By: David Rachac
 |
|
Big Ditch Road at their CD Release Party at Lee's - Photo by Steve Cohen
|
To celebrate the debut of their terrific sophomore release, Suicide Note Reader’s Companion, Big Ditch Road teamed up with Eclectone label-mate Robert McCreedy and the eclectic Mike Gunther for a CD release party at Lee’s on Saturday.
Although he looks and sounds like someone who stepped right out of a Raymond Chandler novel, I didn’t believe for one second that Mike Gunther was anything but deadly serious about his music or his muse. Playing slide guitar, he laid down a wall of dirty roadhouse blues with minimal accompaniment (Dave Meier on upright bass and Suzanne Scholten on drums) that transported me to Southern revival meetings, love gone wrong and to demons that wait for you at the crossroads. Any other band with less conviction would have come off campy, but Gunther’s dark tales of struggle, sin and salvation makes it feel like you are transported back in time sixty years. It was a tremendous way to start the evening.
As arresting as Mike Gunther was, Robert McCreedy and his band immediately grabbed my attention when they walked onstage wearing contamination suits and breathing masks. Not really having any idea what the suits were all about (although the avian-flu scare was the first thing that came to mind), I was bracing myself for something quirky and avant-garde. Instead, the three-piece combo wove an intriguing mix of electronica and alt-country with using guitar, pedal steel, keyboards and violin. Bellwether was the first comparison that came to mind because of the song structure and quietness of the songs, and even though it is a fair start (at least one member of Bellwether plays on nearly every song on their new release It Might Kill You), the prominence of the keyboards gave it an otherworldly sound that was unique. With special guest Martin Devaney joining them for a couple of songs to play harmonica and sing backup (and looking out of place by NOT wearing a contamination suit), McCreedy showed that there is great music to be made pushing beyond the limiting boundaries of alt-country.
 |
|
Big Ditch Road - Photo by Steve Cohen
|
Which is exactly the place where Big Ditch Road found themselves while contemplating the followup to 2003’s Ring. Between singer/songwriter Darin Wald’s battle with depression (which formed the basis for all of the songs on Suicide Note Reader’s Companion) and wholesale personnel changes (only Wald and Brian O’Neil on pedal steel remain), SNRC intentionally reaches past the countrified Ring for a more indie-rock sound, while still holding on to the original alt-country genesis of the band. Leading off with “Ghosts,” an uptempo rocker driven by O’Neil’s pedal steel lead, BDR followed up with “Seven Hours,” a slow-starting acoustic song detailing Wald’s hospital admission (“Took a vacation to the state hospital/My sister came to pick me up/Take the meds from a paper cup”) that slowly builds to a loud electric crescendo. After being joined by Scott Legere on piano for the rest of the night, they played every song off of the new album in order.
Wald’s reserved stage presence and his weary vocal delivery reinforces the claustrophobia of a depression spiraling out of control. From losing his sense of self (“Cancer in my bones/I’m tired of this old skin/I don’t know how I got here/I’m crucified again” from “Lately”) to the fear of losing those around him (“Who’ll pay the bills/Just in case I have to stay?” from “Just In Case”), one could feel the pain and alienation that he went through as he relives it on stage. But his lyrical and vocal content is only half of the story – with the powerful combination of Amy Bukstein on bass, Ted Held on guitar and Tim Baumgart on drums agilely navigating the sonic highs and lows of each of the songs, the music confronts you in a powerful, moving way.
After playing SNRC in its entirety, the last third of the show contained a couple of new songs that continue the musical progression seen on Suicide Note Readers’ Companion. They finished with two songs off of Ring, and as a reminder that they still remember where they came from, a cover of Buck Owens’ “Big In Vegas.” The drive home didn’t seem so long with the gorgeous sound of Big Ditch Road ringing in my ears.
Set list
Ghosts
Seven Hours
How Are You?
Lately
Saint Lonesome
Just In Case
Saturday
Texas
First In Line
Passenger
Underlight
Detroit City Bound
Not To Me
Waiting For The Fall
Big In Vegas
Location Info:
Lee's Liquor Lounge
Artist Info: Big Ditch Road, Mike Gunther, Robert McCreedy
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus
