One of the first people we met upon arriving was Bianca Garza, a photographer traveling around the United States on a Bowling Green research/project grant to document a variety of DIY/house concerts and write about how they fit into the larger culture/community of musical performance. I'm pretty interested in reading the 20+ page paper she was working on, along with seeing the photos, of course. She'll probably be posting the photos at some point, but until then, you can always browse through her shots of musicians who are much more renowned than yours truly: www.biancagarza.com
In addition to the backyard show, which I'll get to in a minute, Joanie Newberry was displaying some of her artwork in the front two rooms of the house. Though all of her paintings were superb, one of my favorite pieces was a sculpture called "Prison," in which two white forearms with hands on each end (there aren't any elbows in prison, you see) are clutching hold of the bars of a double-backed black chair. It was a simple yet provocative piece that effectively embodied the mood of much of her other work. If you'd like to view some of her art, I encourage you to visit her website: www.wix.com/Joanie937/JoanNewberry
Here's a photo of Mark "Grillmaster" Fain, who cooked me up a mean burger:
After Tricia and I performed for an attentive bunch of lawn loungers, Little Island Lake took the grassy stage for what you might call a hangover set. They had just played an album release show the previous night (Gun Lake performed as well, if I'm not mistaken), and they were still a bit worn out from the festivities. Nevertheless, the music sounded great and it was easy to see that they were having fun making it. Eric Hurd's drumming was tasteful, and the interplay between the stringed instruments matched the overall pleasantness of the afternoon. One of the highlights was hearing Mary Fraser's piercingly beautiful vocals in "Traverse." You can stream the studio version of that song using the Bandcamp player below, but be sure to check out the rest of the album too.
Here's a video of them performing another song live. I'm not sure of the title, since it's not on their new album.
Gun Lake was the final musical act of the late afternoon / early evening. Instead of being joined by his full band (which would've included former Grayslakean, current Michiganian, and future New Yorker Brian Trahan), Mark Fain went the solo route and performed songs from Gun Lake's excellent debut album Balfour alone. As a full quartet, the band boasts Grizzly Bear-style harmonies and layered instrumentation that seem to perpetually walk the line between the warmly familiar and the hauntingly distant. But when Mark played the songs alone, they took on more of a Mark Kozelek quality -- sparse and subdued, but deceivingly full of emotion and power. Here's a video of Mark (Fain, not Kozelek) playing "Stormy Country." After watching the video, do yourself a favor and listen to Balfour just below it. After listening to the whole thing, you might as well buy it.
Sadly, that was Tricia's and my last show together for the summer, but I still have yet to blog about my trek with an English cohort out to the Wassaic Project Festival in New York this past weekend (unless he decides to do it). Until then, good afternoon and good luck.
Driving Music:
Air - Talkie Walkie
Josh Ritter - So Runs the World Away
M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent
The Last Broadcast - Matthew EP
Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
S. Carey - All We Grow
Little Island Lake - Jawbones
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
The Tallest Man on Earth - Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird EP
Cass McCombs - Catacombs
