Kenny's Castaways (5/7/04)
New York, NY
After two months off, and a month of April that can best and generously be described as trying, I was eager to get back onto the stage. Add in the fact that The Midnight Collective were rolling into New York for their first gig in The Big Apple and you had a recipe for something special.
Adam and Ian arrived late Thursday night, and we got in some very limited rehearsal time on Saturday. The plan was for me to sit in on their original tune, The Only, and for Bill and me to join them for some jamming on Dave Matthews' Grey Street, #41, and The Song That Jane Likes, and Counting Crows' Anna Begins. But as we learned in January, things don't always go as planned at Kenny's.
We arrived at eight to discover that the first band of the night wasn't even set up, yet. After speaking with Roger, the booking agent, we learned that we'd been bumped back to ten o'clock. It was happening again. Kenny's is a nice place to play, and it'll always be special to me for being the site of my first Manhattan gig in '92, but it's never easy. This night would be no different. On stage, though, it was another story alltogether.
The place was packed by the time Bethany introduced us, and Bill and I took the stage for some cover tunes. Bill ably handled lead vocals on Norwegian Wood, Homeward Bound, and the Crosby, Stills, and Nash classic Southern Cross. The latter had cracked us up during rehearsals, but we held it together long enough to do justice to the harmonies. Jonathan Coulton's First of May, which I'd introduced at the Sinai Coffeehouse in March, had the crowd in stitches and closed out the quartet of openers. Bill seemed genuinely jazzed as he exited stage left to hearty applause.
With the stage to myself, I dove into Rufus Wainwright's Go or Go Ahead, the best song on his most recent collection. The high notes were a challenge, but I let fly and belted it out as best I could. I felt like I had the crowd on my side by now, and I'd pretty much given myself over by the time I struck the first notes of Snapdragon. I've been leaning on the old songs quite a bit recently and for good reason. I'm very proud of the new stuff, but there's a connection with time-worn tunes like Snapdragon that's difficult to explain. The new ones haven't really been around the block, yet, so to speak.
I'd penciled in Christmas Song, which I generally play only in October, and Carolina in My Mind for Angela, who'd missed it at DTUT, but I decided to scratch both after checking my watch. Instead, I invited Jeanne up for All of This Will Stay, another of the older songs. I was completely into it by this point, and Jeanne's vocals really elevated the music. All of This Will Stay was a poem that I'd put to music years ago, and its melody was inspired by Hariet Wheeler of The Sundays, whose inflections I imitate in the last verse. Damsel, another song inspired by the Sundays and one of my favorite tracks off Songs Without Hooks, featured inspired harmonies by Jeanne. So Long, Angeline ("My favorite," Jeanne told the crowd) was tight, but it was on There that we really hit our stride. We don't do this one without the full band too often, but the acoustic setup allowed us to get into some of the open spaces and explore the dynamics a little more. With that, the audience bid a fond farewell to Jeanne.
As I've done at almost every show, I solicited requests from the audience, but I was only able to distinguish Sean McAndrew's joyful bellowing from the din. I'd agreed to consider John Denver's Annie's Song for Adam's girlfriend Erin before the show, and I'd already jettisoned Carolina in My Mind, but something about Fake Plastic Trees just seemed right for the moment. It was an inspired choice, and it left me floating as the boys from The Midnight Collective filed in behind me for a run at U2's All I Want Is You. With a tight, perceptive band behind me, the tune soared, and I had the pleasure of introducing the guys as the last notes faded into their opener, Letter to a Friend. Their arrival in New York was a resounding success, as the crowd, much of it there to catch their set, bounced along to their tunes. Unfortunately, Kenny's struck again and gave us the boot at only 11:30 (surely The Midnight Collective would play through midnight?), though we were able to squeeze two more out of Roger. Gone were Anna Begins, The Only (along with several other TMC tunes) and The Song That Jane Likes, leaving two Dave Matthews tunes to round out a terrific night. Ian led us through a killer version of #41, and Bill handled frontman duties on Grey Street, belting out the final notes madly, much to the crowd's delight. Andrew took things to another level with his sax, adding tasty texture to both encores. Everyone left the stage on a high.
How could we possibly ice a night like this? In a stretched limo, naturally, gamely procured by Erin on Bleecker Street for our amusement. We piled in, gear and all, and mosied uptown to Saloon for some earth-rattling music and seizure-inducing strobe lights. On the way, I was treated to a chorus of "Yankees suck" chants, more than one R&B classic, and a positively grating interpretation of Maroon 5's This Love. What more could a guy ask?
Special thanks to Bethany for the introduction, Angela for filling the place, Sean for the scrumptious request, Edra and Sonia Begonia for the inspiring words, and Gretchen for having the good taste to appreciate fine apparel. Of course, none of this happens without Bill, Jeanne, and the Boys from Boston. New York City will never be the same.
Catch you at Sidewalk on the 21st!
After two months off, and a month of April that can best and generously be described as trying, I was eager to get back onto the stage. Add in the fact that The Midnight Collective were rolling into New York for their first gig in The Big Apple and you had a recipe for something special.
Adam and Ian arrived late Thursday night, and we got in some very limited rehearsal time on Saturday. The plan was for me to sit in on their original tune, The Only, and for Bill and me to join them for some jamming on Dave Matthews' Grey Street, #41, and The Song That Jane Likes, and Counting Crows' Anna Begins. But as we learned in January, things don't always go as planned at Kenny's.
We arrived at eight to discover that the first band of the night wasn't even set up, yet. After speaking with Roger, the booking agent, we learned that we'd been bumped back to ten o'clock. It was happening again. Kenny's is a nice place to play, and it'll always be special to me for being the site of my first Manhattan gig in '92, but it's never easy. This night would be no different. On stage, though, it was another story alltogether.
The place was packed by the time Bethany introduced us, and Bill and I took the stage for some cover tunes. Bill ably handled lead vocals on Norwegian Wood, Homeward Bound, and the Crosby, Stills, and Nash classic Southern Cross. The latter had cracked us up during rehearsals, but we held it together long enough to do justice to the harmonies. Jonathan Coulton's First of May, which I'd introduced at the Sinai Coffeehouse in March, had the crowd in stitches and closed out the quartet of openers. Bill seemed genuinely jazzed as he exited stage left to hearty applause.
With the stage to myself, I dove into Rufus Wainwright's Go or Go Ahead, the best song on his most recent collection. The high notes were a challenge, but I let fly and belted it out as best I could. I felt like I had the crowd on my side by now, and I'd pretty much given myself over by the time I struck the first notes of Snapdragon. I've been leaning on the old songs quite a bit recently and for good reason. I'm very proud of the new stuff, but there's a connection with time-worn tunes like Snapdragon that's difficult to explain. The new ones haven't really been around the block, yet, so to speak.
I'd penciled in Christmas Song, which I generally play only in October, and Carolina in My Mind for Angela, who'd missed it at DTUT, but I decided to scratch both after checking my watch. Instead, I invited Jeanne up for All of This Will Stay, another of the older songs. I was completely into it by this point, and Jeanne's vocals really elevated the music. All of This Will Stay was a poem that I'd put to music years ago, and its melody was inspired by Hariet Wheeler of The Sundays, whose inflections I imitate in the last verse. Damsel, another song inspired by the Sundays and one of my favorite tracks off Songs Without Hooks, featured inspired harmonies by Jeanne. So Long, Angeline ("My favorite," Jeanne told the crowd) was tight, but it was on There that we really hit our stride. We don't do this one without the full band too often, but the acoustic setup allowed us to get into some of the open spaces and explore the dynamics a little more. With that, the audience bid a fond farewell to Jeanne.
As I've done at almost every show, I solicited requests from the audience, but I was only able to distinguish Sean McAndrew's joyful bellowing from the din. I'd agreed to consider John Denver's Annie's Song for Adam's girlfriend Erin before the show, and I'd already jettisoned Carolina in My Mind, but something about Fake Plastic Trees just seemed right for the moment. It was an inspired choice, and it left me floating as the boys from The Midnight Collective filed in behind me for a run at U2's All I Want Is You. With a tight, perceptive band behind me, the tune soared, and I had the pleasure of introducing the guys as the last notes faded into their opener, Letter to a Friend. Their arrival in New York was a resounding success, as the crowd, much of it there to catch their set, bounced along to their tunes. Unfortunately, Kenny's struck again and gave us the boot at only 11:30 (surely The Midnight Collective would play through midnight?), though we were able to squeeze two more out of Roger. Gone were Anna Begins, The Only (along with several other TMC tunes) and The Song That Jane Likes, leaving two Dave Matthews tunes to round out a terrific night. Ian led us through a killer version of #41, and Bill handled frontman duties on Grey Street, belting out the final notes madly, much to the crowd's delight. Andrew took things to another level with his sax, adding tasty texture to both encores. Everyone left the stage on a high.
How could we possibly ice a night like this? In a stretched limo, naturally, gamely procured by Erin on Bleecker Street for our amusement. We piled in, gear and all, and mosied uptown to Saloon for some earth-rattling music and seizure-inducing strobe lights. On the way, I was treated to a chorus of "Yankees suck" chants, more than one R&B classic, and a positively grating interpretation of Maroon 5's This Love. What more could a guy ask?
Special thanks to Bethany for the introduction, Angela for filling the place, Sean for the scrumptious request, Edra and Sonia Begonia for the inspiring words, and Gretchen for having the good taste to appreciate fine apparel. Of course, none of this happens without Bill, Jeanne, and the Boys from Boston. New York City will never be the same.
Catch you at Sidewalk on the 21st!
Setlist: Norwegian Wood (The Beatles cover)*/Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkel cover)*/Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills, and Nash cover)*/First of May (Jonathan Coulton cover)*/Go or Go Ahead (Rufus Wainwright cover)/Snapdragon/All of This Will Stay**/Damsel**/So Long, Angeline**/There**/Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead cover)/All I Want is You (U2 cover)^ // The Midnight Collective: Letter to a Friend/Come Inside/You Lose --> Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover) --> You Lose/Mixed Up/The Middle#41+/Grey Street+ *w/ Bill Stebbins **w/ Jeanne Goodman ^w/ The Midnight Collective +w/ Bill Stebbins and Michael Novick
posted by Michael Novick at 10:32 AM
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