a.k.a. Belle, Brett Hawkins, Calico and Woodwind @ the Crux (11/1/13)

This show was a two-birds-one-stone opportunity for me and my lady-friend: it gave us the chance to see a show at the Crux, which she hadn't done before, and to see a.k.a. Belle, about whom I'd chewed off a decently sized portion of her ear.  As an added bonus, this gave us the chance to show some support for Go Listen Boise, who had teamed up with Heather Roberts's Ten Gallon Cat to make this show part of the former's Local Music Spree.

I counted about nineteen people when we got to the Crux.  The crowd looked mostly on the younger side (early 20's or under, I'd guess).  When a.k.a. Belle soundchecked, the crowd numbered about forty and looked mostly middle-aged.  By the way, the woman in the black-and-white striped blouse is Jenn Siegel, my lady-friend.  It's hard to tell from this distance, but she's pretty gorgeous.  She'll probably appear fairly regularly in future blog posts.

Woodwind opened the show.  Back when my friend Keesha Renna ran the Crux's open mic, I saw a young gentleman perform.  He played one song that blew me away--lovely folk melody; clean, boyish tenor; understated, pained lyrics.  Made me think a little of Nick Drake or maybe Ronnie Lane.  I'd wondered in the months that followed what that guy was up to.  When local newcomer Samwise Carlson played his finale, it hit me: "Holy crap, it's him!"  That last song's melody sounded just as beautiful as I'd remembered, and Carlson's other tunes were almost as pretty.  The stray lyrics that I caught didn't sound too bad either.  Now that I have a name to attach to him, I'll be sure to keep my eye on him in the future.

Calico played next.  I worked the Record Exchange's merch booth when this young group played Alive After Five.  As I recall, they sold about seventy copies of their debut EP, which NEVER happens with a local act.  It's worth noting too that Calico's song "In Our Town" supplied the name for Boise 150's special CD compilation.

Now, do these achievements mean that Calico will be the next big thing for Boise music?  I wouldn't say that.  I would say, however, that they definitely have potential.  Their rhythms could use some livening up, and they come across as a little too solemn and serious right now (so people will take them seriously?).  Still, their melodies are unfailingly pretty, they've got some impressive poise and lead singer Ruby Somoza has the warmth, smarts, sass and straight-up charisma of a natural front-person.

Sun Blood Stories' Brett Hawkins played a surprise 20-minute set of his solo material after Calico.  Hard to tell if he's affected or not, Jenn said of his bone-simple guitar picking, saccharine folk-country tunes, reedy vocals and oddball, sardonic lyrics.  She also noticed that his shirt was buttoned wrong.  Like a drunken uncle playing songs for you, she added later (she meant that in the best possible way).  That trumps everything I had, so I'll just move along.  (And you wonder why I'm crazy about this woman.)

a.k.a. Belle kicked off their set with the premiere of their music video for "Mess You Up," a track from their new album (hopefully coming in February 2014).  It's a cute, funny bit of stop-motion animation created by Catherine Merrick herself.  I grinned when I caught a reference to an old Sam Merrick song (or was it band?), "Don't Pass Up the Chance to See Neil Young."

In the interests of transparency, I should probably mention that Catherine Merrick and I are co-workers now; she works at the Edge (the Record Exchange's coffee shop), and I work at the Record Exchange's main register.  I should mention as well that Catherine tipped me off that the Record Exchange was hiring and recommended me to the owners (I didn't ask her to do that; she just heard that they were looking for a music-savvy individual and thought of me).  Readers will make of that what they will, of course, but I've been praising Catherine since well before we started working together.  And unless she starts to suck, which seems highly unlikely, I don't see any reason to stop doing so.

Anyway, I don't know if everybody drank some coffee beforehand or what, but the band seemed more amped up than usual.  Chris Galli's bass-playing seemed especially fluid and nimble this night (I spotted him nursing some kind of warm beverage earlier).  Whatever the reason, they went a long way towards helping Jenn understand why I love this band so much.  Louis McFarland was as strong and swinging as ever (got off a badass solo on the Link Wray-esque instrumental "Here Come the Deathtraps").  Sam Merrick ripped it up on guitar and joked it up between songs, the latter of which got a great eye-roll and an Oh-God-he's-an-idiot-but-I-love-him look from his wife at one point.  As for Catherine Merrick, I've called her the best singer in Idaho before, right?  Yes?  Okay, I'll just move along, then...

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.

Red Hands Black Feet and Iconoplasty @ the Crux; Icarus the Owl and a.k.a. Belle @ the Red Room (8/11/13)

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Red Hands Black Feet.  Indeed, I've probably written more about them than any other band.  So of course I was gonna see them at the kickoff show for their and Iconoplasty's West Coast Tour.

Sidenote: They've been on tour for a couple of weeks now.  It's gone pretty well overall, but it's also had some hardships and difficulties.

I counted twenty-three people when I got to the Crux.  When Red Hands Black Feet played, I counted about seventy.  A very respectable crowd.

Iconoplasty opened the show.  Josh Gross certainly sounded raring to go: his guitar playing was sharp, his layering of riffs, licks and beats was precise and confident and his transitions between passages were smoother than ever.  It might have been nice if he'd stretched the individual passages out a little more, but then again, the quick change-ups were a good way of keeping people on their toes.  Figuratively, anyway--no one danced, but most everyone watched the stage.

This set featured a booming cameo from Jessica Johnson and a brief section where Gross invited people to say what they thought of the music.  Three people did so.

Jake Myers: "I like it!"

Dillon from San Francisco: "Although I like your music, it makes me feel like a I'm in a Beverly Hills nightmare."

Eric Gilbert: "More rock, less talk."

After Iconoplasty finished, I headed over to the Red Room.  Heather Roberts's Ten Gallon Cat had set up an intriguing bill featuring a.k.a. Belle and Portland rock band Icarus the Owl (she's actually been setting up quite a few interesting shows lately).  I can't lie, though: part of what attracted me to this show was the chance to see Roberts and the Fiddle Junkies' Austin Clark as Bette and Yvette, a.k.a. Belle's two "dancers."

a.k.a. Belle played first and sounded as strong and swinging as ever.  Chris Galli and Louis McFarland's smooth, assured grooves carried along Sam Merrick's screeching guitar and Catherine Merrick's warm, lovely voice.  Once again, it occurred to me that the touch of jazz in this group's sound helps make it a bit sexier than your average Americana act's.  This set featured a brooding new number entitled "Crooked Path" and a clever little quotation from "Like a Hurricane."

And yes, this was about as awesome as I'd hoped.

Icarus the Owl played soon after a.k.a. Belle.  The slight emo whine to Joey Rubenstein's vocals was counterbalanced by the band's rippling guitar licks and angular, disorienting tempos.  Conversely, the emo elements of the music helped keep the math-rock stuff from feeling too arch.  Sharp as a razor and chops to spare but not so's they'd brag about it.  Good stuff.

I would've liked to have stayed for Icarus the Owl's whole set, but I wanted to get back to the Crux in time for Red Hands Black Feet's set.  Walking over, I could hear them from a block away.

Red Hands Black Feet sounded more than ready to hit the road as well.  The material from their upcoming EP sounded as roiling, majestic and achingly beautiful as their older stuff.  The crowd did the expected whooping and nodding to the beat.  During one lyrical guitar intro, Jessica Johnson jumped offstage to hug people in the audience.  Then she got back behind her drum kit and bashed away.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Heather Roberts and Ten Gallon Cat.  And in case you didn't click on the link earlier, go here to learn how you can help Red Hands Black Feet get out of the red.

The Gunfighters, The Horde and the Harem and a.k.a. Belle @ the Red Room (3/27/13)

I'd had this show marked on the calendar for weeks, but when the day came, I wasn't sure if I'd go.  I'd had enough time to recover physically from Treefort, but I still needed to finish my write-ups.  In the end, however, I just couldn't pass on the chance to see a.k.a. Belle and the Gunfighters, both of whose Treefort sets I'd missed.  I was also curious about the Seattle band the Horde and the Harem.

There were maybe five non-musicians at the Red Room when I got there.  There might have been eleven or twelve when the music started.  Guess folks needed more recovery time.  Still, I did count more than thirty people in the crowd by the time that the Gunfighters played.

a.k.a. Belle's opening set featured a couple of pleasant surprises.  The first surprise was Brion Rushton and Zane Norsworthy as Bette and Yvette, the "dancers" on a sleazy, Link Wray-esque instrumental.  The second was Gia Trotter, whose utterly gorgeous harmonies made me think that she really oughtta get out and do more stuff around town.  The setlist, which leaned heavily on material from their upcoming second album, wasn't as surprising for me; Catherine Merrick had actually invited me to sit in on some of their recent recording sessions.  The songs all sounded as smart, tough and melodious as I remembered, however, and the band was definitely on their game.  Highlights included the morning-after vignette "Collecting Songbirds" and Sam Merrick's "High Inane Drifter," a pitiless portrait of a screw-up which would sound right at home on Tonight's the Night.

Bette and Yvette.  I'm not sure which is which.

The Horde and the Harem played next.  A couple members of the band told me later that they'd applied to play Treefort this year but didn't make the cut.  That's a pity: their layered harmonies, compassionate lyrics, jangling guitars, rumbling grooves and playful, inviting stage presence would have gone over very nicely at Pengilly's or the Linen Building.  They certainly went over well here; the modest crowd danced and cheered warmly.  They tossed a pinch of African music into their folk/country tunes, but their words were so smart and grounded that this felt less like arty hipster dabbling and more like genuine multiculturalism.  Here's hoping that this group comes back around sometime.

The Gunfighters closed out the night with a flat-out astonishing set.  Spencer Sanders's recovery from his coma and brain injury seems to have not only reinvigorated this band but transformed them.  A tip-off came when one of the guitarists played a little bit of "Hell's Bells" during soundcheck.  However, that still didn't prepare me for their locked-in groove and hard-rocking force.  Sanders's vocals sounded slier and more confident than ever.  Also, the man was so pumped-up that he couldn't seem to stand still: he strutted all over the stage and dropped down to dance with the crowd.  Meanwhile, the guitars roared, the rhythm section flexed their muscles and Katie Vant's harmonies soared.  Bravo.

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.

a.k.a. Belle, A Seasonal Disguise and Danielle Galucki @ Neurolux (11/20/12)

This show was something of an indulgence for me.  When I'm planning out my calendar, I usually give special attention to shows featuring groups I've never seen before.  A Seasonal Disguise seems to improve each time I see them, however, and I never get tired of seeing a.k.a. Belle.  So, it being so close to Thanksgiving, I decided to treat myself a little.

I saw about thirty people when I got down to Neurolux.  A few more would trickle in as the night progressed.  Not a huge crowd, but not bad.

First up was Danielle Galucki a.k.a. Kailie Leggett from the dearly departed local band Range Life.  She sang her plain ditties in her high, sweet voice and strummed her guitar in simple downstrokes.  She forgot lyrics, stopped mid-song when she just wasn't feeling it and looked pretty nervous throughout.  I imagine that some people would've found all of this unbearable.  Me, I found it funny, brave and utterly charming.  Half of the trick lay in Leggett's smart, detailed, acerbic lyrics, which undercut the sweetness of her singing and her melodies' childlike simplicity.  The other half lay in the fact that, while she did look nervous, she didn't sound affected, smarmy or smug (which is often how stuff like this comes off).  Her forthrightness gave the rough edges of her performance a refreshing, almost punk-like quality.  Call it perverse if you want, but I haven't enjoyed too many recent sets quite as much as I did this one.

A Seasonal Disguise played next and sounded in fine form.  Their deepening rapport and sturdy groove gave Z.V. House's guitar a more solid foundation from which to take off.  And take off it did: House's elegant soloing called to mind not just Neil Young but Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine.  They started, stopped, slowed down and sped up without stumbling, and their increased confidence added an extra sheen to the melodies.  They got some warm applause from the crowd, and rightly so.

a.k.a. Belle set a record with this performnace (as far as I can recall): they didn't even play one song before they started bantering with each other.  It all began with Catherine Merrick warning Sam Merrick not to cuss, since they were being broadcast live on Radio Boise.  Sam Merrick proceeded to tell the audience a little story that led up to the show, bleeping out the curse words with a few guitar chords.  It went on pretty much like that for the rest of the set.  I hope that the folks out in radioland found this as amusing as I did.  Too bad that they couldn't see Catherine Merrick's classic I'm-gonna-kill-this-f*cking-idiot glare (I see it a lot when I'm hanging out with married/dating friends).

Oh, and I should probably mention that the music sounded great too.  This set featured the return of Mike Rundle, whose smooth and steady work behind the drumkit kept the songs swinging.  Bass player Jason Griesa greased the groove nicely in spite of his reportedly having to play on painkillers (Sam Merrick mentioned that the man had to undergo back surgery soon).  Catherine Merrick had apparently been sounding hoarse over the past couple of weeks, but you sure couldn't hear it as her voice rang out across the bar.  Meanwhile, Kayleigh Jack's serene fiddle and harmonies complemented Sam Merrick's jagged, searing guitar.  While their older songs sounded as gorgeous and rowdy as ever, their newer material makes me look forward to their second album, which they're apparently working on now.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Eric Gilbert and Radio Boise.

The Lindsey O'Brien Band, New Transit and a.k.a. Belle @ Neurolux (9/28/12)

This show interested me because it marked a promising new development for Go Listen Boise.  They'd set this up in collaboration with SpokesBUZZ, a Fort Collins, CO organization that does for that town pretty much what GLB does for this one (i.e. promotes and encourages live music and events).  For details on how this show came about, you can check out this Facebook event page.  Hopefully, this relationship will lead to some more cool shows around these parts in the near future.

I counted a little over twenty people when a friend and I got down to Neurolux.  It didn't get much larger than that, but happily, everyone there seemed to get into the music.

a.k.a. Belle kicked off the show.  If this group ever puts out a live album, they oughtta leave space for some on-stage banter--it's always a hoot hearing them crack jokes and talk smack about each other (the bandmates with the same last name do most of the latter).  Not that they didn't cut it music-wise: Chris Galli's jazzy basswork made "Flyin' Song" glide, Sam Merrick's guitar injected some ragged glory into "At Least I'm Stupid" and their new drummer swung and swaggered throughout.  Meanwhile, Catherine Merrick and Kayleigh Jack sounded as warm, thoughtful and lovely as ever, and special guest Thomas Paul pitched in with some tasteful banjo and mandolin.

After a.k.a. Belle came local band New Transit.  Maybe seeing the Old 97's last month conditioned my ears, or maybe anticipation of their ambassadorial Fort Collins gig made them step up their game.  Whatever the reason, these guys sounded a lot more rockin' than I remembered from the Nicki Bluhm concert.  In fact, between Dave Manion's sharp solos, Thomas Paul's terse fills and their tough, grounding rhythm section, they kinda reminded me of the Stones at a couple points.  Sean Hatton's light, sensitive croon rested atop the train and picked off its targets as they zipped by.

The Lindsey O'Brien Band played last and made quite the first impression.  This Fort Collins group rocked hard enough to earn a Led Zeppelin cover and laid down a groove funky enough to earn an Aretha Franklin cover.  Lindsey O'Brien's high, strong voice, P-Mann's scorching guitar, Dave Clapsaddle and Chris Nicholas's soulful horns and Craig Fowler and Pete Knudson's steady-rolling bass and drums got a good chunk of the small crowd dancing.  Hopefully, those folks'll bring a few friends the next time this group rolls through.

You can find info on these groups, Go Listen Boise and SpokesBUZZ on Facebook and elsewhere online.

a.k.a. Belle, The Sporx and Kif Bender @ Boise Rock School (8/16/12)

Looking back, I suppose that the path to this blog started when I was ten or eleven.  I was riding in the car with my dad one evening when a Motown song came on the radio (I want to say that it was the Temptations or the Four Tops).  My dad turned the volume up a notch and told me, "I'm going to teach you the secret weapon of all great Motown songs."

That was the beginning, as far as I can recall.  Over the next few years, my parents would tell me and my brother stories about seeing the Who in '71, Springsteen in '75, the Clash in '78 and on and on (my favorite story might be the time they saw Randy Newman play at the Troubadour, which I'll save for some other time).  As we got older, my brother and I started dipping into Mom and Dad's fantastic CD and vinyl collection (the latter of which included an original copy of The Velvet Underground and Nico--they'd peeled part of the banana peel away and taped it back in place).  I got a little embarrassed when my dad asked to listen to one of my Nine Inch Nails CD's, but that's dumbass teenagers for ya.

Anyway, I was and am a very fortunate son in a lot of ways, and I consider this musical education one of the biggest (y'know, aside from that whole roof-over-my-head and unconditional love thing).  Thinking about this made me want to check out something at Boise Rock School, which has been teaching kids how to play in bands and make music for four years now.  Last Thursday's show caught my interest because one of my favorite local groups, a.k.a. Belle, was scheduled to play a set.  I wondered what an all-ages audience might bring out of the Merricks, who I've heard are parents themselves.

One thing I would've bet money on: they weren't gonna play "Jesus Christ, Goddamn You for Killing My Dog."

The audience didn't get much larger than the handful of kids, parents and grandparents that I saw when I got down there.  Ryan Peck, one of Boise Rock School's co-founders, explained that they tend to draw bigger crowds when the weather's cooler.  That made sense--I started melting as I waited for the show to begin.

I walked around the outside of the school and peeked in at some of the classes.  I didn't go inside or look too long for fear of disturbing them (BRS's other co-founder, Jared Goodpaster, very graciously showed me around later on).  I did take note of this, though:

Little things like this give me hope for the future.

First up this evening was Kif Bender, a twelve-year-old musician from San Francisco.  An article that I stumbled across called him "Kif the Kid Wonder," and not without good reason: his clear, calm voice sounded twice as old as he was.  He handled both his covers (Florence and the Machine, Maroon 5, SF songwriter Megan Slankard) and his own originals (which didn't sound too shabby at all) with an impressive assuredness and self-possession.

Bender mentioned near the end of his set that he planned to record and release an EP soon (he got some studio time as a Christmas present).  Sheesh.  If he can keep this up, we might be talking about him one day like we talk about Jodie Foster now.  (I thought about writing Michael Jackson or Stevie Wonder there, but that would've set the bar REALLY high and sounded like an inadvertent curse to boot.)

Next up was BRS student band the Sporx, who had to substitute some personnel for this gig (a fellow student stepped in on drums while an instructor played guitar).  Keyboardist/lead vocalist Barrett Coyle sounded just a little forced on Duran Duran's "Rio," but dang if she didn't nail Cake's "Long Time" and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' "Home" but good.  Meanwhile, in a heartwarming display of proper instruction and values, the bassist and drummer laid down a promising groove.

Sam and Catherine Merrick from a.k.a. Belle provided a fine and mellow ending to the show.  Their cover of Jody Reynolds/The Gun Club's "Fire of Love" helped justify some of those John-and-Exene comparisons, and the warmth, playfulness and thoughtfulness of the rest of their set made me think, "Yeah, these are the kind of parents that kids oughtta have."  Highlights included Sam Merrick's running gag on touring with the Sporx, Catherine Merrick's reminiscence of meeting Pete Seeger as a little girl and (cuz I can be a softie like that) Barrett Coyle helping them sing the chorus to "Painted, Faded and Tainted."

You can find info on Kif Bender, a.k.a. Belle and Boise Rock School on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Oh, and by the way: Motown's secret weapon was/is James Jamerson, their house band's bassist.  Recommended listening: "Reach Out, I'll Be There" by the Four Tops, "Going to a Go-Go" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Supremes, "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.  Hell, just listen to most everything Motown put out in the 60's.

Fable Cry, The Green Zoo and Zvoov @ the Shredder (7/27/12)

This was a pretty good day for me.  I discovered that HCTD has been nominated for Best Local Blogger in Boise Weekly's Best of 2012.  I don't have a prayer of winning, but I'm truly honored to be nominated (and amazed, frankly--I've only been doing this for a few months).  Also, this day marked the 35th anniversary of the Record Exchange, a place that's very dear to my heart--I bought my copies of London Calling, Blood on the Tracks and Plastic Ono Band there--and a Boise cultural landmark.

Before I headed over to The Shredder to check out the show set up by Vagabond Promotions, I stopped by the Record Exchange and looked around for a few minutes.  I wound up buying myself a humdinger of an early birthday present: a used copy of a great 4-CD Otis Redding anthology.  It was a steal at $20, although for some reason, it didn't include disc three (it's ok, though--I went back and found it in the new arrivals used section).

Attendance was low, to put it mildly, for The Shredder's show.  I don't think that there were more than four or five people there besides me, Keesha Renna, the Shredder's staff and the musicians.  Admittedly, there wasn't much publicity for this: Vagabond Promotions' Facebook profile had an event page set up, but I didn't see any fliers for it or a listing on the Shredder's July calendar (though I did see one on their Reverb Nation page).  Of course, it probably didn't help that at least two of the originally scheduled acts had to cancel (including the group that I was most eager to see, The Finer Points of Sadism).  In spite of all this, I thought that this show turned out rather well.

Tennessee-based gypsy-punk duo Fable Cry started off the night.  These two were straight-up fun from their jaunty tempos and tunes to their proudly cartoonish singing, their playfully surreal banter and their tales of zombies, pirates and demented coyotes.  Brother Zach manically strummed his guitar and wore bells on his ankles to further accenuate the beat as he stomped it out.  Sister Kirstie bashed away on the drums and made her violin weep.  They would've made a helluva double bill with Dear Rabbit.

After Fable Cry came The Green Zoo.  All of my previous judgments on this Caldwell group, both positive and negative, still apply.  I will add, though, that I had a good laugh over their bassist's unintelligible comments and their guitar player's translations en espanol.  Not only that, I even heard some lyrics that I liked this time around.

Brooklyn-based math-rock trio Zvoov closed out the show.  I imagine that Television might've sounded a little like this group if they'd decided to go jazz and metal simultaneously.  Eric Hielscher's dynamite guitar riffs, Arthur Meacham's liquid basslines and John Swank's ferocious drumming powered through disorienting time signatures and changes.  Somehow, they managed to combine the mellow, contemplative feel of Adventure with the otherworldly, transcendent power of Marquee Moon.  Mercurial, hypnotic, hard-rocking.  Great stuff.

After Zvoov wrapped up, I made my way down to Tom Grainey's in time to catch a little bit of a.k.a. Belle's set (sorry about the picture quality; I dropped my digital camera off at my car and had to resort to using my phone again).  I stayed just long enough to hear them play "The Sweetest Sin" and a new number with the greatest title that I've heard in many a moon, "Jesus Christ, Goddamn You For Killing My Dog."  If all goes well, I'll get the chance to see a.k.a. Belle again in August.  Fingers crossed.

You can find info on all of these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Keesha Renna and Vagabond Promotions, who can be contacted at 1 (208) 283-0259 and at Whatvagabond@hotmail.com.  Special thanks also to Justin Cantrell and The Shredder for letting me take pictures with my digital camera.  Oh, and should you feel inclined to vote for me in Boise Weekly's Best of 2012, you can go here.