December 15, 2003 - Harry's - Northampton, MA - Sitting Next To Brian
Henning says: Here's a picture of the performance of the song 11:10 at the Sitting Next To Brian Show. For all but two of the songs on the set list, Brain played drums and sang. On this particular song, Dave Hower took over at the drums while Brain played guitar and Ken played accordian, the rest of us left the stage and got a chance to watch from the audience. The show was a lot of fun, I think. When I showed up at 7:30, Rick was waiting in his car and Dan was just pulling into a parking spot. I went in and unlocked the doors and turned on the lights. From that point on, I was in a whirlwind of activity until I got home five hours later. The line-up for the night was pretty big. Not counting the two opening acts, we had eleven different artists hopping on and off of the stage at different times. The show was scheduled to start at 9:00 but when I glanced up it was already quarter of and there was no bartender and we were not that close to being done setting up yet (we finished just around 9:00). The Parents kicked off the show with the best perfromance that I have seen them do yet. It was very confident and clean and effective. Tony, I think using the electric guitar is definately a good idea. It seemed more smooth and dynamic. Sam sang wonderfully and it was good to hear some of those classic Westcott tunes again. Bourgeois Heroes played next and did an excellent job as always. The still-growing crowd was eating them up. They had brought along some sampler CDs to handout and each one was decorated by hand with a different design. I didn't get one yet. Need to get one still. Just before the Parents started their show I started to feel kind of miserable, I chalked it up to allergies to all the stupid cigarette smoke that was being blown into my face, and I distracted myself from it by video taping the whole Parents set. I kept feeling worse and worse through the Heroes' set and by the time Sitting Next To Brian took the stage, I had realized I was in the throws of a bad head cold. Thus, the whole SNTB performance became a distant struggle. I remember some particular things, like Vegas Youth being great and I remember the disco lights were on for Supposed Circus. But, I don't really have a grasp on how well we played. I do remember standing behind Brian while he played and thinking that it was a pretty cool vantage point. I also remember at one point when Joe was playing with us that we had most of the Aloha Steamtrain up there. I also remember being aware that this was the first time I have shared the stage with Dave Hower, Gideon Fruedmann and Rick Murnane, but that at one time or another I had performed with everyone else, Dave Trenholm, Kevin O'Rourke, Trace Meek, Lesa, Joe, Brian and Ken. I'm still at home with this cold and I am looking forward to reading Brian's little write-up about the show. I am curious how he felt about it. Come on, Brian, lay it on us. Brian Says: Well, it took a while for anything to be said about my show. I really liked it, but thought perhaps all this silence was like the uncomfortable silence that people with poor social graces are greeted with after their antics at parties. I wanted the show to feel as cool as the first shows I went to as a teenager--where everything, from the music playing over the PA to the clothes the band is wearing, illicits a mental note to make sure you keep this as a memory. I know we're all old and jaded now, and who gives a honk about all that, but that's why I wanted this to just happen once. I wanted the vibe to be slightly trippy, artsy, visually and sonically curiosity inspiring. Like a cross between the party scene in "Head" and an early Jesus and Mary Chain video. Yeah, ok..retro. Why the band aid on my neck in all those pictures? Would you believe an homage to Morrissey's nipple band aid he used to wear on stage? Go ahead believing that. So, I'd worked that day and was more than a bit beat. I'd spent the night before unexpectedly in Manhattan. I'd gone to pick up Andrea, and didn't come back that night due to bad weather. But once I'd decided on my wardrobe, I was ready. I hoped I'd remeber all my lyrics. I didn't want to treat them like lines in a play--that would make it work. In the end, I think I remembered 95%. We'll see when I get the recording. I walked into Harry's and the whole band was there. Dan Richardson screamed like a teeny bopper and I was happy to see my drums set up, if not a little guilty at seeming like "the star". The Advocate listing (and Henning in his last post) had me as "Brain" playing a $5 show at 10pm. I thought it was Brian playing a free show at 9pm. In the end, it was a free show at 9:45, where a hat was passed. Everyone looked great. Tony was out of a J Crew catalogue. The Parents did sound great and confident. Tony dedicated their version of Nesmith's "Calico Girlfriend" to me. Awesome!! Coincidentally, Bourgeois Heroes were gonna do "All of Your Toys" by the Monkees and dedicate it to me, but they didn't have a bass-less arrangement ready. The Heroes also looked and sounded great. Their hand-made CDs were sucked up instantaneously. I picked my favorite cover art. And I've been digging the cd. Though Andrea and I have been singing 2 songs that aren't on the CD--Television and (I may have this wrong) Barely Mary? I think it was the best Heroes show--this was the night we witnessed them become Noho stars. I had no idea that Ning wasn't feeling well. And yet, he was so helpful. That's our Ningt. As pre-show music I selected The Fall's "Perverted By Language" and Andy Partridge+John Leckie's "The Lure of Salvage"--music that would either fascinate or irritate. Well, gee. What can I say about my show? It was unlike anything I've ever done in the 600 shows I've done in my life. I'm never the steak, I'm the fork. Tonight I was the steak. It was liberating. I was actually surprised at how easy it was. I was not nervous at all once we all hit the stage. What a freakin' band, though, huh? Rick Murnane is a total pro who added new flavors to the sound--he was only member of the live band I'd never previously played with and who isn't on the CD. Trace Meek is as reliable a bass player as can be--his playing in the Figments redefined how I played drums. Dave Hower..ok, I'd never played with him either, but drummers don't play together. It was awesome hearing the percussion parts and he's also a total pro. Ken and Ning--well, they were the 2 whom I communicated with most thoughout the rehearsals, just because a)they're all over the CD and b) they're all over my musical history. They're my musical brothers, I guess. I tried to mention everyone at some point through out the show. We'll see--I did a lot of rambling. Drummers w/ mics--a dangerous thing. Ever see Spanish For Hitchhiking? But really, like a mother with too many kids, I kept losing track of who to pay, who to give drink tickets to, who to give props to on stage, who are we missing? Never ask me to be a camp councellor. And the guests: Joe Boyle, Dave Trenholm, Kevin O'Rourke, Lesa Bezo and Gideon Freudmann--everyone was top notch. And it was fun and candy-coated and hip and dark and everything I wanted. Very much like a bit of musical theater. In the audience I was flattered to see many musicians I admire quite a lot: Ray Mason, Mark Mulcahy, some Stuntmen, Thane...plus 100 people aged 21-61. The applauses seemed enthusiastic. Mike Ruffino bought a CD. And Dan Richardson made it all sound so, so good. I'm nominating him for knighthood. Let's say a year from now I begin recording album #2. In the gig diary, if there is one for this, perhaps we'll see some photos from various sources. We'll notify you. Tony says: Ok, I'll bite. Weigh in with a few words about Monday night's show. Pretty special all around. Sam was sick all last week and so we either had to go on without having had a rehearsal in over 2 weeks or cram one in day of show. We opted for the latter and it turned out to be a good confidence booster for Sam, who pulled off her best public performance ever, and by a large margin. I also managed to fit in a last-minute rehearsal with Ken for our cover of "I've Had The Time Of My Life." We'd never done that one live. I was afraid that it'd come off cheesy. The Parents' set is so quiet and sad and ballad-laden; I wanted us to do it straight, which we did. The cheese is inherent in the song's awful lyrics and Ken pretty much nailed the arrangement with the keys and drum machine but we didn't sing it like we were toasted karaoke patrons or anything so it worked on both levels, I think. Whatever levels those may be. Nonetheless, I think we need some new material. That's my job. We did start with a new uptempo song, "Time For Me To Leave." But it's not a really great song plus Sam shines on the sad ballads like "Another Person" and "Not If I Can Help It" so that's naturally where the bulk of our set is focused. Still, a hurdle was cleared. Sam sang well and was more confident onstage- I don't think it'll be as difficult to get her up there again in the future. So now we turn our attention to recording an album- see you for a CD release late this spring? Just as our Parents set was cearly the best we've ever played, so too with The Bourgeois Heroes. Jason has a new guitar, a warm Epiphone-like Harmony brand deal with soundholes and a lovely, inviting, rockin' tone. They played a relatively short but completely effective set of their best tunes (titles are guesses): Television, Barely Mary, Everybody Wants You, Girlfriend In The Icebox, Life On The Farm. I've yet to procure a disc. They only brought ten copies to the show and offered them for free so the disques found homes quickly. I had brought along a camcorder to capture the evening and I did get all of The Parents set, half of The BH's and only the first three songs of SNTB's before it died. On a side note, I did notice that Henning wasn't himself that night. He seemed a little frazzled and cranky before the show started and somewhat morose-looking during the SNTB set. I chalked it up to him perhaps being peeved that so many people were late, musicians and audience alike (and there was miscommunication about show start times at the center of this reason) or that there was a significant challenge to setting up the stage that evening. Not only did you have to fit so many musicians and their gear onstage but you had a drumset upfront and center taking up all the space, which screwed with the natural order of things. Still, it was unlike Henning to really ever be touchy. And don't get me wrong- it's not like he was surly, just a mite short at times. And being short is really unlike Henning, in more ways than one, haw-haw getit? I mean, he really lives for playing music so no matter what ridiculous situation he's faced with, he's never one to lose his happy-go-lucky demeanor. So I was hardly surprised when I found out he was battling an illness (compunded by cigarette smoke, natch). But just like Henning, even though he commented that he didn't feel up to recording the Parents show on the camcorder but that he'd set it up on a table to be stationary and then capture the last few songs by directing them, of course, he ended up shooting the whole performance like a pro and never setting the thing down once after all. Ah, Henning. He's the Dad of the Northampton music scene. But wait- this isn't all about Henning, Henning, Henning, no matter what The River may want you to believe. This night was all about the Bri. SNTB rocks. I was predisposed to enjoy it because I adore the album and everyone onstage is a friend and accomplished musician. That said, it was still better than the sum of the songs and players. I sat right up in front, at the feet of Rick Murnane and so got to hear his amp a tad louder than anything else but that was a treat. Rick's a superbly tasteful player. He shows it off in Group DeVille but in this arena, he was more like the ace studio pro who doesn't get flashy much but just provides a lush backdrop of guitar. Case in point- the way he pulled off the sound of a pedal steel by fluidly utilizing the volume knob. Lovely, lovely. Ken's keys? Trace bass? It's all good, baby, it's all good. And Brian, the center of it all. Simply put, he writes good songs, with catchy melodies, some trippy arrangements, tasty lyrics. Some words were forgotten or phrases misplaced here and there and at times, the notes went sour (mostly the higher-pitched tunes like Familiar Old Sugar) but this was all about groove and melody, and the band just rolled right along, punching out each song like a rambunctious ten-year old boy wrestling with his golden retriever in the snow. Case in point- the new song "Branch Out," which didn't get onto the album but has lodged itself into my head ever since. A country-licked groove, Lou Reedish phrasing bouncing along the contours of the melody, supple Murnane-Ohlenbusch riffs chugging along underneath like Keith and Mick Taylor circa '72. Delightful. I felt all giddily satiated after this night of music. Like my daughter would say after the first bite of a peanut butter sandwich, "Oh, my goot-ness, that's yummy. Daddy, that's YUm-Mee. Daddy, that's YUM-Mee. Oooh, yummy sandwich for Hannah. Daddy, that's YUM-Mee!" So be quiet and eat it already! Ai-yi-yi! Max Says: Sitting Next To Brian at Harry's. My favorite live performance by a local band this year, hands-down. Sure, Brian is a friend and we play in two bands together, but watching the show objectively all I could think of was how amazingly talented Brian is. His songs are great, he has a confident stage presence, can sing and play drums and dress to the nines. I really admired the arrangements on Brian's record, and was even more blown away by the band pulling them off live. I mean, have you *heard* "Mockingbird"?!? That song is like XTC on acid.	Seth Kaye Photograph Seth Kaye Phtograph