Brynn Andre, One Great Day, Waxing Phil and Jenna Charland at Trocaderos on 4/13/08
By: Jon Behm
Sunday night’s quadruple bill of Jenna Charland, Waxing Phil, One Great Day and Brynn Andre at Trocaderos was supposed to be an “outside the mainstream” show. At least that is how it was described to me. Painting any one of these bands as outside the mainstream would be a stretch. Every one of them has a sound that aspires to the top 40's radio mill. That’s not to say they aren’t talented – there is plenty of talent involved in this genre of music. I just wish that they took more chances with it.
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| Waxing Phil - Photo by Jon Behm |
What I can say with some assuredness is that every one of these bands has a potential audience in the Twin Cities. While that audience isn’t necessarily me, I’ll attempt to leave my musical snob at the door to break it down for you.
While Jenna Charland isn’t firedancing, her dexterous hands are creating extremely moody pieces on the piano. She opened the evening’s bill with a number of original songs, all following closely in the footsteps of Tori Amos – frank, emotional and overwrought lyrics combined with evocative keying. While her music strives for an Aimee Mann-like level of alluring despondence, it never quite achieves that aim. In Charland’s case the whole thing comes off as a bit of an act. Mann’s singing, for instance, seems genuinely introspective and poetic. In Charland’s case the sexy sulk that she is affecting seems more contrived than an honest extension of her singing.
Next, a barefoot and pony-tailed Trixie D took the stage with the rest of his band, Waxing Phil. If “Phil” is a reference to former Grateful Dead bassist and hippie icon Phil Lesh, then the band most definitely “Waxed Phil.” The four-piece jam band played a number of pieces that brought to mind a number of older sounds, from the Dead to locals Big Wu. Though I don’t have a great deal of patience for jam bands, I can live with these guys. They keep the instrumental solos at reasonable lengths of time, and have a jazzy toe-tapping style that can be easy on the ears. What really impressed me about the band was lead guitarist/mandolin player A.J. Piga. The guys is simply an amazing instrumentalist, and was able to transition some rocking licks into the band’s more laid back style without seeming out of place. While I don’t see Waxing Phil opening up at First Avenue any time soon, they would be right at home at venues like 10,000 Lakes or Chickenfest.
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| Brynn Andre - Photo by Jon Behm |
Finally rounding out a long evening was the headliner, Brynn Andre. Andre recently won a little buzz around town in her opening for touring singer Amos Lee. The singer/songwriter has a jazz vocal sound, a little more upbeat and friendly than Jenna Charland’s earlier performance. With a poppy style and a backing violin, Andre’s sound reminded me a great deal of Vanessa Carlton. Andre still needs a fair bit of polish though. While she has undeniable vocal talent, she stumbled over a few more notes than she should be comfortable with. Regardless, she may be one to watch. If she adds a little lipstick and rouge to her sound, she could be attracting Norah Jones’s fans in no time.
To be clear, I wish these bands no ill-will. I hope that they find their niche in the Twin Cities music community. My only advice would be this: in a scene that is overflowing with music, both good and bad, sometimes it takes more than just a nice sound to get noticed. While all of these bands sounded good, I am not sure if what they have at this point is quite enough to set them apart from the rest.
Band's Websites
Location Info:
Trocaderos
Artist Info: Brynn Andre, Jenna Charland, One Great Day, Waxing Phil
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