By: Kristine Lambert
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Willie Wisely at the 400 Bar - Photo by David de Young (see more here)
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Seven-piece Kubla Khan started the evening with a wall of sound—the type that interrupted everyone’s conversation as though to announce: “Hey! Listen up, people.” The band consists of Nate Eklund on vocals and keyboard, Stein Malvey on guitar, Andy Bast on vocals and bass, and J. Matthew Keil on drums. It was the Scratch ‘n’ Sniff Horn Section, though, comprised of Paul Gronert on sax, Jeff Nordquist on trumpet and Scott Moriarty filling in for Matt Hanzelka on trombone, that really caught my ear.
A friend near me asked, “Is the happiness coming from the songs or from the horns?” Yes, these were happy horns, as opposed to the angry rock horns of, say those of Rocket From the Crypt. The horns applied a three-part harmony to the balanced and well-practiced instruments and vocals, coming in a grace note after the singing. KK lists the Beatles, Mozart, The Band, Alva Star, Phish, and Foo Fighters among their influences, but there was a stand-out Ben Folds vibe for me as well. A great example of this was the song “Coupon,” off their debut record The Things That You Lack from 2003, which tells a poignant girl/boy tale of an 11th grade crush (checkered vans included) that leads up to the line, “it’s ten years later and I’m calling you again.”
The 400 Bar filled out pretty well by the middle of KK’s set as we geared up for The Owls. Multi-instrumentalists Maria May, Allison LaBonne, John Jerry and Brian Tighe seemed to change instruments between every song. They provided succinct pop songs such as “The Way On” that brought us through a steady and slow crescendo, with LaBonne on lead vocals supported by Tighe and May in harmony. “Channel” added an up-beat reminiscent of a more sophisticated Velvet Underground. May took the lead on the melancholic “Bury Your Mind,” and her vocals were complimented by the underlying, light keyboard.
The energy in the room amped up a bit when Willie Wisely was about to take the stage. Wisely started off his acoustic set with the more serious “Through Any Window,” off Parador. The song tells of “early morning when the sun comes through any window,” which brought us through the spectrum of colors that represent that place in your mind between conscious and unconsciousness, and was emphasized by the backdrop of dissonant yet resolved acoustic guitar picking. Wisely livened it up a bit with the comical “National Council of Jewish Women’s Thrift Store”; and he finished his acoustic set with “Raincan” off the 2003 release Go! and “Erase Me.”
Wisely’s back-up band took the stage next with Karen Paurus on back-up vocals, David Hawkenson on bass, Robert Pavlicsek on guitar and Christopher McGuire on drums with a flashy five-foot-high cymbal. Appropriately, they started out with the dynamic “This Is Everything,” the first song off Parador, segueing into “Drink Up,” which gave license to “drink up all your sorrow; drink up it’s almost tomorrow” because, “tomorrow we’re through.”
One of the final songs of the night was the title track off Parador, and Wisely invited the audience to “slip inside this dream of mine.” The gentle bass part lent itself perfectly to Hawkenson’s fretless. From the intro to the final background vocals I couldn’t help but be reminded a bit of Cocteau Twins’ vocal effect. Wisely is a successful songster because he’s tapped into universals that make him attainable to his listeners. Whether it’s a song as simple as “Stayin’ Home Again,” or a song as complex as the emotional pitfalls of infatuation in “Too Quick To Love,” Wisely never hides his lyrics behind heavy guitar solos, but rather puts his imagery out there with smart musical accompaniment.
Location Info:
400 Bar
Artist Info: Kubla Khan, The Owls, Willie Wisely
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