By: Andrea Myers
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Marc Perlman (foreground) with Tim O'Reagan and Jessy Greene - Photo by David de Young (click here for full set.)
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Draper Daniels, another beer-swigging bar band, took the stage after a brief break and a heart-jerking story of animal rescue told by Happy Tails volunteer Lynn Bengston. Happy Tails, a non-profit, no-kill pet rescue service, invited the musicians to take part in a fundraiser for their organization, and even invited a few dogs and cats to the show to share in the celebrations. Draper Daniels ran through a few good covers, including Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road" and Los Lobos' "How Will the Wolf Survive?"
Two local guys who go by the name After All were up next, armed with their acoustic guitars and stellar vocal harmonies that kind of reminded me of Sister Hazel. They played a crooning cover of U2's "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," which was followed up by a delicate cover of "Blackbird" by the Beatles and an even more tender "Black Eyed Dog" by Nick Drake.
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Tim O'Reagan - Photo by David de Young
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One of the highlights of the night came when Marc Perlman began his set, armed with a slew of other talented locals that included Tim O'Reagan, and Jessy Greene. They kicked things off with Lobo's "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo," which featured Tim O'Reagan singing and playing drums and sounded decidedly like the Jayhawks (no surprise there, considering the players). Marc Perlman followed up with a wrenching version of "Bird on a Wire," that would have pushed me into misty-eyed territory if it wasn't immediately followed by Jessy Greene's rendition of "The Dogs of War," which was punctuated by three gigantic real-life dogs bursting through the back door and running recklessly through the crowd.
As the audience began to dwindle (the Fine Line was never really full at any point in the evening, though it seemed that plenty of people laid down cash for raffle tickets and other benefit items) Tim Mahoney and Jon Herchert played a great, spontaneous acoustic set, beginning with a version of Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier" that worked surprisingly well, even though Mahoney's nuances sounded remarkably similar to the vocal stylings of Jason Mraz. After some self-proclaimed "witty banter" between the two guitarists and some hemming and hawing over the tunings, the two played the "Eye of the Tiger" - yes, that one - as Mahoney pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt and swung fake punches at the crowd. The two worked together on the chorus to create harmonies, and the slow, acoustic nature of the cover made it remarkably soulful.
Ben Connelly played a charmingly awkward set, that featured a great acoustic cover of the Beatles' "Piggies," and a version of the Pixies' "Monkeys Gone to Heaven" that was so hardcore that he broke a string and had to start over using Herchert's guitar. Once he recovered he played Iggy Pop's "I Wanna Be Your Dog," which caused the previous musicians of the evening to line the side of the stage and nod their heads in time with the music.
The evening was closed out by Leroy Smokes, but by 10:30 most of the crowd had cleared out of the bar and I decided to call it a night.
Location Info:
Fine Line Music Café
Artist Info: After All, Ben Connelly, Draper Daniels, Erverators, The Jayhawks, Tim Mahoney
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