Death On Two Wheels

Catchy title huh? Yeah - That's what I thought when I saw it was the name of a band that was playing the late show at The Evening Muse this past Friday night. But at the suggestion of our friends at TripleSBooking, we hung around well past our normal "head home" time so we could see this new talent out of Atlanta. As usual, good recommendations are followed by a good musical set.

Death On Two Wheels have a great ole' rock-n-roll sound led by the raspy, gravelly voice of their lead singer - who stays in tune and on key - and has the ability to smoothly transition to a soulful ballad.

To listen to some of their tunes, checkout their MySpace page.

To see photos from their show use this link.

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Mike Garrigan & Mark Kano

Two of North Carolinas better singer/songwriters performed for 90 minutes at The Evening Muse on Saturday night - Mike Garrigan and Mark Kano combined to entertain a full house with their talented blend of guitar prowess and equally powerful vocals.

These are two very talented musicians to say the least! It's easy to see why they have such a large following of music fans. They now have one more..

These two have performed together for quite some time now, originally as part of the band "Athenaeum" until Dec 2004 and subsequently as "mg4". The whole band will perform August 16th at Amos' Southend here in Charlotte. As good as their show was Saturday night, I can't wait to see the August show!

Photos from the show can be seen at my Musicians Portfolio.

Some additional links:

Athenaeum MySpace page

Mark Kano MySpace Page

Mike Garrigan Myspace Page

Mike Garrigan Website

Mike also does a couple of PodCasts each month which can be gotten to via his website.

Thanks to Laurie Koster for highlighting this show for me via her weekly "Charlotte Event Calendar".

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Asylum Street Spankers

Thursday night featured the Asylum Street Spankers at The Evening Muse. Avery unique group of musicians who are extremely entertaining in the musical style as well as lyrical content. FUN is the word that describes this show.

In looking at their myspace page I saw that they are from the Austin, TX area and are pretty much fully booked through the remainder of the year. After seeing their show I can see why and I have several friends I will be calling to be sure they are aware of the upcoming visit by the Asylum Street Spankers. Its a show I know they will not want to miss.

I had fun taking photos of the show as the band was having a good time as well - it shows on their faces. Intense musical performance coupled with intense fun! I hope you enjoy the photos too! They can be viewed at this link.

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Patrick Davis

Singer/Songwriter, Patrick Davis performed a wonderful set at The Evening Muse Saturday night, April 26 '08. His 90 minute set also covered for the opener who was a no-show. Patrick didn't miss a beat, started early and mixed the 90 minutes with funny stories, accompaniment by his father Rusty, and some soulful ballads.

It had been almost 3 years since I had seen Patrick perform. In this time I feel he has matured greatly, not only in his musical content but his confidence on stage as well. Songs like "Dixie Lullaby", "Where I'm From", "I'm Free", "Broken Paradise", "Corner of Your Smile", and "Money Ain't Time" are all examples of Patricks talent for song writing. If you haven't heard Patricks songs on the radio, you will soon. There's no holding this talent back.

This was a most enjoyable performance - good to see Patrick having success!

Photo's from the show can be seen via this link. Enjoy..

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

A Rooster For The Masses

A Rooster For The Masses is a Rock Band from Raliegh, NC. They played the Evening Muse on the 26th of April, opening for GogoPilot. A hard-hitting rock band, their music has a danceable beat which will have you tapping your toes, or stomping your feet!

Photo's from the show can be viewed from this link.

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

April 3rd: The Near Misses, Jeff Black, & Sun Domingo

I'm a little tardy in posting the blog entries from early April - had to run off to vacation and some underwater photography. Better late than never?

Thursday night, April 3rd, The Evening Muse hosted a very good line-up of musicians. First up was The Near Misses. This is a group of ladies that I had heard of before, but had never seen perform live. Their performance on this night matched what I had heard of them in that they sang in a well blended harmony of four talented female singers. But not only can they sing, they perform their instruments with the same melodious harmony. This comes together in a sound that is a joy to listen to. I picked up their CD entitled "Marigold", which was produced by Joe Kuhlmann and the band. A very nice addition to the musical collection.


Next up was a gentleman I had never heard before - Jeff Black. Now Jeff has a following! There were people who had come from as far away as Virginia - with one friend of Jeffs taking a detour in his travels from Melbourne Australia - (Collin). It did not take long to understand why Jeff would have such a following. He is a troubadour - in the very definition of the term. A talented singer, songwriter and musician I was very lucky to have caught his show.

The late show on this cold evening was a band I have heard and photographed before. Atlanta' Sun Domingo was back in town and is a must see for me. They gave quite a performance even though the weather and late time kept the attendance down from what it normally is when they play the Muse. Jason, Edge and Nathan all had a pretty good time putting on this show. I can't wait for their CD to become available - which should be very soon.

Until next time...

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

The Musicians Portfolio

Quickstep John

Philadelphia's Quickstep John performed at The Evening Muse Saturday night. They are on tour promoting their new album - "The Multiple Personalities of Last Week and Next Year". Yes it's a mouthful - and the sound is an earful as well. The group, led by Craig Whitaker who writes for the band, performs very strong melodic lyrics that catch the imagination and take you for a ride. I'm glad we were there to see them and to pick up a copy of the CD.

Here's a link to the photo's from the show.

Cheers,

Monty

Jukebox The Ghost

Last night a very exciting band called "Jukebox The Ghost" performed at The Evening Muse here in Charlotte. This is a band not to miss if you want to experience a musically rewarding evening which will lift your spirits and enhance your mood for the rest of the night afterwards. These guys have a sound which is a cross between Queen and Barenakedladies - with the energy of KISS! I'd encourage you to check their schedule and try like hell to see them.

I had a blast photographing them and then doing the post processing listening to their CD entitled - "Let Live & Let Ghosts". An excellent recording that had me tapping my feet again. Songs will be on my IPod soon.

Here's the link to the photo's.

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Michael Reno Harrell

Michael Reno Harrell

Legendary Americana singer/songwriter Michael Reno Harrell brought his down home southern roots style of Americana folk music to the Evening Muse Saturday night, the 23rd of February.

Michaels storytelling, both in song and in setting up his music made for an entertaining and relaxing evening at The Muse. Story after story - and song after song - sharing the life experiences of Michael Reno Harrell reminded this photographer of the comfort brought by family, friends and our southern traditions.

Quoting Michael, "You don't order grits, they come when you say eggs".

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Sun Domingo

Perhaps you've heard of Sun Domingo? From the packed house showing at The Evening Muse thursday night I thought I was the only person in Charlotte that had not. One certainty is that I won't soon forget them. Wow - that's a word that might sum up my thoughts after listening to them for an hour. This three piece rock band out of Atlanta is a class act. Their sound includes ballads, a touch of blues, a little 70's rock style and some blistering hot rock n roll mixed throughout the set.

The band members include Jason Powers on Bass and lead vocals; Edger Groves on a smoking lead guitar; and one of the better drummers I've seen in a quite a while - Nathan Lathouse, who also provides some smooth backup vocals.

"A Song In Your Name" is one of their tunes that is sure to be a hit. It was certainly one of my favorites on the night. To hear it for yourself, visit their Myspace page and listen to a sampling of this bands talent.

The photos from their show can be found HERE - a link from my Musicians Gallery. The show was hot - hope you can see that within the images.

Cheers everyone,

Monty Chandler

Wormsloew

Before sitting down to write this I needed to get something straight in my head. Everywhere I read in recent local writing about this performance in Charlotte, the bands name was spelled Woemsloew. I couldn't figure out what this meant. I did google searches and tried to find out to no avail. Could it be that someone made a typo and everyone in Charlotte copied it?? Well I found the bands Myspace site and the correct spelling became apparent. I verified it by looking at the website of other bookings the band has for the coming month. So with my curiosity sated I return from my digression and share with you a few thoughts and images from the session at the Muse.

Wormsloew performed the late show at The Evening Muse on Thursday night, closing for Sun Domingo. They are a very good rock band out of Savannah Georgia featuring two lead guitars which enables them to do some pretty awesome melding of high fevor lead guitar work resulting in some heart pounding, foot stomping rock-n-roll. The band is made up of drummer Joseph Wilson who also provides some very good backup vocals, Chad Norris on the Bass, Steve Gerard on a loud and proud Lead Guitar and backup vocals, and finally the lead singer Andrew Gill who also plays lead guitar. The four of these guys come together very well producing a sound which reminds me of the good ole days in the 70's when rock-n-roll was truly sweet (or I was younger, whatever).

Images of the Wormsloew show can be found HERE!!

Cheers guys...

Monty Chandler

Musicians Gallery

Ali Marcus

Here's a heads up for all you music fans - a wonderful singer/songwriter out of Seattle who plays a cool harmonica in addition to a melodious acoustic - her name is: Ali Marcus

I had the good fortune this past Thursday evening of deciding that watching "Lost" on TV just wasn't the thing to do, so I headed down to The Evening Muse to listen to a little music.

I got there a little early so I ordered a beer and looked around. I saw a lady in the corner with her nose in what I thought was a book. As I approached her I noticed she she was also sitting next to a small suitcase with some T-Shirts and CD's around so I guessed that this might be Ali. I walked up to her and introduced myself. She was reviewing lyrics, not reading a book. She chuckled as she said it was something that she should have down earlier, but that didn't happen so now was the time. Her soft voice, her self-confidence and the ease with which she struck up a conversation struck me as - well not odd - but a little unique I guess. Those of you who know me know that I'm not a small person and just my size tends to initimidate people. Not Ali - she was cool with the short conversation as well as with my request to take a few photo's of her show. In fact her response was something like - "Do what you want to". I chuckled at that.

As she took the stage and went right into her first song it was quickly apparent that as a songwriter she was not made up of a simple bit of poetry but rather a somewhat complex set of intellectually derived lyrics that deserved a little concentration on my part. Additionally she played tunes that were downright humorous if you followed along. I soon found myself tapping my foot along to the beat.

Needless to say I spent the $12 on her new CD titled "The Other Side". Folks, there's not a bad song on this CD. It sounds great!! She has a few of the tunes available on her website as well. Have a listen - you'll enjoy it. You should also note that in addition to the singing and playing of the instruments on the CD, she wrote the songs and also produced the CD. I found that impressive. Pick yourself up a copy of this album. It's available online - and it's $12 - a great value for what you'll get.

So, instead of watching "Lost" I saw a great show and found another young talent to keep my eye on in the future. I know I'll be hearing of this young lady in the future.

Links to the images of the show are here.. Check her out.

Until next time,

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

Malcolm Holcombe

Malcolm Holcombe

North Carolina native singer/songwriter Malcolm Holcombe performed at The Evening Muse Saturday night, the 2nd of February, to a full house of loyal followers of his trade. Malcolm performed is his usual gritty down-to-earth tones, playing his guitar feverishy, and sharing stories and perspectives along the way with the audience.

Malcolm sang several of his new songs from the recently released CD "Gamblin' House" - which of course promted me to purchase a copy as there are several songs which were just pure poetry.

Images of the show can be found here. Hope you enjoy them. As always, please leave a comment if you'd like to share a thought or opinion.

Cheers,

Monty Chandler

My Musician Gallery

The Guy Forsyth Band

Guy Forsyth Band

I had the pleasure of seeing a very good band from Austin Texas for the first time last night at The Evening Muse. This three piece band delivered an energetic performance filled with ballads, rock, blues, a minor country twist and a little humor. Guy Forsyth plays a smooth guitar, a bluesy harp and a pretty mean saw - yes I said saw, as in hand saw that cuts wood!!

Guy is joined on the drums by Rob Hooper who provides excellent rythym and a touch of harmonious vocal soul to Guys powerful voice.

It was a pleasure being entertained by this group of guys from Texas - a pleasant surprise at the Evening Muse on this cold Saturday night.

Link to the photo's. Link to Guy Forsyth.

Cheers,

Monty

http://www.montychandler.com/

http://www.montychandler.com/Musicians.htm

Jennifer Daniels

Well it's been a while since I've been able to get out to The Evening Muse. But as I read the email from Joe and Leah about the weekends show I really couldn't pass on seeing Jennifer Daniels. I've missed her the last two times and wasn't going to miss her again.

Once again Jennifer played to a full house and she did not dissappoint. Perhaps it was due to being almost home after being on the road a lot this summer, but she displayed a great sense of connection with the audience and was truly at ease as she shared some new tunes and then led into a set which included just about everything on her CD "Summer Filled Sky". This 90 minute set was truly enjoyable as she shared the breadth and depth of her songwriting through the strength, passion, and exhuberant joy of her voice.

Of course we did learn one special tidbit - Jeff is actually the "wild" one of this dyno-duo; but on stage Jennifer is able to fullfill this role to sate her alter-ego.. Not sure I really buy this one, but that was Jennifer's version of the truth tonight. :-)

The Evening Muse is a special place to listen to Jennifer as it affords her a setting to demonstrate a sound that is very close to her CD recording. Closing my eyes it was like I was at home listening - but I was able to watch the joy with which this pleasing music is produced. My hats off to Jennifer and Jeff for an amazing show. Thanks!

Until next time,

Monty

www.montychandler.com