Review: Guitar Masters (McKee, DuFour, Bennett) @ World Cafe Live

I started down the path of percussive fingerstyle and experimental acoustic guitar about 4 ½
years ago. It’s hard to believe that it hasn’t been longer. Right before that time I had seen my
first Trace Bundy youtube clip. A friend forced me to watch it and I was hooked.

Shortly thereafter, the world of percussive fingerstyle would explode via Andy McKee and his
candyrat records youtube videos. No one had seen anything like it before and they went viral.
Like 41 million views viral. Doing my homework on McKee, I discovered the candyrat record
label. THE label for guys of this sort.

The candyrat roster is just about as jaw-dropping as you can get in a single genre. McKee,
Antoine DuFour, Guitar Republic, Craig D’Andrea, and the newly added Trevor Gordon Hall
just to name a few. You can’t beat them. And you really don’t ever want to. It’s unattainable
with so much talent spread so diversely, and on this playing field, that’s not what it’s about. You
want to join them. And once you’re in, that’s what happens.

So you end up with these A-list lineups every time. And it seems like they’re always either far
away or at times when I’ve got my own gigs.

But not this time. Last Tuesday I finally got to see some of my earliest fingerstyle influences,
Antoine DuFour and Andy McKee. They joined up with Stephen Bennett, all on the same stage
at the same time. It was the Guitar Masters Tour.

Antoine DuFour:
The night opened up with Antoine. He’s my favorite of the three. He’s got a really smooth,
rhythmic Canadian fingerstyle sound that’s coupled with technique. Solid technique. Every note
is meticulously placed around every percussive motion. The way the melody and percussion are
coupled is seamless.

He started the night off with Spiritual Groove; one of my favorites. Once upon a time I had
watched the youtube video for it, but it’s so much more intense live. And so complex. He played
a handful of tunes off of that album, Development, and some newer material as well. It was a very well-
rounded selection, showcasing many different tunings (DAEFCE is one I’d like to play around
with a bit) and even a harp guitar, aptly referred to as a bazooka. Sure, he’s a bit awkward on
stage, but his playing and writing ability is superb.

Stephen Bennett:
This was the first time I had ever heard Bennett. I had heard the name in passing, but, like so
many other suggestions and name droppings, it was never followed through with. So I had
no clue what to expect. My best guess would have been someone very similar to McKee and
DuFour. And that guess would have been wrong.

Bennett actually had very little in common with the other two. He played a more traditional
fingerstyle, sans percussion. This guy knew his guitar inside an out. Not having fancy effects
or a flashy playing style, he relied on chords and melodies. I’m an engineer, so I’ll always have
somewhat of a bias towards whatever is more innovative, but this guy had what it took to hold
my attention. Which wasn’t just in the guitar playing.

Bennett toted 4 or 5 guitars, including a baritone, a harp guitar, and his antique National
resonator. All throughout the performance, he was telling stories and cracking jokes. Though he
didn’t have the tricks of the young guys, he had the skill and stage persona of a seasoned veteran.

Of his pieces, my favorite was a new lick he played, entitled, “Chocolate Mo.” The song was
on the National resonator with slide. Named after a nickname his granddaughter (?) had given
to Andy McKee, the song was constructed around the sound of the name, “Chocolate Mo.”
Genius, really. And it was new. Being the second crowd to hear a song that just so happens to be
awesome? Not a bad evening.

Andy McKee
He’s a legend; perhaps one of the first to really “blow up” via youtube. He’s doing nothing that
hasn’t been done before, but he’s doing it really well and really accessibly. On one hand, this
has turned him into a crowd pleaser, obligated to play a variety of hits. On the other hand, he has
developed more as a guitarist, gotten to collaborate with others of his caliber, and has been able
to settle in to his place on the stage. He’s comfortable and relaxed and makes it look way too
easy.

His performance consisted of almost all tunes that I was familiar with. There was some material
off of his newest album, but it was a lot more “hits” such as Drifting and Rylynn. When people
started calling out requests, Andy started to engage the audience a little more. He answered
questions from a drunk old man and even, after being told to “play them all,” made up an
impromptu medley of a bunch of his songs. It’s always good to see someone great at an art who
also has people skills. I think that is a lot of why Andy is where he’s at.

Trio:
Now if you are very creepily stalking me, you might know that I went to see Joe Satriani’s G3
tour about 5 or 6 years ago. 3 world class guitarists (Satriani, Gilbert, Petrucci), each with a
solo set and then with a combined set at the end. It’s a show I’ll never forget and one that really
hasn’t had anything to be compared to up until this point.

And really, when you’re comparing rock guitarists to fingerstyle guitarists, you still don’t have
a comparison. The G3 jam is all about soloing and rocking out – not so much the case with the
Guitar Masters Tour.

So at the end of their solo sets, McKee invited DuFour and Bennett back up on stage for some
collaboration. They played 3 tunes together, a DuFour cover, a McKee cover, and tune that
Stephen Bennett wrote specifically for the three, entitled: “Tres Padres.” Apparently that means
3 fathers in Spanish.

Maybe a fingerstyle combo isn't as exciting as a G3 jam, but the caliber of the players was definitely on par. One negative I did notice was that parts of the trio seemed a little cluttered, with just too much going on. I guess that happens. Regardless, it was something that you really only ever get to see once or twice. These guys killed it with a great line up and provided a wonderful evening of music.

B-Sides Review: Pterodactyl

In speaking with Matt Wagner, the B-Sides executive at Messiah, after the Pterodactyl show Wednesday night, he shared his philosophy on B-Sides, stating that “There might only be a handful of tables filled for B-Sides sometimes and then a bunch of people not really paying close attention, but those that are there for the music will get something out of it and that’s what it’s about.” Sure, those weren’t the exact words, but close enough. The point being that you can’t please the masses. If that is your goal, then you’ll continually alienate the same kids.

So every once in a while, there’s a B-Sides that some people might not get. I thought Pterodactyl was going to be pretty empty, but there were a surprising number of people there. And I’m sure that at least some of them actually got it. The band may have been a bit absent minded at times, but the music was what I was there for.

And the music was good. It was dissident and mathy and probably resembled a bad acid trip at times. Their sounds ranged from playful to depressed to moderately scary. The music is somewhere between Grandchildren and A Place To Bury Strangers, but I’d place the performance closer to the noise rock genre. There was a lot of sound modulation via a Line 6 DL4 and various fuzz stomps as well that all added to a rather strong presence. The four-piece consisted of guitar, bass, synth, and drums. The synth player was the only one who didn’t sing, so with 3 voices you also got some harmonizing and occasionally some pop-esque vibes.

Mash all of that together, and, like I said, I don’t think too many people really appreciated what they were hearing. It didn’t help that the mix was rather synth-heavy as well. It was rather deafening, but knowing that that wasn’t the intention helped to be able to see past some of the shows flaws. So really, as a show, it was rather sub-par. As music, however, it was enough for me to buy an album. Take a listen for yourself: