 |
| Arielle Silver |
Last night was the second concert in Karman Jeanne's new music series, "Deep Valley Roots," which is held on the fourth Wednesday of every month at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon. It was a night celebrating singer/songwriters, with a nod to Bob Dylan, who celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday on Sunday. Joining Karman Jeanne & The Fish was Arielle Silver, an extraordinary singer and songwriter based here in Los Angeles. And this time she was part of a trio, called Arielle Silver & The Friday Night Book Club, and that group, made up of Arielle Silver on vocals and acoustic guitar, Darby Orr on bass, and Wendy Kline on violin, kicked off the night at 8:30. It was the first time I'd seen Arielle Silver in a trio setting, and apparently only the second time this group has performed (the first being a month ago at Kulak's Woodshed). It was also the first time Arielle Silver had ever played at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon, or even been there. She opened her set with "Asteroids And Chaos," one of my personal favorites. It was on the line "
You say this could be our big chance" that the violin work began to grow, which seemed just exactly right. Certain lines and phrases always seem to stand out, such as "
hold each other through the panic" and "
love will save us." Those are lines that likely stand out to most people in these strange times. If you've not yet heard this song, I highly recommend picking up a copy of her 2023 album
Watershed.
 |
| Arielle Silver And The Friday Night Book Club |
Also from that same album came "Rickie Lee," the violin playing a prominent role from the right start of the song. And there was a good violin lead a little later. This song also featured an excellent vocal performance. It was followed by an especially pretty rendition of "Riverdock At Sunset" (also from
Watershed). "
There's a difference between keeping something safe/And helping it to grow." Those wonderful lines, I'm sure, speak to all parents. Arielle Silver played a few new songs last night, the first of which was "Asking For A Friend," the meaning different from Ben Vaughn's song of the same name. Here it is in the vein of seeking a friend. "
I don't need to kiss you or fix you," she sings. And, "
I'm not going to damage my marriage." It was a really good song. And it was followed by "Even Now," another new song, this one "
a song about finding hope in dark times, or creating hope," as Arielle said in its introduction. This song is easily among her very best, up there with "Asteroids And Chaos," and it featured a gorgeous and moving vocal performance. The final of the three new ones was "Only Lonely One," and even though it was new to the audience, the crowd was soon singing along. It looks like her next album is going to be something great. By the way, before "Only Lonely One," she played "What Really Matters," a song from her
A Thousand Tiny Torches album, featuring a wonderful bass line. "Only Lonely One" was followed by "Worth Waiting For," a beautiful love song in which she sings, "
You are everything worth waiting for." Wendy delivered some excellent violin work, even before that pretty lead. The trio wrapped up the set with "Headlights," a delightful, cheerful-sounding number to leave folks feeling good.
 |
| Karman Jeanne And The Fish |
Karman Jeanne And The Fish then took the stage, and this time were not just a duo. Joining them were two of Los Angeles' outstanding musicians, Ed Tree on electric guitar and Ted Russell Kamp on bass. They opened the set with "Strange Time." With more of a full band, the song took on a stronger country vibe, which was wonderful. There was a nice instrumental section, during which Karman was on tambourine. A great start to the set. Karman then introduced Ted and Ed, mentioning how Ed Tree is recording the duo. Yes, in addition to being a musician and songwriter, Ed Tree is a producer and has his own studio, The Treehouse. And from the beginning of "Free Rocks For Sale," Ed delivered some cool work on electric guitar. Karman then told the crowd that Jonathan Sheldon, who played fiddle with them at last month's premiere of the "Deep Valley Roots" music series, had been in a bad car accident and suffered a cracked skull, the reason for his absence last night. I hope we'll be seeing him back on stage soon.
"Tell Me Tomorrow" was one of the set's highlights for me, with its wonderful harmonies and some great stuff from Ed on guitar, in addition to the strong lyrics. "
Only gravity could make us stay." That was followed by "Buckets Of Rain," the first Bob Dylan cover of the night, to celebrate his turning eighty-five. The song was included on Dylan's fantastic
Blood On The Tracks album, and these guys delivered a good rendition. That was followed by "Talkin' 'Bout You," which Fish dedicated to his significant other. There was such a good feel to that song, Fish taking the first verse and Karman taking the second. There was a playful vibe to the set. When Karman requested another glass of hot water, Ed Tree teased a bit of "Smoke On The Water" before starting "Can't Let Go," a song written by Randy Weeks and recorded by Lucinda Williams. There was a delicious, crackling energy to this song. Ted was on backing vocals as well as bass. Following that song, Ed teased a bit of "Paint It Black." The band then delivered a really good rendition of "Take," which was clearly another of the set's highlights even before Karman blew everyone away with that incredible vocal work at the end. They wrapped up the set with a cover of The Band's "The Weight," with Fish on lead vocals.
 |
| Ted Russell Kamp with Ed Tree |
But the show was not over. In fact, there was another hour and a half of music to go. Ted Russell Kamp returned to the stage for a short set. He opened with "This Old Guitar," a song from his
Walkin' Shoes album, released in 2019. It's a song he wrote with Ed Tree, who joined him on electric guitar for it. Ted played acoustic guitar on that one, then switched to bass for his second and final song, "Another Love Song." This song was included on
Night Owl and
The Low And Lonesome Sound. Karman Jeanne joined him on backing vocals on this one, and the two delivered a sweet rendition. Robert Morgan Fisher was up next, joined by Ed Tree on electric guitar. The two delivered a couple of excellent Bob Dylan covers. The first was a great, moody rendition of "Blind Willie McTell," which became powerful, captivating as it progressed. The second was a really good rendition of "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)." "
This song could have been written last week," Robert said in introducing that one. After the line "
On anyone that lives in a vault," he added, "
Or under a ballroom."
 |
| Ted Russell Kamp with Karman Jeanne |
 |
| Robert Morgan Fisher |
 |
| Joseph Eid |
Joseph Eid was up next. "
I'll start with something old, then do something new," he told the crowd, then opened with "Watch It Fall," the title track to his 2017 release. It's a song that spoke to me, and the line "
I always seem to run into him when I've been drinking" made me laugh. He followed that with a new song, the line "
But a lifetime ain't enough" standing out to me, and then ended his set with Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." Lorin Hart then opened her set with a cover of Dylan's "Moonlight," delivering a sweet rendition. She followed that with an original number, "Might As Well Be Magic," an excellent song, and concluded with another original composition, "Dreams Of The Earth." Daniel Corey was the final performer of the night. His first song featured some really nice guitar work, which received applause from the crowd. He followed that with "Nearsighted," first saying, "
This is a song about disappointment and failure." He sang, "
Don't you speak to me/Don't be so absurd." Near the end, he added some whistling, and someone in the audience responded with whistling of his own. He wrapped up the set, and the night, with "Lift Me Up." The show ended at 11:47 p.m.
 |
| Lorin Hart |
 |
| Daniel Corey |
Maui Sugar Mill Saloon is located at 18389 Ventura Blvd. in Tarzana, California.
No comments:
Post a Comment