09/13/2008 Langhorn Slim with The Builders and The Butchers

This was a fun night of music, and a great way to lead into my 36 Birthday. The night started with The Builders and the Butchers, a five piece out of Portland, OR. They played with a lot of energy and reminded me of a tighter Felice Brothers. The lead singer played acoustic guitar and various tambourine type instruments; there was another acoustic player that also played banjo; a bass player that looked like Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) from Spinal Tap; one percussionist that played a pair of toms with what looked like tambourines attached; and another percussionist that played two bass drums (one laying on the floor that he just pounded), piano, trumpet, harmonium (I think that is what it's called), and mandolin. Obviously they had a lot going on up on the stage, it was like being at a hootenanny and I rather enjoyed the unique percussion section. Interestingly I found that some of their songs had a flamenco-mariachi band flare. There were some obvious fans in the audience that danced and sang each word throughout the set, and the band fed off the energy of the crowd. They ended the show by playing a song unplugged in the middle of the crowd. The passed out various percussion instruments to the crowd and it ended up like a campfire sing-a-long. My recording of this song is crap but I kept it as a record of what happened that night. I would highly recommend seeing these guys if you get a chance.

The B&B set the bar high for Langhorne Slim, but the crowd was primed and ready for the band hit the stage. While The B&B brought a frantic energy to the stage, Langhorne Slim brought more of a swagger. By the by, the show was listed as a Lanhorne Slim show, but I think this would actually be a Langhorne Slim & The War Eagles show since it was a full band. The band consisted of Sean Scolnick (Langhorne Slim) on acoustic and lead vocals, Paul Defiglia on upright bass, and Malachi DeLorenzo on drums. The stage was set up with the drums and bass pushed to the back and right of the stage, giving Sean plenty of room to move about with the music. I would compare the show to perhaps a Johnathan Richman or Chuck Prophet show. It rolled through songs about women and love, and like these artist it is the lead singer that moves the show along and sets the pace. It was interesting to me to see the crowd going wild and dancing like crazy to music that did not match pace of the frantic dancing. However, at least they were having a good time and letting the band know they appreciated the show. I have two highlights of the show, and both were a result of audience interaction. The first was during what I think is honey pie the lyric asks if you like Macy's or JC Penny's, and then a guy yells "I like Target", and Sean sings "Targets Nice Too". Classic off the cuff banter in the middle of a song. The second was during the song about dancing with women when a couple of older (compared to the drunk 20 somethings that were at the show) came up on stage and started dancing unbeknownest to Sean. When he turned around it gave him a jolt and he said it scared the hell out of him. Fun times. Sadly this incident also led to the most pathetic moment of the night as well. One of the drunk 20 somethings came up on stage with the other two dancing ladies, not a problem right, wrong. It turns out that the drunk 20 something felt that because she was on stage and got to talk with Sean, they were establishing some kind or rapport. After the song it took her forever to get off stage, then she came back on stage after the next song to share a shot Sean, and stayed on stage for way to long, even after they started the next song. Finally Sean had to tell her that she needed to disappear for a while. Quite the nice way to say get your ass off the stage and let me work. It's a sad thing when people refuse to respect the sanctity of the stage. All in all it was a great night of music and I got a couple of pretty good recordings from the night. I will post setlists when I finish mixing the shows and get them posted on my site. Tonight I am off the Back Yard Tire Fire, Ha Ha Tonka, and the Avett Brothers. Here's to hoping for another night of great music and great recordings.