By: Rich Horton
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King Straggler, from Hollywood, closed out the night featuring a special appearance by Jessy Greene on violin - Photo by David de Young (See the full set of photos from the night)
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Lisa also likes to take chances and set up showcases and have a bunch of performers play while she plays songs in between sets and MCs the evening. This night she pulled in a few media folks, me and David de Young and then the real musicians - David Beckey, Bryan Miller and John "Caveman" Knowles. And Paul Collette came in to play a couple songs with Lisa for a new project they have been doing.
Lisa started out the night with a couple new songs and an older one as well, and the 331 Club got louder as more club patrons trickled in. She played ironic songs with only her keyboard backing her and built in drum tracks. Her simple dark melodies blended well with the pulsing synthesizer parts.
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David de Young - Photo by Zosia Blue
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Next up was David de Young, whose stage comfort was on the level of someone who plays a few nights a week. His songs were whimsical life stories, and from what I could tell, about ex-lovers and girlfriends. From the stage, he called me out directly about singing along with a sing-along part which gave him a few points for crowd interaction. His "Wendy, Wendy, Wendy" was catchy but maybe had a few too many Wendys. De Young is not a songsmith like Chris Koza, but his songs seem to fit in local open mics and events like this one.
Lisa came out and did two more songs, one of them being the entertaining "Repo Man" about an ex-boyfriend who put her name and address on a truck that he bought and the repo man coming to her house looking for it.
John "Caveman" Knowles who has been playing around town for many years came out and played the next set doing some humorous songs on the piano with a showmanship like he has done it a million times. He also did a great version of the Camper Van Beethoven song "Take the Skinheads Bowling."
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Rich Horton of Rift Magazine - Photo by David de Young
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Lisa then played two songs with Paul Collette on a nameless project they have been working on. Plans are in the works for some recording and more live performances when they decide on a name. It was interesting to hear Lisa with just the acoustic guitar behind her. It added a new dimension, and Collette didn’t just stay with the standard open chords - he weaved more intricate parts that sometimes mimicked the vocals and then went off in their own direction.
Bryan Miller of Codger, came out after that and translated his usual band-backed songs with acoustic guitar on two songs and used the keyboard on another. I was pleasantly surprised with Miller’s unplugged performance. Especially his keyboard playing, since I didn’t even know he could play.
De Young came up again and played one more song about a girlfriend who drank too much, which, from what I remember was called something like "My Girlfriend Drinks Too Much" or something similar. Again he did it without a speck of fear and added witty banter with the audience.
But the best performance of the night probably by far was the song I played. It was a song I wrote back in the early nineties with my previous band, but I was always ahead of my time, so the translation was not lost in 2006. While I was a bit nervous, I didn’t let it show, and the crowd really got into the energy. The praise I received as I headed off stage validated what I had done. I might be a bit biased, but isn't all of music journalism?
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David Beckey of the Autumn Leaves - Photo by de Young
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David Beckey of The Autumn Leaves finished up the night with a few songs. Beckey's songs sounded rich and clean with hints of sixties pop and melodic vocal lines. The crowd in the 331 Club had just hit its stride as well and the crowd ended each of Beckey's song with incredible applause.
Future Lisa pulled off another one of her signature nights, with a good time had by all.
[Editor's note: After Rich left, the 331 Club was treated to an enjoyable and relaxed set by Hollywood, CA's King Straggler. Minneapolis' own Jessy Greene joined the band on violin. King Straggler not only features three fine vocalists and songwriters, but is made up of five of the nicest touring musicians I have met in some time. - DD]
Location Info:
331 Club
Artist Info: David de Young, Future Lisa, King Straggler, The Autumn Leaves
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