I don’t usually book musicians I haven’t seen, let alone never heard, but it really does make a difference who you know. When one of Madison’s premier multi-instrumentalists asked me if I would be interested in hosting a house concert with someone they are currently recording with, it seemed like a pretty easy decision. Chris Wagoner (violin, mandolin, and other things with strings) and his partner Mary Gaines (acoustic bass and cello) have played with many of Madison’s finest musicians. The Common Faces were one of Madison’s best known bands in the late 90’s. They currently host the intriguing MadToast Live, a combination music and talk show, and play in the “café jazz” quartet the Stellanovas. Most importantly (to me), they also played on Blake Thomas’s 40 Minutes record, and often stop by Mickey’s after their Tuesday night MadToast shows..
As we were finalizing the details, I asked LeMonds if he would like to have another artist on the bill. Coincidentally, he suggested Blake after having seen him at Mickey’s the last time he was in town. I never tire of Blake’s music and always love having him in the basement. Still I don’t think I knew how awesome this was going to be until Mary and Chris showed up at 5 PM, saying Blake had told them to be here then so they could run through a few things. I laughed, “Blake has never been here when he says he is going to be,” but sure enough he and Josh pulled into the driveway fifteen minutes later. They spent the next hour going through an assortment of songs, including a new one from both Blake and Josh. And it sounded amazing.
During their show, Mary and Chris often play along with their guests, despite having never heard most of the songs, displaying an impressively intuitive musical talent. They’ve played with Blake and Josh a few times before, and even though Mary insists they never know what they are doing, it’s always terrific. Blake has been gradually adding new songs to his sets at Mickey’s, doing it so surreptitiously that I’m never sure if it’s a new song or a new cover. The interesting thing about these songs is how different they are from his previous work, which I why I’m never sure if it’s his or someone else’s. “The Cradle to the Ground” (which is what I’ve been calling one of the new ones) sounds like a Dylan song with a catchier melody, while tonight’s “Devil Blues” (again, not the real title) sounds like, you guessed it, an old blues song. Good stuff. When I ask him how many more new songs he has, he just smiles, “there’s a few.”
It had been even longer sine I had heard a new song from Josh. His new one, which Blake insists on calling “Suicidey,” is a dark ballad from a narrator who is considering the options late at night after a few drinks. I’d be a little worried about it being autobiographical, if he weren’t so obviously having a great time tonight. They ended with a truly fantastic cover of Townes VanZandt’s “White Freightliner” which was as perfect a choice for the quartet as their equally amazing Dietrich Gosser cover earlier. This was going to be a tough act to follow.
Luckily Eau Claire WI native LeMonds had two secret weapons. One was his stories. His seventeen years living in Austria, some of it in a castle rumored to be haunted, has given him a wealth of material, not only for songs but for the tales to tell in between. The other was finger style guitarist Arkadiy Yushin. I could only recall having one other guitarist this remarkable in the basement. Sergio Webb had elevated David Olney’s set far above the usual singer-songwriter bar; Arkadiy did the same for LeMonds. Soft spoken and retiring, he was inconspicuous until he started playing, and after that he was impossible to ignore. Toward the end of the night, the other three left the stage and Arkadiy moved to the middle chair. Since he plays only plays instrumentals, he thought the way to get us interested was to tell a story before the song. His tale of a donkey in love with a filly was amusing and heart-breaking, but it turned out not to be necessary, the music spoke for itself.
After telling us a few times that there were “only a couple more left,” LeMonds et al did finally finish up, but it was only temporary. It wasn’t long before a jam session sprung up that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. This is why I do this.
Blake Thomas & Josh Harty with Chris Wagoner & Chris Wagoner
Chuck LeMonds with Arkadiy Yushin, Chris Wagoner & Mary Gaines
No comments:
Post a Comment