Sera Cahoone, The Parson Red Heads and Desert Noises @ the VaC (11/3/12)

Prior to seeing ads for this show, I'd never heard of Sera Cahoone.  The fact that Desert Noises was opening for her seemed like a good sign, however, so I marked this one down on my calendar.  Then I listened to one of Cahoone's songs and felt even more confident that I'd made the right decision.  If you haven't heard "Worry All Your Life," give it a play.  Its tender admonition to not do like its title says makes it a small miracle, given that indie-folk sometimes seems like the exclusive domain of depressives and neurotics (not that Cahoone doesn't know where those folks come from: she also has a very good song entitled "Nervous Wreck").

I counted a little over fifty people when I arrived at the VaC.  The crowd seemed comprised mainly of the younger, collegiate/post-collegiate set.  Looking back, that feels like just the right crowd for this music.

Desert Noises opened the show.  Seeing this Utah-based band for the third time, I was struck by what I might call the hard-rocking wistfulness of their music.  The mature ease and confidence of their twangy riffs and loping, strutting, swinging grooves counterbalanced the fragile, almost childlike lyricism of their melodies and lyrics (and vice versa).  Part of me wants to liken it to kids playing dress-up with grown-up clothes, but that sounds way too icky and condescending.  Main point: they pulled off the neat trick yet again of sounding both fresh and steeped in tradition.

Up next was Portland group the Parson Red Heads.  Talk about steeped in tradition: their pristine harmonies called to mind CSN, their terse solos called to mind Neil Young and Crazy Horse, their jangly riffs called to mind the Byrds, and I'm pretty sure I heard some Tom Petty, Bob Seger and Eagles in the mix too.  The fact that they held up under the weight of these influences was a compliment to said harmonies, solos and riffs, but it was even more so to Charlie Hester's bass and Brette Marie Way's drums.  And to the pinch of arty drone that they tossed in, which they put to excellent use on their set-capping cover of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air."

Sera Cahoone closed out the night.  This Seattle-based musician managed to do one better than her openers: not only did she make her folk and country influences feel fresh, she made them feel as lived-in as your favorite jacket.  Gorgeous melodies consistently met with considered, luminously plainspoken lyrics, and the unaffected, unassuming ease with which Cahoone sang them rendered both even more attractive.  Her band followed suit: the weeping pedal steel, fluid dobro and lithe rhythm section added just the right colors and shadings, nothing more and nothing less.  Mature in the best sense of the word.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Duck Club Presents.

Desert Noises, Aaron Mark Brown and Mickey the Jump @ Neurolux (8/31/12)

This show excited me because it gave me the chance to see two Treefort alumni again: the Utah band Desert Noises and Nampa singer-songwriter Aaron Mark Brown.  I caught Desert Noises' show at the Flying M back in June and had a great time.  I'd also been very impressed by Brown's set on the first day of Treefort but hadn't seen him since.  Put these two acts together and you had a show that I didn't want to miss.

The crowd looked pretty thin when I got down to the Neurolux at 7:20 pm.  I counted thirteen people inside the bar and some more out on the patio.  Thankfully, more and more people wandered in as the night progressed.  By the time that Aaron Mark Brown and his band played their set, I counted over sixty people watching them.

Nampa group Mickey the Jump started off the night's music.  If Nate Berrian's frail vocals didn't always sound up to the task of putting his well-crafted pop melodies across, they got by overall on their restrained earnestness.  Besides, between his own clanging guitar, Chad Bryan's high harmonies and vrooming basslines, their new drummer's hard-hitting work and especially Nathan Walker's serene keyboard and searing guitar solos, Berrian had plenty of muscle backing him up.

Aaron Mark Brown played next and definitely lived up to my fond memories of his Treefort set.  In fact, he and his band (which included Nathan Walker on bass) played so tight and on-the-money that they reminded me a little of the Soft White Sixties.  Brown wrapped his warm, friendly tenor around his strong, rootsy melodies and his smart, goofy, good-hearted lyrics while his backup pitched in with sharp guitar solos, McCartney-esque basslines and fierce drumming.  Watch out for this guy--he's got some major talent.

Desert Noises played last and sounded even better than I remembered.  Frontman Kyle Henderson's strong, nasal voice made the lovely melodies soar.  His bandmates joined in with twangy, jangly riffs, soulful harmonies, undulant solos and basslines and rock-of-ages drumming.  "You guys ready to dance?" Henderson asked the audience at one point.  Indeed they were, and they didn't quit until the set wrapped.

You can find info about these bands on Facebook and elsewhere online.

Range Life and Desert Noises @ Flying M Coffee-Garage

I'd heard very good things about Maps & Atlases, who were playing this same night at the Neurolux, but I opted to check out this show instead.  For one thing, it had a $3 cover as opposed to Neurolux's $10 cover.  For another, it gave me a chance to check out Range Life again.  For yet another, I'd heard good things about Desert Noises as well from a couple of folks.  Finally, it gave me a chance to write about the Flying M out in Nampa again.

A solid crowd had built up by the time that the show began.  At the door to the concert space, the Flying M had thoughtfully provided a couple trays of earplugs.  I brought my own with me, and they certainly came in handy.

Starting off the evening was Range Life, who played without their female singer.  While I did kinda miss her chirpy vocals, I couldn't complain too much after the other four members had played their tightest and hardest-rocking set yet (that I've seen, anyway).  Leader Ben Turner's boyish sprechgesang sounded twice as confident and just as endearing, and he and his fellow guitarist traded spare, stunning solos throughout (the touches of wah-wah distortion added an extra edge).  Meanwhile, the bassist and drummer got to flex their muscles a bit while keeping the same monolithic beat, and the tunes sounded as indelible as ever.  I also got to hear the lyrics this time around--not too shabby ("I've been known to make my father curse./ I've been known to make my problems worse.").  Very well done.

After Range Life came Desert Noises, a four-man band from Provo, UT.  It's kinda unfortunate that I already described another Provo band, The Mighty Sequoyah, as Beatles up top and Stones down below.  I still consider that fairly accurate of TMS, but it would've been even more so of Desert Noises.  Poppy melodies; strong, soulful tenor harmonies; bubbling bass; rolling and tumbling drums; sharp, bluesy lead guitar.  They handled boogie, disco and funk with equal aplomb.  I can't really picture Mick Jagger writing lyrics about Stephen Hawking, though.  John Lennon, maybe.

You can find info about Range Life and Desert Noises on Facebook and elsewhere online.