Eclectic Vibes - December 2015
by Andrew Frey
Teresa Marie of People's Brothers Band. - photo by Andrew Frey
Ready or not, let’s pound some toddy and defile the Clause again this year! Ho Ho, He He, Ho Ho don’t cha know?
GET WITH THE PEOPLE
One of the most exciting musical progressions that I have been paying attention to the last couple years has been the evolution and proliferation of The Peoples Brothers Band. This multi award winning eight-piece Rhythm & Soul powerhouse has played near and far and even present their own music festival each year. In the musical wasteland that December often can be, their gig at High Noon Saloon is a beacon of hope to tide us through the merciless onslaught of holiday carol contamination and cold weather we are forced to endure each holiday season. Enjoy a brief respite and dance your ass off on 12/11 with them along with openers FrogLeg and The Heavy Set. www.peoplebrothers.com
NEWSOM AND THEN SOME
Cerebral and beautiful, yet hard to pinpoint or predict, prodigy harpist, keyboardist, lyricist and actress Joanna Newsom has evolved to a point where she brings an eclectic panorama of indie folk pop to her ever evolving musical repository. Her most recent, Divers, is her most complex offering to date, pushing her quirky vocals further than before as well as introducing marxophone and electric organ to the mix. Where does all this take her to? Find out on 12/18 at the Orpheum Theater in Madison, WI. Also appearing Alela Diane and Ryan Francesconi. www.dragcity.com/artists/joanna-newsom
MEAD & METAL
What two things start with M and go great together? Mead & Metal! Plunge into early 2016 with both when you visit the Mead and Metal Fest at High Noon Saloon on 1/2/2016. Presented by Bos Meadery, this Viking-themed winter festival, which runs from 2 pm to 7 pm, offers raffles, an awesome local, brutal band line-up featuring Lords of the Trident and Cribshitter as well as brutal poetry readings between sets, and FREE event T-shirts to the first 50 people in the door! So don you best Viking garb and mead some new friends! www.high-noon.com
MICRO REVIEWS:
This Month's Rating Scale is from 1 is Effete thru 10 is Meritorious
lespecial - Omnisquid
lespecial
Album title: Omnisquid
Record Label: CD Baby
Rating: 10
Vascilating between intense Tool level prog metal, and ambient electronic glitches this truly IS the Omnisquid! Weaving a path of ever morphing grooves and rhythms occasionally popping into King Crismson level tinkering and tweaking on their guitars, lespecial delivers twists and turns a plenty, but not so many that the music suffers. Bristling with activity and inspiration there is much to absorb and observe here.
(1787) Page Views
lespecial online:
• Website • Facebook
• Download Omnisquid from Amazon
• Purchase Omnisquid on Amazon
David Newman - Acoustic Chant: Ukulele Kirtan Serenades
David Newman
Album title: Acoustic Chant: Ukulele Kirtan Serenades
Record Label: White Swan
Rating: 9
Although the traditional devotional chants of Kirtan are not often paired with ukulele, on his eleventh release, David Newman (Durga Das) not only leads with this unlikely instrument, but also adds in Hawaiian, Appalachian and American folk music flavors to the 10 sumptuous duets he sings with his wife Mira. Also available as a songbook with CD, listeners can find sheet music with melodies and chords for a variety of instruments so they can play and chant along as they enjoy the healing mantras more thoroughly. What an amazing offering!
(1723) Page Views
David Newman online:
• Website • Facebook • Wiki
• Download Acoustic Chant: Ukulele Kirtan Serenades from Amazon