Is it bad to get a little glimmer of excitement every time a musician says that they have broken up with their significant other? I feel bad for them of course, but the truth is that getting dumped makes for the best song fodder. Some of the greatest records of all time have been break-up records, with Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks being probably the best known (not to mention the best period). So it isn’t surprising that Whatfor’s frontman Michael Sienkowski, who played solo tonight, has written a whole batch of new songs since his girlfriend broke up with him. Hooray! Um, I mean, sorry dude, really.
Whatfor’s debut record of 60’s-esque Nuggets-style songs was one of last year’s most solid releases. Less adventurous than the sophomore release from Sleeping in the Aviary (Sienkowski’s other band), the record tends toward straight ahead rock and its slick songs are buoyed by catchy melodies and self-deprecating humor. I only recognized a few of tonight’s songs, the rest must be brand new, a few variations on a theme, the best of which was nearly straight up country.
Honestly, his addition to the bill was what convinced me to go to the show tonight. Lightning Dust is the side project of Black Mountain’s Amber Webber and Joshua Wells, and her backing vocal contribution to that band may be the sole reason I am not as enamored of them as everyone else I know. Oddly enough her vocal ululations were actually less annoying when brought to the forefront of the music, and it made their drowsy music even more soothing. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t wish she would give it a break every once in awhile, it just means that it wasn’t the deal breaker for me.
Despite the fact that the middle band, Sheboygan’s Cedarwell, has been around for several years already, this was the first time I had seen them. Consisting of main songwriter Erik Neave and whoever he has with him, the band took the form of a duo tonight. The slightly hippy-ish Neave’s strummy, folky music was accompanied by a stand-up drummer who also added backing vocals. It was interesting, quirky stuff, not quite enough to get me out, but enough so that if they are opening I’ll try to get there on time. Sometimes that’s enough.
Michael Sienkowski
Cedarwell
Lightning Dust
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