Ten out of TennErin McCarley, Matthew Perryman Jones, Griffin House, Katie Herzig, Trent Dabbs, Andy Davis, Butterfly Boucher, Jeremy Lister, KS Rhoads and Tyler James
Thanks to Dan Fenaughty, we have a review of the Ten out of Tenn concert at the Black Sheep.
Dan is a local criminal defense appeals attorney, an always-on-top-of-what's-happening music guy and my first husband. He's a truly good sort. Here's what he had to say about Ten out of Tenn:
This week Colorado Springs was host to the “Ten out of Tenn.” tour. The group of ten Nashville-area singer/songwriters played a small venue east of downtown on Platte avenue. The idea was to show that there’s more to Nashville, Tennessee than country music. The ten indie/alt/folk musicians proved their point. Two weeks ago, the group was in Austin, Texas at SXSW. –‘nuff said.
The idea of ten singer/songwriters playing on one night brings expectations of a very long night. The main fear was: one person with a guitar on stage for a while, only to be replaced by another, then another. Instead, the ten all backed each other up. One by one a member of the ten would take center stage for one song. With the exception of a lone drummer who played for all, they alternated instruments. The others supplied: bass guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards (two), slide guitar (they are from Nashville), trumpet, harmonica, tambourine and backing vocals.
The result was one very large, very powerful group. The energy coming off the stage was thick. It was more festive than a state fair midway in Pueblo, with more cheering and excitement than a busload of seniors all winning at nickel slots in Cripple Creek. You thought of the Buffalo Springfield song, that “there’s something happening here".
For some songs, the musical contributions of the group were overshadowed by their pointed lack of contribution. At times they stood, just stood: unmoving; silent; still. They were almost reverential. All eyes were upon the center, singing artist. At center was Katie Herzig once, later it was Griffin House. At these instances, you had to realize that something important was being sung, that something important was happening.
It was not all intense and reflective. Early on, one artist (Butterfly Boucher) deleted the lead acoustic guitar, plugged in an electric one and launched into a song from her first album (“Another White Dash”). At this point, the room was ROCKING. The crowd lit up. The drummer was one fire. There was suddenly not just a literal electric guitar: there was figurative electricity everywhere.
The pace later slowed down, only to be brought back up by the intense keyboard playing of Tyler James and the urgently fun music and lyrics of his track “soapbox shakedown.” Also of note was Andy Davis. Sporting a velvet blazer and a fedora, he was quick to get the audience involved, and masterfully manipulated (in a good way) that participation in the title track off his “Let the Woman” release.
At the end, for an encore, the group of ten stepped down from the stage. Ala Arcade Fire, they stepped into the audience. With acoustic guitars and tambourines, the ten stood among us and played Bob Dylan’s “I shall be released”. The crowd sang along. The feel was that you were just with a group of old friends… provided your friends were this talented.
In wanting to give you some hope for the future and not merely saying “Oh no... you missed it.”, understand that many of these artists will be back in Colorado. They will just be in bigger venues, with bigger crowds. In the unlikely event that this group comes through town again, I will be there. You should, too.
Colorado is the final stop of this leg of the “Ten Out of Tenn.” tour. For now, the artists are either touring individually or home back in Tennessee.
The idea of ten singer/songwriters playing on one night brings expectations of a very long night. The main fear was: one person with a guitar on stage for a while, only to be replaced by another, then another. Instead, the ten all backed each other up. One by one a member of the ten would take center stage for one song. With the exception of a lone drummer who played for all, they alternated instruments. The others supplied: bass guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards (two), slide guitar (they are from Nashville), trumpet, harmonica, tambourine and backing vocals.
The result was one very large, very powerful group. The energy coming off the stage was thick. It was more festive than a state fair midway in Pueblo, with more cheering and excitement than a busload of seniors all winning at nickel slots in Cripple Creek. You thought of the Buffalo Springfield song, that “there’s something happening here".
For some songs, the musical contributions of the group were overshadowed by their pointed lack of contribution. At times they stood, just stood: unmoving; silent; still. They were almost reverential. All eyes were upon the center, singing artist. At center was Katie Herzig once, later it was Griffin House. At these instances, you had to realize that something important was being sung, that something important was happening.
It was not all intense and reflective. Early on, one artist (Butterfly Boucher) deleted the lead acoustic guitar, plugged in an electric one and launched into a song from her first album (“Another White Dash”). At this point, the room was ROCKING. The crowd lit up. The drummer was one fire. There was suddenly not just a literal electric guitar: there was figurative electricity everywhere.
The pace later slowed down, only to be brought back up by the intense keyboard playing of Tyler James and the urgently fun music and lyrics of his track “soapbox shakedown.” Also of note was Andy Davis. Sporting a velvet blazer and a fedora, he was quick to get the audience involved, and masterfully manipulated (in a good way) that participation in the title track off his “Let the Woman” release.
At the end, for an encore, the group of ten stepped down from the stage. Ala Arcade Fire, they stepped into the audience. With acoustic guitars and tambourines, the ten stood among us and played Bob Dylan’s “I shall be released”. The crowd sang along. The feel was that you were just with a group of old friends… provided your friends were this talented.
In wanting to give you some hope for the future and not merely saying “Oh no... you missed it.”, understand that many of these artists will be back in Colorado. They will just be in bigger venues, with bigger crowds. In the unlikely event that this group comes through town again, I will be there. You should, too.
Colorado is the final stop of this leg of the “Ten Out of Tenn.” tour. For now, the artists are either touring individually or home back in Tennessee.
Where you may have seen them or heard their music:
Erin McCarley “The Late Show With David Letterman”
Matthew Perryman Jones One Tree Hill, The Hills
Butterfly Boucher Grey’s Anatomy, live at the World Arena, March, 2004
Trent Dabbs film “Nothing But the Truth”
Katie Herzig One Tree Hill, Ghost Whisperer, film “Sex & The City”
Griffin House “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson”
I think Dan's great. Does the "comments" link work?
ReplyDeleteYou're right Dan is great - a great guy and a great father as well as a great writer.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for posting a comment. The comments link is working but not in the way I'd like so I'll make your comment part of today's (April 10)posting also.
Ann