It’s happened before (Tim Easton, Ha Ha Tonka) but it is still unusual when a band stays at my house before they play it. In this case a mutual friend asked if some friends of his would be welcome at my place following their first show in Madison. Arriving at the Frequency, I was surprised to see that House of Righteous Music veteran Matt Focht of Head of Femur was playing with the Baby Birds. As we talked about their house concert back in October ‘07, Gary James, lead singer and guitarist, expressed an interest in doing one. Since they also function as Matt’s backing band for his solo shows, it seemed logical to have him on the bill too.
With co-founder and co-leader Mike Elsener off in India, Head of Femur is currently on hiatus. I had assumed that Matt would just hand the bass to Gary between sets and he would pick up his guitar, so I couldn’t have been more surprised to see Femur drummer Colby walk in the door. An instantly likeable and totally adorable guy, Colby entertained all night at the last show, most memorably as the force behind the “Free Hamms” jam. An even more pleasant surprise was Matt’s solo set. Despite being a big fan of the first two Head of Femur records, my attempts to fall equally in love with last year’s release Great Plains had so far been in vain. It certainly isn’t a bad record, it just hasn’t endeared itself to me as instantaneously as Hysterical Stars did. However, the solo material that he played tonight was every bit as immediately enjoyable as anything on that record. Maybe even better. I hope he gets it recorded, and soon.
Box of Baby Birds self-titled debut release is full of lush harmonies and layered textures. It’s the kind of thing that is made for the basement’s listening environment, the only problem was I was exhausted and needed something more upbeat (a need which Matt’s set nicely fulfilled). While his songs were instantly memorable, the BoBB tunes have so far avoided my attempts to know them. Every time I listen to their lovely CD, it’s almost as if I’m hearing it for the first time. And while that is kinda cool, it is making me a bit crazy. A big part of what makes it so pretty is the vocal interplay between Gary and keyboard player Dan Mohr. He also provided perhaps the most interesting thing about the night, the third keyboard that he lugged into the basement was actually a harmonium, or pump organ. The man-powered instrument produces sound via a giant bellows on the back which he squeezes with one hand while playing with the other, and it is fascinating to watch.
It has been over a year since Jentri Colello and her band played the House of Righteous Music. Since then they have recorded an EP which received mention on many local best of lists and played countless gigs, some of them as high profile as opening for Juliana Hatfield at Milwaukee’s Turner Hall. Most importantly, the collection of talented (and good looking) musicians has started to play like a band. All extremely talented players, they often threaten to overpower Jentri’s voice. Smoky and sensual as it may be, sometimes her voice doesn’t jump to the front of the song. Tonight’s set featured some brand new songs, one so new that guitarist Josh Harty hadn’t even played it before. She had threatened to make him wing it, and she did just that, giving him only the key and a basic it goes like this instruction. One of the relatively recent additions to their set features Josh on his high school instrument the clarinet. His solo turn was made even more endearing by the fact that he obviously hasn’t played it since then.
All in all it was a terrific night. Measuring by the unscientific measure of how full the recycling bin was and empty the beer fridge is, it was a GREAT night.
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