Some Thoughts on Music Is Art 2012

Val and I were able to spend a few hours away from our new dog at home, Harold, and get over to Delaware Park for the 10th annual Music Is Art Festival Saturday, September 15. Here is a rundown of what I heard and saw.

The setup was changed a bit from last year, with more space being used away from the Rose Garden and areas closer to Lincoln Parkway, which was closed off on the block right at the festival, and it appeared to be a good idea. The main stage, actually three joint stages, were set up on the main concourse cross from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, a smart move, and as you walked down the main concourse away from the stages, the main exhibit area, which includes several other stages and performance areas, was on one side, and about 15 food truck and other mobile food stations were located on the other side.

In particular, the Lloyd Taco truck line was extremely long, because of the high quality of the food they make and sell as well as the popularity of it. While it took me about 20-30 minutes from getting in line to actually getting our food, I could hear the main stage bands nicely and didn't mind the wait, talking to several people I just met and answered a few questions about Lloyd and whether or not the food was worth the wait (it is).

Musically: Flatbed played a real good set, maybe nothing spectacular to some but this is one band that does not get the credit it deserves; the Pillagers seemed to vying for the designation of Buffalo's new guitar army, and played some new material; Free Henry! sounded very sharp and impressed me more than then last time I heard them. The Ruby Spirit played some painful Pat Benatar meets goth rock songs; if we hadn't had Harold neutered Thursday, we could have used the singer's voice to have done so and saved some money. Advice to the Canary Girls: if you are going to ply the synthesizer/voice sound in an early 1980s mode, and you do not sound anywhere near as good as Depeche Mode, early OMD, Kraftwerk, early New Order, Cabaret Voltaire or Gary Numan (or hell, even Human League), take my advice and stop. Just stop. I was in the Lloyd Taco truck line for part of their set, and I missed out on a dissing session Val and a few other people had on the Canary Girls; I still feel the loss.

Also, the Good kicked some serious ass and blew away a lot of pretension; I don't care how old or experienced these guys are or may seem to some, they have the proper rock and roll attitude, turn it up and rip it up, and secret weapon/front man he who shall remain nameless shames all of us with his energy and demeanor. While I thought the gaggle of dancers, bystanders and so on up on stage with Whiskey Reverb was somewhat douchy, their music, kind of driving Americana with some sensitive pseudo hippydom tossed in, worked for me. The Grace Stumberg Band again sounded quite good, and I was particularly impressed by Stumberg's vocals, which had an added touch of sensuality and sultriness without losing any of their edge. We enjoyed Brother Andre (formerly DJ Andre) DJing, and it was unfortunate the technical difficulties interrupted his set; I also got to enjoy some of DJ Xotec's work while searching for Val, and sadly just missed DJ Soma.

As always, Robbie Takac and his merry band of workers and volunteers deserve a lot of credit for pulling off another successful Music Is Art Festival; the attendance was seriously large, the music was quite varied and both good and bad, and the art, photography, dancing, painting, spoken word and zombies made it a great event, with something for everyone, including all ages. Finally, I do not know of a Buffalo/Western New York festival that breaks down and cleans up as well or as fast as Music Is Art.

Linda McRae Band - The Sportsmen's Tavern

      Linda McRae returned to Buffalo for a June 15 show at the Sportsmen's Tavern, performing for the first time in a while in Buffalo with a band, and delivered an excellent rootsy show.

     The former Spirit of the West bassist/vocalist has taken an even more traditional turn since going solo, performing in small-group and solo settings and taking up not just acoustic guitar, but banjo, and McRae has become quite an accomplished player. She has frequently played with multi-instrumentalist Jim Whitford in Buffalo and elsewhere in New York and Ontario; I must say we are lucky that she stays at Whitford's house when visiting WNY with her husband and true partner, James Whitmire, because we get to not only visit with her but hear some fine rehearsals.

     The show opened with "Doin' Life Without Parole," a song of love and commitment from McRae's new "Rough Edges and Ragged Hearts" CD, highlighted by a cool Doug Yeomans guitar solo and some accordion from Mark Panfil. The next tune was also off the new (really good) CD, "Hope It Lasts Through Supper," a Whitmire poem put to music on whether or not a romance has a chance to last at all; McRae's banjo and Whitford's bass were particularly good on this simple twanger. "Deck of '52," a McRae/Whitmire co-write, was a sparse, stately, beautifully sad song particularly colored by accordion and guitar; McRae followed this with a really nice cover of Townes Van Zandt's classic "Pancho and Lefty."

     After this came another achingly lovely new song, "Higher Ground," in which a homeless vet seeks a little spiritual rest or redemption as alcohol begins to take him on his final fatal journey; Panfil's accordion was McRae's only accompaniment for half the song before the band joined in. Whitford stepped to the forefront for a moment to sing his own song, "Crash All Night," and smiled over Panfil's harmonica before joking, "I didn't know it was such a country song." McRae ended her first set with two songs from her older CDs, "Hoot and Holler," with solos by Yeoman's (guitar) and Panfil (Dobro) actually outdone by some dreamy vocals from McRae, and a cover of "The L&N Don't Stop Here Any More," detailing the death of a former train stop town.

     The second set started with "Carve It to the Heart," the title song from her 2008 CD which blends blues, country and folk; McRae's banjo stood out well. "Three Midnights," a song of addiction, loneliness and recovery, featured some fine guitar from Yeomans and the line "darker than three midnights in a jar," which my wife Val Dunne correctly points out as a gem. "Rough Edges and Ragged Hearts" notes that we don't have to be perfect to be right for our lovers/spouses. McRae has become a rather good interpreter of Hank Williams Sr. songs, and at this show nailed "Long Gone Lonesome Blues," assisted by Panfil's accordion. The band tossed in another cover, a fun run through of the Rolling Stones "Far Away Eyes," then added a couple more McRae originals, including "Flying Jenny," and ending with the gospel flavored "Be Your Own Light."

Covering the Covers

             Sometimes, a little shopping can get the mind working.

           

            While shopping at the Lexington Co-Op Sunday, I noticed that the music they were playing appeared to be a recording of cover songs by a female with a relatively high-pitched voice. The first song I heard was a version of Junior Murvin’s “Police and Thieves,” and the second song was a cover of “Clean Up Woman,” a major hit for Betty Wright in 1972. Sadly, the main reason I took such note of these songs was how poor the cover versions were; Junior Murvin may have a relatively high-pitched male voice, but there was virtually no feeling or passion in either of these versions.

            I have not been able to discover who performed these covers (whether the same person or different singers), but besides sounding like weak versions to me, they both have the problem of covering songs that to my ears have already received classic cover interpretations. Many music fans are familiar with the Clash’s classic/iconic cover of “Police and Thieves” on the band’s legendary self-titled album (Murvin reportedly hated their version), and the Pine Dogs covered “Clean Up Woman” live with a great deal of soul and fun.

            Of course, these judgments are opinions, but I have never hesitated to think mine correct, as us fine, public serving music critics always do. But while there may be no rules for cover songs, besides there being way too many to start with (and the same for movies), I would say that being yourself and not trying to sound like someone/something else is a good start. Junior Murvin may not like the Clash cover, but if the band had tried to sound like Robbie and Sly or even Pablo Moses, it would have been a mistake; sounding like an English punk band that enjoyed (and in bassist Paul Simonon’s case, was fanatical about) reggae and dub music is really all the Clash could do. The Pine Dogs did not try to sound like a Motown band or overdo the funk, but added their country/roots rock feel to a funky song like “Clean Up Woman.”

            There are other strings of discussion from this topic, including when bands record all-cover albums or even a tribute record (I admit I have a personal favorite in Tony Bennett’s tribute to Frank Sinatra and his romantic songs, “Perfectly Frank”). These types of recordings run the gamut from great to horrible, from background music to stop what you’re doing, sit down and listen and so on. The most inconsistent type of record is the tribute recording performed by a group of singers, bands and what not; great songs do not always create great recordings, as even tributes to Peter Case, Cole Porter, Alejandro Escovedo, Irving Berlin and Neil Young prove.

            This appears to be an ongoing issue that I will no doubt address to you fine readers from time to time here; please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section.