to a few photos of the Katy Mae set.

As Jupiter One finished their set my wife looked at me and simply said "now that was worth waiting for". I'd have to agree with her. While she had waited a few hours, I have been waiting since October for them to return to town. These four guys have a unique, uplifting, pop-rock sound that is refreshing every time you hear them. Their timing is excellent, the instrumentation is eclectic, their range of sound is as diverse as their appeal - these guys are the real deal!

On top of all this, these four are also a great bunch of guys who want to talk to and meet the people who come to hear them play. Dave Heilman plays drums and is the outgoing, partially insane, component of the band. K. Ishibashi is the lead singer who also plays guitar, keyboards and violin - to me, it's his voice that makes this band a stand-out. Zac Cowell is also a talented musician who plays guitar and keyboards as well as providing supporting vocals. I'm told that Zac was considered the "cute one" until Pat "Panda" Dougherty joined the band as their Bass player. (Zac told me that...)

Seriously, check out Jupiter One's MySpace page and listen to a few of their tunes - you'll love 'em!!

Here's a link to some photos of the show as well as last Octobers show.

Cheers,

Monty

Liz Durrett & Tin Cup Prophette

January 16th 2009 - A couple of artists put on uniquely different shows during The Evening Muse early show this Friday night. I had not seen either of these singer / songwriters perform previously and is generally the case, I'm glad I took the advice of friends and attended on this night.

As Liz Durrett began her set, I wasn't sure it would be my cup of tea so to speak. But soon, the diversity of her talents began to unveil themselves to me. At times she has a booming and dark voice. At other times her voice is smooth and soft, as though singing a lullaby to a newborn. Many times it a combination of the two, ebbing and flowing with the words and meaning behind her song. As you watch Liz perform it's as if she goes somewhere else in her mind, playing a video in her head of the people, places and things contained within her song. Whatever the case, she has a new fan in me as I'll keep an eye out for her return.

Amanda Kapousouz (Tin Cup Prophette) supported her friend Liz during the first half of the show and then took center stage for the 2nd half. I was not at all sure what to expect. I had read a number of stories about Amanda and her very unique life story - a movie wouldn't surprise me - ans I had listened to a couple of tracks on her MySpace page. I thought she's be pretty good - but man I had no idea she'd be that good. There's some musicians you want to just listen to - the complexity of their sound so robust you find yourself concentrating on every note in anticipation of what will come next. Amanda uses technology to her advantage - fully. If you close your eyes and listen, you'll swear there are at least six musicians on stage - instead of the two you observe with your eyes. This was a show you watch with your ears - you'll see so much more! My first experience with Tin Cup Prophette was just that - my first, but certainly not my last!

Photos of both sets can be seen at this link - Enjoy!

Cheers,

Monty

Girlyman

Girlyman performed at The Evening Muse on Thursday night, the 15th of January. I gotta admit that this bands title did not conjure up any immediate interest in me to see them. Governor Arnold already defined for me what a Girlyman was and did not put the term in a favorable light. But a friend of mine was very excited about them coming to Charlotte and despite having a cold was going out into the frigid night to see them anyway. Hearing this, I jumped on myspace and after a bit of a search I found Girlymans site. I watched a couple of videos and listened to a few tracks and at the end of that I too felt the need to venture out on this school night to see a new band.

Girlyman is a three part harmony band, both vocally as well as instrumentally. These guys have talent and training playing their varied string instruments. Their voices blend beautifully and together have enormous range. Your mind will be very busy listening to the explosion of varying tones as these three progress through their songs.

The band is made up of Tylan Greenstein, Nate Borofsky and Doris Muramatsu. Keep an eye out for this trio and be sure to treat yourself to a great show, humorous transitions, and sweet melodies.

Here's a link to a few photos from the show.

Cheers,

Monty

Panthers Fail; gogoPilot Prevails

Panther fans had high hopes for this past weekend and the excitement level was at a fever pitch as the Panthers started their game against the Cardinals. After a great start, the downhill slide was nothing short of slow agonizing torture as our QB fumbled and bumbled the past 5 months of our lives as the post season ended as quickly as it began in our very first game. Jake Delhomme is not very popular with the fans we were with at the Sanctuary bar in NoDa.

In a valiant attempt to recover our dignity if not our Charlotte pride, Jeff Williams and the remaining gogoPilot band members put on a free show at The Evening Muse. With the occasional defiant Panther cheer met with a tirade of verbal abuse and disgust, the gogoPilot team rocked on through the night and led us toward a brighter future - or a new day whichever comes first.....

For me it was a new day which will lead to another day and so on and so forth. Such is the life of a sports fan. There's always another day, another season.

Thanks to the members of gogoPilot for jammin' when the chips were down.

Here's a link to a few photos of the show.

Cheers,

Monty

Sam Thacker Band

I'll say it right up front - This is one damned fine rock band! Four guys - one sound - sweet transitions.

The lead guitarist is Michael Westbrook who in an effortless style coaxes sweet music from his instrument of choice. I'll bet he's Jonesin' bad when he's not playing. Jonathan McAdow keeps time and sets the tempo on the Drums. Mike Reddick is the beat. I was going to say he plays Bass, but it's more accurate to describe him as being the bass. When the song calls for a thump, Mike produces a thump that would raise excitement in a school girl.. (I mean that in a good way you pervs!! lol)

Lastly, I was introduced on this night to a very fine lead singer who has the entire package. A great sounding powerful voice with significant range, excellent timing, and the projection of energy that people look for in today's rock musicians.

I'm telling ya'll - this band is everything you want to hear if you like hard driving rock you can listen to and understand the words. Ballads that will cause you to loose your thoughts in the song. A beat that will have you bobbin', weavin' and tapping your foot. Go out to their Myspace page and listen to what they have posted. I'll also tell you they sound even better in person. Sam's voice is something you need to hear live to truly appreciate. I put their CD in my Rockford Fosgate system and it sounded sweet - but live is, well live...

I've posted some photos of the performance. CLICK HERE. I think you can see the intensity in Sam's singing within the photos - as well as his sincerity in the ballads. "Picture worth a thousand words" is apparent in this case.

An outstanding show!

Cheers,

Monty

Adam Middleton

Thursday night I expected that Adam was going to sit in with Already Not Yet for the late show, but to my pleasant surprise Adam did a solo acoustic set instead. I had not seen Adam just grab a guitar and perform before - especially not sitting on a stool!! Of course the stool bit didn't last very long, but I got a couple of images as proof that it did in fact happen!

Adam performed several songs from The Stellas CD, including one of my favorites "Cry Baby Cry" as well as some older selections. Not an easy thing to perform hard rockin songs with just an acoustic guitar and a microphone, but Adam did a bang up job.

It was good to have one of the local "good-guys" stand up in the raw and put his heart out there for a fairly full house at the Muse to listen to. Thanks for that Adam..

Adam and The Stellas will be performing at The Evening Muse in February - check it out!

Here's a link to a few photos I took while Adam performed. Enjoy..

Cheers,

Monty