I must start by admitting I was wrong. Previously I stated that I
didn't really enjoy the busking that goes on between movies at
True/False. I have now decided that I must take it on a case by case
basis. Some of the bands I saw were good, some were bad, one was
fantastic and one I could not hear or understand, but that wasn't really
their fault.
Friday night's band was a brother duo from Bloomington, Indiana called Busman's Holiday http://www.myspace.com/busmansholiday. A snare drum/ guitar duo, who are the Mutt and Jeff of brothers. One tall and slender, one less tall and less slender with a full beard. They were in the Globe Theatre, which was a transformed church community room that sat about 200 people. (I'm totally guessing.) They were very good, harmonized well and did mostly original songs and one Kinks cover. When the tip hat came around, we contributed and I made a mark by their name in my True/False guide.
Saturday morning was Richard the Lionhearted, a local band http://lionheartedband.com/. They are a five piece band, although I have to be honest and tell you I never could figure out what one guy was playing. It looked like a toy upright piano/spice rack from the back, but it was plugged into an amp, so who knows. I wasn't too impressed, but it was 9:30 in the morning and they were playing to a hall that probably holds 1200 people (totally guessing again). Their voices/instruments were just not "big" enough to fill the hall. And the lead singer told a lame joke about "Hello, we're Mumford and Sons". The best part was a really long instrumental where the singer got to rest his voice. I guess I damn them with faint praise when I say they didn't interrupt my newspaper reading. No money in the tip hat.
Saturday afternoon at the Globe and the band is...Richard the Lionhearted! Yes! Thirty-two bands playing and I get a local band two times in one day! They were much more accessible in a smaller venue and I enjoyed them much more. Their mandolin player looked incredibly uncomfortable, think Stuart Sutcliffe with The Beatles. Same lame Mumford and Sons joke, still couldn't figure out what the spice rack guy was playing and guiltily didn't put anything in the tip hat. They are being watched by the french busker darlings Les Trois Coups.
Later Saturday afternoon, standing in line outside the Missouri Theatre, I hear a band busking by the entrance. No! Could it be? Yes, Richard the Lionhearted as a three piece! At that point, I say to my musical higher power, if I see them tomorrow I will give a dollar for every time I saw them today. Promise. Into the Missouri Theatre we go. The most beautiful venue and holds approximately 800 people (you know the drill...totally guessing) Les Trois Coups are the the musical act. They're ok. I don't think they are all that. They are a four piece from Lille, France http://www.myspace.com/troiscoups and co-conspirator Paul Sturtz saw them whilst he was on vacation and "had" to have them come play True/False. Yeah, that's not at all pretentious. They played a guitar, an accordian, a flute/saxophone, and a wooden box. They reminded me of the Marx Brothers in looks, but Jerry Lewis in attitude. All wacky slapstick on stage and then you know they walked off stage and were all serious and demanding and smoking their Gauloises and discussing Jean-Paul Sautre, sounding like Paul Belmondo. Ok, maybe not, but that is where my imagination took me. No tip hat in the balcony. Hmmm.
The final band on Saturday was Pearl and the Beard http://pearlandthebeard.com/ from Brooklyn, NY in Jesse Auditorium. They were fabulous. A three piece with guitar, snare drum (and other assorted instruments, including a kazoo) and a stand up cello. Their harmonies were beautiful. They filled the auditorium with their prescence and sound. They were infectious and fun. All three people took turns singing lead and every few songs they had a violinist come out and play with them. I would love to see them again! They got their tip money and someone else's when the hat came around.
Sunday morning, 9:30 am. Nick Jaina, Portland, Oregon http://nickjaina.com/. According to Paul Sturtz he saw Nick in Portland and knew he had to play True/False. At this point I feel I can say that Paul and I do not have the same taste in music. It was early, it was a large hall, Nick was flat, Nick didn't seem excited or at a minimum happy to be there. He introduced himself and ignored his band members. Then he introduced himself again later in the set and said, "This is my band." Nice. The girl-child and I were sitting there and saw the tip hat going around. After sitting through this I felt even more guilty for not giving to Richard the Lionhearted. Girl and I talked and decided to give Nick a tip. I got out a piece of paper and she wrote a "tip" that went something like this: "Dear Nick Jaina, This tip is of the "underwear first, then pants" variety. Introduce your band and give them props. It's a nice thing to do. Yours constructively, girl-child and Midwest Muse". After the movie we get Nick Jaina again (we spent the entire day at Jesse) and he introduced his band. Once, but still...Hello, Max and Macon! Nick can be taught! Yay!
Sunday evening, Run-On Sentence, also from Portland, Oregon http://runonsentencemusic.com/ . There isn't much I can tell you about them, they had the unfortunate luck of being the band that had to play before the big closing night movie, so they couldn't hardly be heard. I think they might be a pretty good five piece and their lead singer must hold Ronnie Van Zandt as a fashion icon if his outfit and beard was anything to go by. In the lobby, we heard Bramble (very good) http://runonsentencemusic.com/ and Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? (also good, although the bigger question is why do you have such a long name?) http://whyarewebuildingsuchabigship.bandcamp.com/
That's my musical review. I hope to get to the movies soon. You can find out more about the bands at www.truefalse.org.
Friday night's band was a brother duo from Bloomington, Indiana called Busman's Holiday http://www.myspace.com/busmansholiday. A snare drum/ guitar duo, who are the Mutt and Jeff of brothers. One tall and slender, one less tall and less slender with a full beard. They were in the Globe Theatre, which was a transformed church community room that sat about 200 people. (I'm totally guessing.) They were very good, harmonized well and did mostly original songs and one Kinks cover. When the tip hat came around, we contributed and I made a mark by their name in my True/False guide.
Saturday morning was Richard the Lionhearted, a local band http://lionheartedband.com/. They are a five piece band, although I have to be honest and tell you I never could figure out what one guy was playing. It looked like a toy upright piano/spice rack from the back, but it was plugged into an amp, so who knows. I wasn't too impressed, but it was 9:30 in the morning and they were playing to a hall that probably holds 1200 people (totally guessing again). Their voices/instruments were just not "big" enough to fill the hall. And the lead singer told a lame joke about "Hello, we're Mumford and Sons". The best part was a really long instrumental where the singer got to rest his voice. I guess I damn them with faint praise when I say they didn't interrupt my newspaper reading. No money in the tip hat.
Saturday afternoon at the Globe and the band is...Richard the Lionhearted! Yes! Thirty-two bands playing and I get a local band two times in one day! They were much more accessible in a smaller venue and I enjoyed them much more. Their mandolin player looked incredibly uncomfortable, think Stuart Sutcliffe with The Beatles. Same lame Mumford and Sons joke, still couldn't figure out what the spice rack guy was playing and guiltily didn't put anything in the tip hat. They are being watched by the french busker darlings Les Trois Coups.
Later Saturday afternoon, standing in line outside the Missouri Theatre, I hear a band busking by the entrance. No! Could it be? Yes, Richard the Lionhearted as a three piece! At that point, I say to my musical higher power, if I see them tomorrow I will give a dollar for every time I saw them today. Promise. Into the Missouri Theatre we go. The most beautiful venue and holds approximately 800 people (you know the drill...totally guessing) Les Trois Coups are the the musical act. They're ok. I don't think they are all that. They are a four piece from Lille, France http://www.myspace.com/troiscoups and co-conspirator Paul Sturtz saw them whilst he was on vacation and "had" to have them come play True/False. Yeah, that's not at all pretentious. They played a guitar, an accordian, a flute/saxophone, and a wooden box. They reminded me of the Marx Brothers in looks, but Jerry Lewis in attitude. All wacky slapstick on stage and then you know they walked off stage and were all serious and demanding and smoking their Gauloises and discussing Jean-Paul Sautre, sounding like Paul Belmondo. Ok, maybe not, but that is where my imagination took me. No tip hat in the balcony. Hmmm.
The final band on Saturday was Pearl and the Beard http://pearlandthebeard.com/ from Brooklyn, NY in Jesse Auditorium. They were fabulous. A three piece with guitar, snare drum (and other assorted instruments, including a kazoo) and a stand up cello. Their harmonies were beautiful. They filled the auditorium with their prescence and sound. They were infectious and fun. All three people took turns singing lead and every few songs they had a violinist come out and play with them. I would love to see them again! They got their tip money and someone else's when the hat came around.
Sunday morning, 9:30 am. Nick Jaina, Portland, Oregon http://nickjaina.com/. According to Paul Sturtz he saw Nick in Portland and knew he had to play True/False. At this point I feel I can say that Paul and I do not have the same taste in music. It was early, it was a large hall, Nick was flat, Nick didn't seem excited or at a minimum happy to be there. He introduced himself and ignored his band members. Then he introduced himself again later in the set and said, "This is my band." Nice. The girl-child and I were sitting there and saw the tip hat going around. After sitting through this I felt even more guilty for not giving to Richard the Lionhearted. Girl and I talked and decided to give Nick a tip. I got out a piece of paper and she wrote a "tip" that went something like this: "Dear Nick Jaina, This tip is of the "underwear first, then pants" variety. Introduce your band and give them props. It's a nice thing to do. Yours constructively, girl-child and Midwest Muse". After the movie we get Nick Jaina again (we spent the entire day at Jesse) and he introduced his band. Once, but still...Hello, Max and Macon! Nick can be taught! Yay!
Sunday evening, Run-On Sentence, also from Portland, Oregon http://runonsentencemusic.com/ . There isn't much I can tell you about them, they had the unfortunate luck of being the band that had to play before the big closing night movie, so they couldn't hardly be heard. I think they might be a pretty good five piece and their lead singer must hold Ronnie Van Zandt as a fashion icon if his outfit and beard was anything to go by. In the lobby, we heard Bramble (very good) http://runonsentencemusic.com/ and Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? (also good, although the bigger question is why do you have such a long name?) http://whyarewebuildingsuchabigship.bandcamp.com/
That's my musical review. I hope to get to the movies soon. You can find out more about the bands at www.truefalse.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment