A great show. I had never heard either of these bands before attending their performance at the Parting Glass last Friday night in Saratoga Springs, NY.
The Everybody Fields are a trio from Johnson City, Tennessee. They are an alternative country, bluegrassy, rootsy folk band driven by harmonizing instrumentals and two strong, soulful vocalists. Their sound reminds me of Neko Case’s solo album “Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.” Imagine sitting on your couch on a rainy Saturday afternoon, looking outside your window, and feeling a little bit melancholy, and a little bit hopeful. Those are the feelings The Everybody Fields’ music evokes. The band is made up of Jill Andrews and Sam Quinn on vocals, guitar and bass, and Josh Oliver on keyboards and guitar. Andrews and Quinn’s vocals were both full of emotion and passion, and while their voices are very different technically, (Andrews voice is strong and clear, and you just know she can really belt out a song, while Quinn’s voice is more classically country sounding) they harmonized really well and in interesting ways.
Their nine-song set took the audience on a great emotional journey, starting out with a very upbeat song, then into sadder territory, and lightening up again at the end. The lyrics were poetic and honest. And while Andrews and Quinn were dressed in a very hipster fashion, I was initially a bit thrown off by Oliver, who looked like he could have rolled out of bed right before the show, and didn’t seem to mesh with the group’s image. But I was incredibly impressed by his performance. If I were a song, I would want to sound like his electric guitar solos. They were evocative, seemed technically challenging, and sounded just like my heart felt. And what more can you ask from music but than to help you understand and express your own feelings? I haven’t heard either of their albums, “halfway there: electricity and the South” (2004) or “plague of dreams,” (2005) but I’m looking forward to listening to them, as well as to “nothing is okay,” which is due out on Aug. 21.
The Kamikaze Hearts were the main act for the evening. Based out of Albany, NY, this group of five guys mostly all sported the typical dirty hippie look of long hair and full beards. A combination of an Indie rock and folk sound, the Hearts are driven by a strong drum and bass section, which is complemented well by a couple of acoustic guitars, keyboards, a lap steel guitar, a mandolin and a banjo. The music was really high energy and some of it was very radio-friendly sounding. The band, made up of Bob Buckley, Nate Giordano, Matthew Loiacono, Troy Pohl and Gaven Richard, were joined last Friday by Frank Moscowitz on the keyboards. The band sounded good together vocally and had a very strong sound. And after eight years of playing together, you could tell they were very comfortable with each other. It was like we were watching them practice in their garage. They had great banter between each other and the audience, and even started songs over a couple of times, to the amusement of the audience.
What I found very interesting musically was hearing a rocking solo played on a mandolin, which looks like a teeny, tiny guitar and is about the size of a yukelale. I was also impressed by the drummer’s ability to sing lead vocals for several of the songs while keeping a really strong and solid rhythm. And the lead guitarist’s voice sounded very familiar to me, though I couldn’t place from where. The banjo added a lovely dimension to the music. The only problem I had was that by 11:30 p.m. I was getting sleepy and the band was less than an hour into their set. They played for more than an hour after that, and I found that I couldn’t keep up with the high energy level of the music.
My group ate dinner at the Parting Glass before the show started. It was cafeteria-style seating in the room with the stage, and we were able to keep our table for the whole show. For $9 I had a big cheeseburger with Swiss cheese, mushrooms and a side of steak fries. Served on a poppy seed Kaiser roll, it was cooked well and had just the right amount of greasiness. Many people ordered the fish and chips, ($8.50) which looked delicious. It was a large piece of white fish, breaded and baked, and served in a basket on top of a large serving of steak fries. It looked healthier and tastier than the greasy fish and chips I remember eating in London. The Parting Glass is an Irish pub, is decorated with old Guiness posters, and has a very good, comfortable feeling. Our waiter was friendly and attentive.
