Electrorespect
5, the annual tribute to the late, and
truly great, musician and artist Mark Freeland, held at Nietzsche’s May 5, was another resounding
success musically and spiritually.
The
event continues to be coordinated and orchestrated by Carla Levorchick, Mark’s
longtime partner, friend, advocate and protector, and as usual, she put in
countless hours and effort into another gathering of the tribe.
The
evening opened with Ed Koban and Matt Knott performing “The Feather Meets the Dot,” with Koban playing Native
American flute and Knott percussion and dulcimer. It was a lovely, peaceful
piece and reflected Freeland’s friendship with Koban and interest and respect
of Native American music and culture.
Kinfolk, a keyboard and percussion duet, performed next,
and showed good intentions and occasional talent. On the front stage, Pillow
Queen was hurt by some caterwauling vocal
problems, causing me to write “ouch” in my notes as the band punished Electroman’s “True Love,” or at least the lines from the chorus,
“True love/that’s what I’m living for,” over and over and OVER. Whether it was
an interpretation gone way wrong, performance art or an endurance test, it was
awful in a way that Freeland may have given a thumbs-up to; me, not so much.
Pillow Talk also played a song that sounded way too much like “Lady” by Styx.
(For those of you offended by criticism of bands at a tribute, please feel free
to make use of the comment function below).
Cowboys
of Scotland, a band led by longtime
Freeland friend, compatriot and sometime collaborator Bud Redding (keyboards
and vocals) and Steve Myers (guitar, bass, vocals and paint brush), delivered
an energetic, emotional set blending tribute to Freeland. Redding composed and
the band has performed a rock opera based on the life of Freeland, “Original:
The Mark Freeland Story,” from which they played a song, as well as performed
“Funk Monster Rap,” a song Redding performed in one of his early bands, Funk
Monsters and Woman. Redding has credited Freeland with teaching him how to rap
(Freeland was a very early rap fan and enthusiast). Myers created a rather good
painting based on some Freeland artwork, The band also played two Freeland
songs, “Cowboys of Scotland,” the obvious influence of the band’s name, and the
classic, fun and forceful “Go Go Go,” with some muscle from guitarist Robert
Raithel and drummer Doug Jones. Redding and Cowboys of Scotland have worked
hard to helping keep Freeland’s music alive.
David
Kane, an early member of Electroman who
wrote and devised some of the band’s greatest songs with Freeland, performed
next, with Darren Cage, who played in later versions of Electroman for years
(as well as with Kane in later Nullstadt) on guitar and backing vocals and some
percussion tracks. They were joined by a couple of vocalists, including the
poorly disguised Donald Kinsman, Kane’s partner and co-creator of Nullstatdt,
and Biff Titsle (Anal Pudding). The band performed several David Bowie songs,
dating back to when Kane and Freeland performed in Erectronics and loved to
cover Bowie; this night, the band played such Bowie classics as “Fashion” and
“Station to Station.” But the absolute best part of this set, and one of the
best parts of the entire night, was when the band started the long, wonderful
introduction to “Girl Power,” co-written by Kane and Freeland, and one of the
best songs any Buffalo band has ever recorded (it appears on Electroman’s
“Come” album). While the song has been covered before, and well at times,
something that has always been missing from those versions is the punchy,
almost high-pitched hammer-like keyboard chords Kane pumps in the late part of
the intro just before Freeland unleashes a wild solo, As that part of the song
neared, it actually seemed like the audience tensed in anticipation of hearing
if Kane could/would do it; my wife, photographer Val Dunne, who shot Freeland
for years, grabbed my arm and yelled into my ear, “I think he’s gonna do it.”
It came to that part…and bam, Kane hit the keyboard part as no one else has
done, and the audience basically looked at itself and cheered. The whole of
“Girl Power” sounded wonderful and was the best way for Kane to end his set.
The
next set was offered up by Nick Garden and the Hall of Fame Band, either with tongue piercing cheek or a textbook
example of a violation of truth in advertising laws. The vocals were painful at
times, including on “You Make Me Want to Love You,” and the attempt to cover
the Fems’ “Go to a Party” featured keyboards way more prominent than the
guitar, a major mistake, as would be covering this song when you consider who
followed this band.
Ending
the show, appropriately enough, were the Fems Fatale, the three members of the Fems still living in
Buffalo, namely John Walters on guitar and vocals, Kent Weber on bass and
vocals and Lou Mang on drums. Smartly, the band basically plugged in, turned
the volume up and kicked some ass. The Fems Fatale particularly nailed a
fantastic version of “Violation,” and ended with a breathtaking version of
Electroman’s “The Day You Came into My Life.”
Some
people complained on my other blog about the need for shows honoring the music,
art and person that was/is Mark Freeland, and others just went straight to the
personal attack. As long as musicians, friends and fans fondly remember Mark,
there will be Electrorespect shows.
