Review: Trace Bundy at World Cafe Live 05/08/14

I've seen him several times before. After all, his videos were what inspired me to pursue this whole percussive fingerstyle craziness. And every time it’s a great show.

And the songs will always be great; that’s what we’re there for. Secondarily, we go for the stories; Trace is an excellent story teller. His personality lends well to entertaining, yet very emotive story telling. He makes you feel like you’re there, sharing in his life’s highs and lows.

But, for seeing him over the course of several years, the stories hadn't changed much. Actually, it seemed like, with the exception of a few songs from his latest album, Elephant King, there wasn't much changing in his sets either. And that’s after several years.

So I was hesitant to go. I mean, hadn't I already seen it all?

My week had already been a lot of traveling, late nights, and early mornings. Did I really want another late night? Philly, with traffic, is about an hour and a half away, so it was a bit of a trek to get there. The physically exhausted part of me wanted to stay at home.

But then Trace sent out this email. He had flown in with one guitar, but wanted to borrow a second to play his song, Joy and Sorrow. So I didn't reply to it. Because I was tired... In addition to having a long week, I was also preparing to drive up to VT, snowboard, and drive back all on Saturday, so I didn't want to be too tired for that.

After a day of not replying, I got to thinking. Trace is one of my biggest inspirations, and he only comes through the area once a year. Was I about to miss that opportunity to see him because I was too tired?! That’s definitely not me. So I decided to go.

But I was also not going to throw away a chance at having Trace play my guitar. So I shot off the email. I figured it had already been a day since his first email and he had probably gotten inundated with replies, but maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t. I sent the email with a brief description and a link to the Live From the Yellow Room video that the kids at Messiah put up …you know, so he could hear what the guitar sounded like. I’m not gonna lie; honestly, it’s been a dream of mine to one day share the stage with Trace, so the video plug was intentional to maybe get a little toe in the door to maybe someday make that a reality.

To my surprise, I got a response later that day! Trace was going to use my guitar. And the marathon week continued.

Next thing I know, I’m at World Café Live, and Trace Bundy is sound checking with my guitar.

So I geared up for seeing yet another great show, wondering what Trace would be playing. I had heard it all, right? Even from last year’sshow, I had written:

Trace is engaging and a great performer. However, I desperately want to hear more of his songs that I haven’t seen him perform. It seems like he’s stuck playing “Trace Bundy’s Greatest Hits.” The hits are hits because they are justifiably the most interesting, exciting, and innovative, but I want to see the whole story. And I want to hear the whole story; I want to hear the stories to all of songs I haven't seen him play...

And I’m thinking he probably never read that, but he may as well have. Because he did exactly what I’ve wanted to see from him; he played a much less “flashy” show with fewer of the regular “hits.” So we got some new stories and insight into his writing process.

Yes, there were still some of the “hits,” and a few that I’ve seen him play before; I think I’ve seen him play Pachelbel’s Cannon at every show. But that’s okay, because there were new pieces and there were stories behind them. He played a lot off of Adapt and Elephant King, but he also threw in a few unique covers, like Michael Jackson’s, Beat It, on Iphone (which seems to be getting more intense as the years go on), GNR’s, Sweet Child O’ Mine (New? I hadn’t seen him play it before), and U2’s, Where the Streets Have No Name.

We got to hear about his recent stint with an EPSN contest, more about his growing family, and about who he wants to be as not only a guitarist, but also as a person. It wasn’t like you were with that guy who has the same set of stories that he tells at every party. Trace is a growing, dynamic human being, and he showed that through his performance.

And we got to hear about the more technical stuff. This is something that I’m always taking notes on when I see Trace. He makes this music incredibly accessible, in spite of him being, as they say, an Acoustic Ninja. He explains delay, and the purpose of delay as it relates to songs like Overtime. Then he explains looping and reverse loops, saying and playing familiar pieces in reverse. And, of course, the capos come out, but not without sufficient explanation.

The man is a brilliant guitarist and proves, time and time again, that he is just as brilliant a performer.

After the show, he came out to do an encore.

That’s when he played Joy and Sorrow. Unfortunately, my guitar was Sorrow; it represented “utter despair.” It’s a conversational piece that uses the two guitars in two different keys, D major and D minor, to illustrate the dichotomy of life’s more delicate moments. (I got a video of it, but I’m going to try to get Trace’s permission before posting it).

After the show, I got to hang out with Trace a bit while he packed things up. And, like most other solo musicians I’ve met, he’s incredibly approachable and a genuinely nice guy. It shows through his performance, but then really stands out in person. I got to find out about how he ended up going from being an Engineering professor to a professional guitarist (apparently I have to get my Masters for this to work), about some of his experiences playing things like LIFE, and a little bit about how he writes.

It’s inspirational; seeing guys like Trace definitely raises the bar. I’ve accomplished a lot in the past year, releasing my second album and playing B-Sides, so I think my new guitar goal will be to get to the level where I can share the stage with Trace. It’s ambitious, but isn’t ambition what gets us places?

Review - Lou Reed: Metal Machine Music

It’s confusing. You don’t hear stuff like this …ever. Not on purpose; not accidentally. I’ve heard the album questioned a number of times. I’ve had lengthy discussions on the album. I’ve heard rumors, but I also have my own theories. And I’m not really sure that the truth matters. Not for this one. Maybe it’s out there, but I’d rather speak on conjecture to what it could be and might mean.

This is Metal Machine Music. Best listened to at excessive volumes in a small, dark room, this is Lou Reed’s brainchild, consisting of an hour of nothing but modulated guitar feedback. My understanding is that this was recorded by taking two guitars and amps in a room, cranking them, and letting resonant harmonics do the rest. And that doesn’t seem too far from whatever the truth happens to be.

Essentially, it is one of the earliest and most well-known experiments delving into noise music. And this may be one of the rawest examples of noise music. After all, what else would you call an hour of guitar feedback?

But just as importantly as it is noise, I think there is music in there. Throughout the hour you hear oscillations, harmonic resonance, and amplitude swells. Those types of properties are what shape sound and what shape music. Those are some of the key building blocks of what the general public will call “music.” And, for the most part, this is being achieved naturally. Yes, it has a start and an end (sort of; the original record has track 4 drop into an infinite loop), but between those fixed points is nature. It’s the resonance of the room, coupled with the perpetual motion of the amplified string vibrations playing the very strings which are being vibrated.

The whole piece could be summed up by saying that it is energy, in the form of sound, searching for stability. And, in a sense, with the last 1.8 seconds originally falling into an infinite loop, that is how the piece resolves.

When you think about it, mathematically, it makes sense that a) you would eventually reach some infinite loop and b) it would take a long time. Granted, the infinite loop at the end was fabricated, but the concepts still remain. Given two guitars and two amps, you have two systems, each being comprised of 2 (or 3) pickup inputs, which each have a minimum of 6 string (I would assume that 6-string guitars were used) inputs. Those different strings are different gages, are tuned uniquely, and may even have the ability to fall out of tune with the intense resonant forces being placed on them. That resonance comes from the output from the speakers and the geometry of the room, but is dictated by everything down to the outlet voltage and how that fluctuates. Perhaps it could be phrased as "the music of science" ...or physics, or nature, etc.

When you’re talking about music, you’re usually thinking of this pretty sounding stuff. You’re looking for all of the right tonal properties and everything to be acting in harmony with one another. You’re looking for order that is dictated by that harmony of notes and tonal textures meshing together.

And that’s what throws people with this piece. It isn’t that glorious harmony or man and machine. Instead, it’s the process by which natural laws governing machines are able to form that harmony; it’s so much deeper than the crap playing over the speakers today at work.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a fun listen. The first time I listened to this album, I was alone, in the dark, playing it as loudly as I could. It was an experiment. It started out confusing, but ended incredibly disorienting. See, there are methods of torture/interrogation involving sensory depravation involving excessively loud music, darkness, and probably some other weird, messed up crap, designed to make you lose every frame of reference you have. And that first hour was what I would imagine that to be like. I could see where that sort of thing could mess people up.

But I think the strangest part is the silence when it is over. When you're searching for resolution for so long, you lose sight of what resolution is. Silence doesn’t make sense. Lost within the hour of trying to see construct within a wall of noise, the silence ends up as unsettling as the noise. It’s an interesting place to be.

And unless you live under a rock, you probably know that Lou died the other day, October 27. Otherwise, I’m fairly certain that I wouldn’t have subjected myself to this in the middle of my work day. Not that the album isn’t intriguing; it’s just not the easiest listening. At all. After silence stops being so unsettling, I’m gonna stick with that for the rest of the day. But if you haven't had your fill of Lou for the day, check out the album:

New Music Review - the autumn

I live in a small town. Adamstown, PA is the antique capitol of the country, apparently. Within a few miles, there are dozens of little antique shops and a few monolithic warehouses that hold relics from the past. Aside from those, there are a few gas stations, a Dunkin Donuts, and a bunch of fields.

The closest “cities” are Reading and Lancaster. Reading, as in Reading Railroad (pronounced red-ing) from Monopoly, is mostly an artistic vacuum; it has little to offer. I’ve met some good people there , but the music isn’t innovative - it's mostly one-dimensional. Lancaster, on the other hand, has a growing arts scene. It’s seen some national acts form within its bounds and they’ve definitely helped the area to grow. Beyond those, we’re not terribly far from Philly; which, like most major cities, boasts its fair share of competent musicians

But in between cities, in rural Pennsylvania, art is somewhat of an anomaly. Art is something you read about from afar. You hear music on the radio there, but it isn’t art …right? As much as I loathe cities, they do art pretty well. Rural Pennsylvania, though much more livable, can be a dreary vacuum of musical irrelevancy at times ...most of the time.

So I try to be musically relevant; I try to make people think and feel in ways that are far more complex than rural PA demands. And sometimes it seems like I’m the only one. The cultural monotony in some areas holds artistic progress in bondage. And it’s dark. The prospects of playing with another Mark Hunsberger seem increasingly unfavorable. Those people don’t exist here to talk to, let alone collab with.

But I recently found a light. Maybe not for collaboration or even to see live. But someone is out there making great music. In Ephrata; a short hop, skip, and jump down the road from Adamstown.

It happened last week. I got my weekly Reverbnation email and saw that my local ranking in the instrumental category had dropped to 7. Not long ago, there weren’t even 7 instrumental acts claiming to be from Denver, PA, so I was intrigued. Having come from Reading, I was expecting a bunch of “beat producers” or something hip-hoppy like that. Occasionally, they'll pop up on the charts, but only fall back to irrevalancy. Yes, there were a few of them on there; however, one of the artists caught my eye, the autumn.

Clearly with a name like the autumn, the act couldn’t be a tasteless wannabe rap producer, could they? The singer-songwriter styled photo further distanced the autumn from what I was expecting. After clicking on their profile, I then saw bands cited in their “sounds like” section the likes of Explosions in the Sky and This Will Destroy You; two of my favorite post-rock bands of all time!

Hitting play on the first track, Migration Patterns, I expected to be disappointed. I expected a poor recording with stagnant writing. Yes, I’m cynical; I’ve held my hopes too high, too often. At best, I was hoping for a cheap knock off of This Will Destroy You. At best.

And then it happened. The first note resounded, masterfully catching every nuance in its droning reverberation, echoing through the space so perfectly laid out for it. And then another, powerfully building sustain. Nearly 30 seconds of single note sonic perfection passed, leading into a textural sea of spacey overdriven guitars, drums, and bass.

These are stories. They’re emotive of their respective titles, aptly named, but in no need of explanation. Each piece flows from note to note with such fluidity as to read as words read within a single breath. There is nothing lost to poor attack or poorly intonated instrument. And tonally, it’s all there.

Later, after further investigation, I discover that it’s just this one guy, Chris; he’s a local worship leader and wanted to do something different, expressing his testimony in music, but not burning out on vocals. Post-rock is the perfect canvas for such expression. And this guy, Chris, nails it. I'm intrigued to hear more about each piece and how it fits into his testimony and why each piece came into existence. There is more meaning interjected into an individual song than in other artists' entire albums.

And I really want to know what kind of mind did all of this. ONE person did this?! Not many people are gifted enough to be able to piece together such intricate, cohesive work.

And, again, this is a single guy. In small-town Lancaster county, nonetheless. There is hope.

 

 

Again, check this out: http://www.reverbnation.com/theautumnmusic

Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI - Background

If you missed the Muddy River Jam Fest show I played back in 2010, you missed one of the most unique shows I have ever been a part of. This is years later, but in light of the release of my live album from that very show, I thought it might be good to give some background on the performance, the song selection, and anything else that is unique to that show.

It all started after the release of my first album, Deconstructing the Temporal Lobe. With my release through cdbaby, I got a 6 month free subscription to Sonicbids, a pay-to-play gig finder. I was young and naïve and thought this was a great idea (I have since grown to oppose the pay-to-play model) and a great chance to get in front of some audiences that I had never played in front of before. One of the big problems I had was that no one is looking for percussive fingerstyle guitarists; mainly because no one knows what we are or why someone would want to listen to instrumental music (“wait, so you don’t sing?”). So I stumbled upon this festival, Muddy River Jam Fest; they sounded pretty diverse, ranging from jam bands to DJs, and it looked like a place where artistic, instrumental music could fit in.

I submitted my press kit to them and heard back shortly thereafter. A few negotiations went down and eventually the details were ironed out. Basically, it ended up being for “exposure” (also, pointing to my naïveté) and gas money (which I never got) (Later on, the live recording got thrown into the mix, ultimately making it really worthwhile). It was exciting; one of my first festivals to be playing an actual stage. Accordingly, I prepared like crazy as the date approached. I was a bit nervous. I mean, a festival means lots of people and lots of other music to compete with, right?

Well, not at 10am. So I show up at this festival around 8:30-9am, with Kelly and Brad. Tents are everywhere, littering the fields, but not a single person is awake; no one is at the gate, which is locked. So I call all the contacts I have. No answer. Everyone is asleep. I keep trying to call and, finally, by 9 I get a hold of the organizer. By this time a line has formed behind me; mostly other artists, I presume. We finally get in at 9:30, giving me half an hour to find the stage, unload, park, set up, and do everything else associated with playing somewhere you’ve never played before. I’m a little frazzled at this point, but just trying my best to help things run smoothly.

Half an hour later, I was all set, save a quick sound check. However, the sound guy had only just arrived from his late night of partying, drinking, and drugs. He actually hadn’t gone to bed yet; cocaine and ecstasy apparently were the drugs of choice for festival goers… Not exactly my normal associates. Needless to say, it took him some time to get around to the sound check.

So the sound checked out alright and I began to play. To no one. You’ve got to come down, I suppose, and if you’re up until the sun rises, in some drug induced stooper, you don’t come back until the sun is at its peak. It was 10am; of course no one was out.

But shortly, a boy emerged. Wearing boxers, an open-faced Hawaiian shirt, and sunglasses, he wielded his red solo cup, dancing and cheering all on his own. Another couple passed by, but the crazy kid, drinking at 10am in the morning, was the only one to stay for the duration of the set. From the stage I could see the sea of tents packed into the adjacent field. This kid and the couple were literally the only festival-goers who were even awake. At that point, I didn’t feel bad about playing to a small crowd. I like to think that the rest of them were enjoying the tunes from within their tents, too hung over to will themselves out of bed.

So I played my set for Kelly, Brad, the sound guy, and the hippy kid. With probably over 50% of the coherent festival-goers in attendance, that’s not bad. The hippy kid, especially, was into it. I’ll post separately on the songs themselves and why I chose them for the set. This is just the story behind the show, for now.

So I played my set. I was told that I had a 45 minute set. The recording ended up at 44 minutes and change (the CD had some stuff cut out), so I think I planned pretty well. Regardless of how perfectly timed things were, when I got done with my set, I got blank stares from the sound guy. When I informed him that I stopped because another act was up at noon, he looked baffled. I think they either must have changed things (like my set time??) without telling me, or had a no-show; there didn’t end up being anyone back at that stage until after lunch.

After my set, I packed up and we wondered around the festival a bit. It was still rather quiet at that point, but you could tell that people were beginning to emerge from their tents to start their day. As we wondered around, we stopped by boutiques selling everything from tye-dye blankets to drug paraphernalia to hippie instrument shops; there was even a glass blower there, sculpting glass …items, right there in front of you. It was definitely a neat little artisan area they had set up; completely different from the art galleries and festivals I’d ever played before.

Eventually, we made our way to the recording trailer, tucked away at the far end of the fairgrounds. I picked up my recording, thanked them, and went to listen to it in my car, baking in the mid-summer’s heat. I don’t recall if I listened to everything at that point or not, but I was pleased with how it turned out. In spite of most everyone being stoned and/or hung over, the recording came out quite well.

The rest of the day we spent listening to jam bands and DJs. I’ve always been fond of jam bands, though only getting to see DMB and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, but I had never really gone to “see” a DJ; it was a new experience. Some were definitely better than others. My opinion is that if you’re going to be a DJ, you should be manipulating the tracks live, not just hitting “Play” and pumping your fist.

The highlight of the bands we saw was definitely this band, Fikus. They’re definitely worth checking out. The hippies were real into them. Notably, there was some sun child hippie girl, dreaded hair, body paint, and with more body hair than me, who was laying down some of the most bizarre dance moves I’ve ever seen. There were also several people with hula hoops, streamers, and all sorts of other strange garb. They were quite the sight, but it was really great to see people so into the music. And they were all really nice; lots of other people are not nice.

We ended up leaving the festival before it got dark. That is, before it went too crazy. After hearing about the previous night, it was probably in our best interest. It was already getting a little crazy and people had barely been awake 5 hours, so I’m sure as the night drew on, we would’ve been in for quite the treat.

Considering most shows I go to are metal shows, singer/songwriters, or experimental guitarists, the whole atmosphere was drastically different from anything I’ve ever experienced. Fun, but really bizarre from an outsider’s prospective. I haven’t gotten to play many festivals in a while and I miss the unique blend of people they bring out. Definitely the highlight of the experience was getting the live recording, but after that it’d be the atmosphere and the unique perspective it provided on the jam band and DJ subcultures.

The album is giving me some more time to sort out the second studio album and will help to keep fans held over until then. Up in the near future will be a breakdown of the songs on the album!

MusicWithoutLimits Review of Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI

http://musicwithoutlabels.com/2013/08/08/alex-brubaker-live-at-muddy-river-jam-fest-vi-new-musicalbum-review/


Big thanks to my good friend, Dave Fox, for the review up on musicwithoutlabels!

If you're not familiar with Dave, he's a DJ out of the Philly area. If you google his name, apparently there was a DJ in Michigan named David Fox who was fired from the radio station he worked at. This isn't him.
I have yet to see one of his shows post-graduation (he's a fellow Messiah alum), but he knows good music. I could be completely wrong on this, but I believe he spins at the Liberty Bar on Thursday nights. Check him out!

@philosofoxthedj

Guest Album Review: Alex Brubaker: Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI (review by David Ryan)

I meant to post this review for the CD release. Considering that that was over a month ago, I guess I dropped the ball. In any event, here is the first review that I got from my second album, Alex Brubaker Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI. It's from a good friend, Pastor David Ryan of Hopeland United Methodist Church. As a sidenote, if you've seen me play recently, I have added a song, Psalms, to my set, which was a song written for a performance at that church.

If you haven't picked up a copy yet, you can get yours at:
cdbaby
itunes
amazon

If you'd like a physical copy and don't feel like ordering online (and I have no idea why amazon has them for $15?!), let me know!



To the review:

"

I became a fan of Alex Brubaker a few years ago when I heard him play at Ten Thousand Villages Cafe. What a delight his music was then...and now! After having almost worn out his previous CD, it was with great anticipation that I slipped his new release, "Live at Muddy River Jam Fest VI" into my player. Once again, Alex does not disappoint! His music is thought provoking and easy to get lost in! While the Album may appear at first glance to be short at 6 songs, each song plays for a significant period. Don't worry - you get more than your money's worth!

The song Muddy jam has a great tempo beat to it - a constant underlying rhythm. I find this tune particularly great to have playing in my headphones for a long walk.

Ice Mountain, a repeat from his first CD receives a fresh treatment here. It's haunting melody takes you for a great hike in the mountains.

One of my personal favorites is track 3 - Revival. I'm not sure just what Alex had in mind here, but as a pastor, this tune puts me in mind of a spiritual revival. Its bright, happy and sassy.

Doppelganger is the next tune. When I listen to this i think about the times I have heard Alex play it live - and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Knowing Alex's love for *skiing and being in the snow, track 5, Snow Angel conjures up images of looking out the window as the first snow flakes start to fall in a night sky, getting into your winter wear and dashing out into the drifts to create your own snow angels just like when you were a kid. It's playful, romantic and fun.

I confess that I am not so much a fan of the harsher electric guitar sounds found in the last track, Phoenix, but if piercing electric guitar rifts are your thing - you will love this last song. Over all, "live at Muddy river" is a great addition to your listening library. It's great for making the miles go by on a long drive. It leaves you free to think or, at other times, takes your mind away from thinking and into a great guitar zone. Of course, seeing him perform live is even better! Alex is amazing to watch as he makes the music magic happen before your eyes! Listening to his CDs after you have seen him helps you appreciate the tunes even more!....David Ryan, pastor, Hopeland UMC.

"

*snowboarding

Review: Trevor Gordon Hall at Host Church 05/11/13

Kaki King was hard to follow. But Trace Bundy is just that good. I’d put the shows about on the same level, but from very different perspectives. But how do you top Kaki King, followed by Trace Bundy? Isn’t that today’s challenges? We can see anything we want on youtube, so what sets your live show apart enough to justify getting out of the house?

The answer? One of two things – either something completely unrelated, but equally great, like following Kaki and Trace with Between the Buried and Me… Either that, or another of the same general genre, but different enough and better enough to be viewed in a completely different light. Standing with the indie rock percussive fingerstyle goddess, Kaki King, and the acoustic ninja, himself, Trace Bundy?? Yes, you get someone who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of the best.

Enter, Trevor Gordon Hall. Remember, the guy with the kalimba on his guitar?

So I went up to see Trevor at this little church in the middle of nowhere, with Kelly and Andrew; Brad met up with us later. We get to this place and there are like 10 cars and not another man-made structure in sight. There are fields in every direction. Also, a massive cemetery. Like, probably enough graves for each person in the town… I'm expecting a pretty bum crowd.

But pretty much, in spite of the few cars we saw, the whole town was there; 180 pre-sales and a super packed sanctuary. Since no one ever sits in the front pew of a church, we grabbed those seats to get a close up view.

Once we get to the actual show, we get to how Trevor can stand up next to Kaki and Trace.

First, there is a huge difference in stage presence. Kaki King has a bit of an edge; she’s got that lesbian cult following thing going on and she’ll curse on stage. She’s not a full-blown story-teller, but she can hold a conversation with the audience. It’s unfiltered and personal. Trace Bundy, on the other hand, is a story-teller. He’s animated and his stories are entertaining and fun; he’ll keep you laughing. He’s still personable, but the stories start to be as much of a performance as the music itself.

Trevor Gordon Hall, on the other hand, is a bit more serious; he's very collected and intentional. When he plays, he’s playing for the intellectual, musical side of things; not focusing on entertainment. Even his innovation of the Kalimbatar is completely void of gimmick, solely focusing on blending two logically complimenting instruments. He wants you to think and to analyze what the music, itself, is. He does throw some humor in here and there, but it’s not quite as intentional as the others.

These characteristics are all reflections of the individual’s personality, though it’s also a reflection of the actual music. See, Kaki King has all of these playful tunes, mixed with some spiteful ones, and a bunch of lost-love songs. It’s very emotionally driven and has a lot of attitude behind it. And you see that. Trace Bundy, like I said, is a story-teller; his songs tell stories; they take you on an adventure. What you get from these two is that the music is the way it is …because it is the way it is.

Trevor doesn’t have too much adventure behind his songs, nor does he have a lot of pent up emotion being released. But his music has a certain depth to it that you don’t see too often. As he introduces each song, you hear references to philosophers, literature, and classic film. His latest album, after all, is titled, Entelechy, which is “… the philosophy of Aristotle, the condition of a thing whose essence is fully realized.” His works are striving towards the fully realized potential of himself, of music, and of the guitar.

Each of these performers have their pros and their own style of performing that make their shows unique. Trace has performance and entertainment nailed. Kaki King has variety and flare. And Trevor has depth and, arguably, some of the best guitar chops you will ever get to see/hear.

Though I would/will see them all again, I’m gonna have to give the top spot to Trevor. Perhaps I have a bias? A) I played a gig with the guy B) I take lessons from him when we’re both around C) he played at my wedding… But when it comes down to music, and strictly music, Trevor takes the cake.

Here are a few videos…

...an intro to the Kalimbatar

And this one just blows my mind...

Review: Trace Bundy at World Cafe Live 05/05/13

I’ve seen Trace Bundy before. He puts on a good show, but I almost didn’t go this time. Some people like to relax on their weekends. My weekend consisted of going to see presentations at Messiah, going to VT to snowboard (yes, in 70° weather), a cookout, and a few miscellaneous extra pit stops; about 1000 miles on the road, plus several hours more in the car to camp out and sleep. However, Kelly convinced me to go to the show, got the tickets, and made dinner reservations.

Now the first time I had seen Trace Bundy, in Vienna, VA, he had young prodigy, Sungha Jung. The kid could play, but was so emotionless and mechanical. Sure, he was a kid (12 or 13 at the time?), but it was just such a stark contrast to Trace’s playing and persona.

Last year at WCL, I saw Trace again, but this time as a solo act. That gave him a little bit more time to play and to tell stories. He can hold your attention well enough to be a solo act, so that worked.

This time, Trace brought youtube sensation, Sandra Bae. She’s this 18 year old fingerstyle guitarist whose youtube videos garnish views numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Conveniently, she’s from Philly (Korea, but is with a host family near Philly).

As it may be apparent, my life is fairly busy. I don’t get time to check up on youtube or anything like that; the latest internet sensations to reach me. So I went into this without seeing any of Sandra’s videos. Admittedly, I went in with low expectations. I expected something mechanized and dry; note-for-note perfect with no life.

But that’s not Sandra. She’s transparent; you know what she is thinking because she’ll say it. If she’s nervous or thinks she’s going to mess up, she’ll tell you, make an awkward joke about it, and then …just rip. There’s something that being on stage causes sometimes, where your mind is all over the place and the only thing you know is playing guitar; your mind is racing and if you do anything that isn’t playing guitar, you flounder. I’m sure it could come off as unprofessional, but if you’ve got the chops to back it and the wit to play it off, you can use the candor to your advantage.

And there was something about her playing that felt right. Like her stage presence, you could sense the excitement and nervousness, but it just seemed like she belonged there. As a player, she has an impeccable sense of melody, intertwining the melodies with bassy rhythms and leads that draw you in. She only played covers (of which I’m not a huge fan), but her original arrangements blended the familiarity with her personality in such a way that set her apart from being just another face doing a cover at an open mic. She drew from a number of inspirations, ranging from Michael Jackson, “who was black,” to Queen, to Tommy Emmanuel, to Andy McKee. I was personally rather impressed with her cover of Apologize, as she took a cover from a genre I’m not fond of, and made it interesting and original, without having to sing. So often the basis of a cover is limited to dumbing down the music and singing it differently, based on the limitations of the individual’s voice. Instead, Sandra took the mundane and gave it flare and technicality and …well, check it out:

Listening to her arrangements, at age 18, made me take a serious look at some of my music. She’s got a bright future ahead of her. She has talent, personality, and a massive following. Right now she’s just arranging covers. If she can get into composing original pieces, she’ll be golden. Yes, there is a niche in playing artsy covers on youtube, but music is bigger than that and it sounds like her aspirations are as well. I mean, she’s only played a handful of shows and she’s playing with Trace Bundy …that’s a good start.

And, like I mentioned previously, she’s living with a host family outside of Philly. So, if you’re in the area, keep an eye out for her dates over the summer!

Back to the show; the stage then opened for Trace Bundy.

Now something about Trace - First and foremost, he is a musician. You can’t deny that; he’s musically talented beyond what any individual could reasonably hope for. And I say musician, because his approach appears appears to be well rooted in theory; he knows what he’s playing; he’s not just a guitarist. Beyond that, however, he’s a performer.

You’ve gotta have personality. For solo acts, if you want people to like your live show, you need them to like not only your music, but who you are as a person. Because we’re in the day and age where you can get music anywhere, you have to sell more than just notes.

Trace has stories, jokes, and crowd engagement. Even if he were an average guitarist, I think he’d make out pretty well just on personality. I try, in my own performances, but I’m well aware that I don’t quite have the same charm. When I see Trace Bundy, I take notes.

So since Sandra opened for him, his set was a bit shorter than last years. Unfortunate on one hand, but on the other, it’s neat to see the up-and-comings.

His set started out with Elephant King, the title track to his latest album.

Next, was Overtime; a delay-based tune centered around playing 1.5x (pay for working overtime) the speed of the delay. It’s a great way for him to introduce the idea of delay to an audience and a great tutorial on how to use delays more dynamically. I had seen him perform both Elephant King and Overtime before, but I’m fairly certain this was the first time I got to see him play Bristlecone. To play this song, he plays a little riff prior to the song and then plays it in reverse to start the song. Again, it’s a nice little demo of how he is actually processing the sound and an interesting look into another artist who uses such effects.

The Oldies medley seems to come out at every show. I think there may have been a few new references, but this one is kinda getting gimmicky. Maybe that’s just my disdain for covers?

Pachelbel’s Canon is a classic arrangement for Trace. He was the first I saw to actually do something innovative with a more classically arranged piece. This was part of the inspiration that Kelly and I had for having Trevor Gordon Hall play this at our wedding. Trace brought Sandra back to the stage to accompany him in this one. When I had seen him with Sungha, they basically played the same thing, but, for this, Sandra had written an accompanying part that really went well with Trace’s version.

Next was Traverse, a song about a rock climbing accident, that resonated well with Kelly, as she was still in her boot from her accident.

Trace got more of the entertainer out with Happy Birthday, played backwards, followed by Beat It on his Iphone. Both arguably gimmicky, but still entertaining nonetheless, especially when seeing peoples confused faces during Happy Birthday. And, actually, I hadn’t seen Beat It on the Iphone before; previously he had played superstition. Personally, I think Superstition worked out better, but it was good to see things switched up.

The night wrapped up with Joy and Sorrow, Dueling Ninjas, and Hot Capo Stew; three crowd favorites. Aside from the frenzied capo use on Hot Capo Stew, I think Joy and Sorrow is one of my favorites. It uses two guitars in different tunings, weaving between major and minor keys.

For an encore, Trace came back out to play a U2 cover, Where the Streets Have No Name.

Also, at some point throughout the show, he recounted the story of the crème brulee from last year. Consequently, I now know how to make crème brulee.

In all, yes, I would go see this exact show again. Trace is engaging and a great performer. However, I desperately want to hear more of his songs that I haven’t seen him perform. It seems like he’s stuck playing “Trace Bundy’s Greatest Hits.” The hits are hits because they are justifiably the most interesting, exciting, and innovative, but I want to see the whole story. And I want to hear the whole story; I want to hear the stories to all of songs I haven't seen him play...

Again, I’ve been challenged. Two weeks, back-to-back, I have seen phenomenal guitarists who challenge what I write, how I write, and how I perform. Ultimately, as a guitarist and performer, that is what I want to see; my songs and performances challenging and inspiring others.

Review: Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax II: Future Sequence

I've been working on this one for a while now; bits and pieces pasted together with dilligent review to prevent anything too incoherent from passing through. This album has taken a lot of digestion and thought. Because it is that good. Enjoy:

What’s the average length of an album these days? Somewhere between 30-40 minutes? Let’s face it, very few people have an attention span beyond that. That’s why the album is dying; it’s more advantageous to just release singles. People can handle 3-4 minutes at a time. The simple-minded can understand that.

So it’s Tuesday (or at least was when I started writing this review). At work, that means country music day, which I vehemently abhor. There are few days worse than a Tuesday. Everything else could be right with the world, but country music just tends to negate all of the beauty in life. So instead of sitting at my desk, subjecting myself to such masochistic torture, I make my Tuesday's death-metal-Tuesday. Ironically, I find death-metal to be relaxing.

On this particular Tuesday, I'm looking for 72.5 minutes of uninterruption. I have plenty of work to fill the time, so I shouldn’t have a reason to get up from my desk. However, as the morning progresses, it becomes more and more apparent that I won’t have my time of solace. Meeting upon design change upon frivolous task pile up and suck me away from my desk. Generally these would be welcome, but I want/need this time in succession.

Throughout the day I resent this. Because you can, in fact, hold my attention for a full album. Listening track by track is not how it should be done. I’m an album guy; tell me a story; paint me a picture. A 3 minute song is a snippet of useless information. Either the album will receive praise or condemnation. I won't revisit an album just for one song. There is no lukewarm, no hit-single, nothing but black and white. And if you can hold my attention through an album, chances are, I will follow that up with the rest of your discography.

So I have tried to reserve this 72.5 minutes to listen to the latest Between the Buried and Me (BTBAM), The Parallax II: Future Sequence. A band that doesn’t believe in hits or 3 minute songs … or 40 minute albums (yes, they have these, but they do not ascribe to the limitations that this narrow-mindedness proposes).This is the sequel to their 2011 EP, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues. Round 1 was a taste; their 3-song, half hour long journey to bring you up to Future Sequence.

And it's an album that needs a half hour EP intro; it deserves it.

This is an album that reads like a novel. Plain and simple. I remember when I was in elementary school, I would stay up on the weekends reading while in bed. Sometimes I would read 2 books in a night, staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning. I was just that enthralled with what I was reading that I could not put it down. And that is this album. You want it start to finish, in one sitting. No one likes putting down a good book.

When you're reading a book, you read it in order. No one would read chapter 8 before chapter 3. The flow only works in a chronological sequence. You have these big themactic events, all linked together with plot that carries the themes and ideas of the characters in some comprehensive, page-by-page diction. A chapter may stand on it's own, but is much better supported with the rest of the book. Likewise, BTBAM has 5 major events (long songs) that are all linked together with 1-3 minute builds and embellishments; essentially one 72 minute long song. And with swings from one climactic/themeactic event to another, you're constantly at the edge of your seat. You don't know what's up next and it's invigorating. That is what brings you back!

What Future Sequence does is bring together every element you love from BTBAM and intertwines them into something more comprehensive than even Colors. It's softer than previous albums, with more light notes, less distortion, and more singing; it's heavier in places, with more gutteral vocals; and it's more experimental throughout. This is a comprehensive book of what BTBAM has been striving towards, arguably since their conception. This is the perfect marriage of Dream Theater meets iwrestledabearonce meets MR. BUNGLE. It is a balanced indulgence.

All that said, I think a lot of people won't get this. Anything prog is grossly misunderstood; prog-metal all the more. This will be too soft for many, especially fans of early BTBAM. It will be too heavy for many prog fans akin to Dream Theater (though this would be a great entry level into heavier death metal). This will be too experimental for fans of stuff like In Flames. It's not straight forward; it's prog. And that, in and of itself, will alienate people. Who cares? Musical thought thrives in progression.

The only bad thing about this is that it has ruined so much music for me. I think iwabo said it best with their slogan: "Metal just got gay." I never understood the shirts when I first saw them. "Gay" has such a stigma behind it in pop-culture these days. What iwabo is saying is that there is a new era of metal upon us. It's more brutal, more experimental, and more musical to the point that all other metal willl lose it's appeal. And it has. Every once in a while I'll throwback to some Haste the Day or Nodes of Ranvier, but 90% of my metal listening is stuff like BTBAM and iwabo. Have you heard the latests August Burns Red? Granted, it's a Christmas album, but it is absolutely laughable; nothing worth holding your attention.

This is the future of metal. This is the future of prog. This is the future of intellectual music. I could go on, hailing the album with analogous accolades, trying to convey what I want, but you really just need to listen to the album. Sit down, and really listen to it. Give it 72 minutes. Heck, listen to it twice. Anything that can pull off a flute solo in a 10 minute metal song is worth it, if for nothing more than sheer curiousity.

Over the past several weeks, I've been trying to think of my favorite song of the album. Because, ultimately, most people are going to read a review, but only give a single song or two a listen. I won't direct you to any one song in the same way that you wouldn't recommend a single chapter of a book to someone. I will, instead, insist that I recommend this as a book, cover-to-cover, all 72.5 minutes of sheer brilliance.

However, I will leave you with a video of some high school kids who did a cover of one of the tracks. Because, seriously, this arrangement is metal.

Review: Kaki King Retrospective Tour at World Cafe 04/28/2013

I've written about Kaki King before. But let's back up with the years-long quest that was finally satiated last night, seeing Kaki King live at World Cafe Live in Philly:

It was the fall of 2007. I was at Messiah College, playing a coffee house. If I recall correctly, it was a song later entitled, Unwinding. After I played and was heading back to sit with my friends, this guy, John, stops me, congratulates me, and tells me of this other, similar guitarist, Kaki King, who had played at school the previous fall.

Usually I don’t listen to people’s recommendations. Part of it is that there are so many that I usually forget names; the other part is that I really don’t trust other people’s taste in music. Tonight was different, though. Whether it was later that night, the next day, or the next week; eventually I looked up Kaki King. And this is what I saw; ultimately the inspiration for Bea and the Rock Elephant:

Similarly to my discovery of Trace Bundy, I was completely blown away and had no idea that all of that was possible on a guitar. Everyone else is just so blindly drawn to big power chords and the same set of 3 or 4 progressions.

Jump ahead a few years and I've missed seeing her every time I've had the chance. Seriously, I've had the chance to see her FOR FREE and things just never work out. I've been chomping at the bit for years!

But I finally got a chance last night. And it was one of the best shows I've seen. Ever.

To start, this was her 10th anniversary show (or tour?). 10 years ago, she released, Everybody Loves You, to make money while playing in the subway. It caught, and the rest is history. But for this show, since it was the 10th anniversary, she played the album, start to finish.

And at first I was super excited when she mentioned that she was doing this; her first album is one of my favorites. After the first few songs, though, I was confused. Turns out I didn't have her first album. Later in the show, I would discover that I didn't have the second album either! Some fan I am? Actually, though, I'm excited because that means more new music of hers without having to wait for another "new" album ;)

But that left me coming to the table with no idea of how the songs should sound. Knowing her latest 4 albums, hearing the start gave insight into the makings of a musical genius. She told stories of her early struggles as a musician, rejection, playing drums for a band in college, and how this one little imperfect demo to sell in the subway blossomed into a career of 10 years and counting.

And Kaki really surprised me. Not that I didn’t expect her to rip; I just didn’t expect the personality. I had heard before that she was quieter and bitter/angsty. Maybe the report had come from a bad show? Everyone has them. But for this she was transparent. She was imperfect and made a few mistakes; she was quirky and stumbled over her words a few times. But she was genuine and she was having fun. When a world class musician can have a less than classically-inerrant performance, yet laugh, joke, and smile, it sets them apart from the mechanized and interjects soul and emotion. Kaki King had that.

And maybe it was because her family and friends were there? Some sisterhood banter to lighten the mood? Comfort from her wife? I don't know; I just know that it was just a good time; it felt like the intimacy of a house concert.

And I was somewhat afraid that after she played through the album that would be it. Instead, she finished up the album and started in on more. She ended up playing an hour and a half long set of just acoustic guitar. It was great.

Except there was more! Yes, a second set; 3 hours total. The second set was King with drummer, Jordan Perlson, and Dan Brantigan on the EVI (electronic valved instrument) and trumpet. For this, Kaki rose to her feet and dawned several other guitars (I think I counted 7 total for the evening) and a tenor(?) uke. Rather than sit, she stood in order to rock out a bit harder to some more of her newer material, mixed in with some of my old favorites off of ...Until We Felt Red. The second set also saw King’s voice transition from stories to singing. It played much more like a technically dazzling indie rock show.

Essentially, King had opened for herself and her band. Half dreamy acoustic music and half indie rock show, the sets were intertwined with the frenzied plucks, pats, and taps that set King's music into oceans of texture. Were there some slips here and there? Yes. Were there technical difficulties with the EVI? Yes. It’s not about hitting every note and having everything be technically flawless; mechanized music is lifeless. Music is about life; it’s about the breath of the instruments, how the artists interact with them, and how meaning can be drawn from feeling.

Kaki King nailed it. All I can think is how much it sucks that I missed her for YEARS and, prior to that, had missed this genre. I will now be locked in my guitar room for the foreseeable future (except for going to work and, perhaps, the bathroom).

And I'll leave you with this: another of my favorites, as well as King's encore -

Review: August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill

I tried.

As many of you know, I don't like Christmas music. Last year, I was blown away by Trevor Gordon Hall's Christmas album. I listened to it for probably about 2 months straight and still occasionally listen to it, nowhere close to Christmas time. It's better than that good. This year, I figured I'd give another Christmas album a  try. So I pre-ordered August Burns Red's, Sleddin' Hill.

I'm a long time ABR fan. My first show was their first show with Josh McManness, where Jon Hershey came out for one final song with the band. Since then, I've seen them at a number of different venues, probably numbering about 15 total shows. I'm even in their live DVD, Home.

So I wanted to like this. Leveler, out in 2011, was a pretty solid album. It showed progression. Still hard to stand up next to Thrill Seeker, but progression nonetheless. And that's what I wanted - something fresh and interesting.

And I got Christmas music.

I listened to this for weeks; it sat in my cars CD player as  I searched for something redemptive. At the end of every ride, however, I was left incredibly disappointed.

I think a few things played into this:

• JB Brubaker has cited the album as showing a lot more punk influence than the typical ABR. Honestly, though, there is no discernible punk influence in any other ABR, so it doesn't tie well into the rest of their catalog. If they truely do enjoy punk, I get it, but I'm not a huge punk fan, so this did not sit well with me.
• If you're going to do a punk album, make it punk. That means raw, unadulturated music. It doesn't have to sound like it has been recorded from a dilapidated garage on cheap guitars and cheap distortion pedals; mainly, it just needs to sound like you're seeing it live. This album, however, sounds sterile and over-produced. And compressed. Oh, how I loathe over-compression.
• It's uncreative. The few originals they had are pretty solid tracks. They're inventive. The rest of the album is Christmas music. In order to succeed with a cover so vastly overdone, you have to reinvent the song; it can't just sound like frosty the snowman on speed.
• The only vocals are on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's in a punk-esque way, but just doesn't make me think ABR. They would have done better without. Either that, or I really wanted to hear some screaming through the whole album... That would be ABR.

Like I said, I'm unimpressed.

I wrote 90% of this review before Christmas. I didn't publish it until now, because I didn't want people to subject themselves to this prior to Christmas. I won't even link to it.

Now that Christmas is over, forget that ABR even did a Christmas album. Take a trip back in time and listen to Thrill Seeker.

Review: Cirque du Soleil Zarkana @ Radio City Music Hall

It's been a long time... Consequently, bits and pieces of reviews have been queued up, waiting completion. This one is from this past August:

There are few reasons that I feel can justify going into a city. Cities are full of people and dirt. Ground dirt, the kind you plant things in, is alright, but puddles of stagnant city water and subway slime are unsightly and disgusting. And I’m not into that.

But like I said, there are a few things that can justify the trek. There are upscale restaurants, some nice music venues, and I have some friends that I will bear the masses for. But a unique opportunity presented itself to me a few weeks ago; one that, indeed, justifies going into a city.

So I got an email from Chase, my credit card company. Most of these emails are just shy of spam and promptly deleted – special discounts and savings that I’m not interested in. But then I got an email for savings on Cirque du Soleil tickets. For their last year in New York City with their current show. Afterwards, I’m assuming they’ll just be back in Vegas, which is inconveniently far away. New York I can drive to.

And so I looked at tickets, just for kicks. And it hit me: Kelly’s birthday. She’s always said that she wanted to see them and I had seen them as a kid, but wanted to see them again. So I found literally the only weekend it could possibly work, this past weekend. And the only way that it way that it worked was that we were in upstate New York for a wedding on Saturday night and left first thing Sunday morning; a lot of traveling, but worth it.

Naturally, Kelly figured something was up when I suggested we go to NYC, but she didn't know what. There was much protest, but eventually she gave up and we were on our way into the city. It took some time, but we found a place to park (accidentally the $45 valet parking garage) and were out into the city. As we walked up to the prestigious Radio City Music Hall, I handed her the tickets. There wasn't much time to eat so we grabbed a sandwich at a café and headed back to find our seats.

Our seats, which were awesome, because, as I've stated before, a show (in this case, not a concert) isn't worth seeing from a distance. As you approach the nosebleed section, the point for going is quickly outweighed by sitting at home, watching on your big-screen TV. So since I hold such a philosophy and it was a special occasion, I figured the center of the second row would be pretty good.

If you are unfamiliar with Cirque du Soleil, they are basically a circus acrobatic act. Except take whatever you just thought you perceived and make the stunts harder, add choreography, a plot, and music. This particular show was Zarkana.

Which is a rock opera? Something about the word “opera” is an immediate turn off. And actually, I didn’t know that this show was anything opera related until we got there; Kelly looked up the show description on her phone. Not that it would have turned me off from Cirque du Soleil, but it’s just something I’m not into.

And neither is foreign language. I’m the guy who complains about the cereal box having Spanish on it. We’re in the US; speak English. But that’s a separate discussion. The point being, that this show wasn’t in English. There were English words thrown in here and there, and some French, but most of it was in what Kelly thought may have been Italian (I'm still thinking French, but it was hard to make out any words ...opera, remeber). So an opera in Italian? What a great way to waste a life experience.

Except this is Cirque du Soleil. The plot is there, but it’s such a small part of the performance that not understanding the language or the plot in its entirety is okay. And, this is a rock opera, not just an opera. So the music was something I could relate to.

And that’s the goal, right? To relate to people. It makes you real and accessible. It made Italian (French?) opera singing and trapeze acts relatable; it was like you were flying through the air with them. But it was relational beyond what I thought it even could be. There were progressive notes of Dream Theater, some quirky Zappa-esque movements, and some world music thrown in. Not only does a lot of world music relate back to my experiences in Burkina Faso, but this particular instance showcased a Kora, the mysterious 21-stringged, gourd-bodied harp instrument that I had brought back with me. And not only that, but the Kora was played in a traditional-western hybrid style that made it relational to the western music which it was accompanying.

So this was a concert and theatrical production in support of the overlying acrobatic themes. It made the music stylings come to life in vivid colors and movements. It is truly amazing what these people do. They will take something traditional like a tightrope, but mix in leaps, flips, and even jump-rope. These are believable stunts taken beyond what you know, to what you know to be impossible. And it’s all done choreographed to music; relatable music that makes you believe that maybe you could do something like them. But it is a showcase of the impossible?

You need to see it. I will be back for sure, presumably in the front row next time.

After the show, we walked around the city for a little bit. We stopped in at Magnolia’s Bakery, where they had a signature Zarkana cupcake. It was good, but who the heck puts glitter on a cupcake?

Review: Trace Bundy at World Cafe Live

If you've ever seen Trace Bundy, you know it's more than just a guy playing guitar. Everything around you is part of the experience. It's not just music; not just stories...

Which is why I'm going to start this review off with a review of my meal. See, the Trace Bundy experience leaves you remembering the details. You've got this journey leading up to one of the most exciting shows of your life. The details get you there.

And understanding what a show I was in for, I decided to start the night off with a good meal. Not that you shouldn't ever not eat well, but World Cafe Live does a pretty good job at good food.

The Meal
I got the halibut fillet. It was served over sauteed broccolinni, topped with a chilled corn relish, and roasted yukon potatoes on the side. A savory garlic butter sauce topped the dish.

The flavors were great. The richness of the garlic butter tied together an otherwise light dish. The halibut was good, not great. Despite being cooked perfectly, melting in your mouth, half of it was under-seasoned and rather bland. The potatoes and broccolinni went very well with the dish, but the star of the show was the corn relish.

Yes, the corn relish. To start off, it was chilled. That helped to set it apart from the rest of the dish as not only a textural element, but also a contrast in temperature. To top it off, it was slightly charred. This brought out a lot more sweetness than you would generally associate with it, as the sugars in the corn had started to caramelize. The end result was this sweet, zesty, slightly acidic element sitting atop a plate of much more savory-oriented food. I wanted more.

To end the meal and start off the show, I got creme brulee. It was good. Actually, it was the first creme brulee I've ever had. I can't compare it to others, but can say that I enjoyed it. I was looking for a little bit more egg flavor, but then again, I don't know if that's what it was supposed to taste like or not... Regardless, it was quite enjoyable. Trace actually asked for a bite of mine when he saw it (he was joking), and then got one of his own after the show.

Now on to the show:

The Show
For this we'll have to back up. Earlier I mentioned that every Trace Bundy show includes the journey you took to get there. Well, our journey didn't begin with dinner. It began with buying the tickets. See, originally Kelly was going to go, so I got two tickets. And originally Andrew was going to bring Jean and Joe, so he got 3 tickets. Our dinner reservations were, therefore, for 5.

Well Kelly dropped out. She was off to a bachelorette party early the next morning. And Joe dropped out. He was headed to a wedding early the next morning. And then there were 3. We exhausted our list of people who may be around/may want to go and ended with 4, adding Casey.

It was unfortunate that we didn't get a 5th. Or was it? Once we got there, they seated us at our table for 5, which was really a table for 6. But we only needed 4... A few minutes and some of Andrew's charm later, we were relocated to the table for 4, sitting front and center.

Here's a picture Trace took on his phone of the crowd. Note that we are the closest. #win

Now we get to the actual show.

This was the last show of Trace's CD release tour for Elephant King. His last show at World Cafe Live was a year and a half ago, right before his son was born. Right before the show after that (the D.C. show I was at), his wife had gone into labor. Seemingly irrelevant to the show, but I guess when stuff like that happens in your life, you remember the details. Trace's memories of Philly, in this case, were good ones; a great way to start off the show!

So as the show progressed, there were a handful of things that were the same as the previous shows: the medleys, the iPhone version of Superstition, and some of the stories. I knew what was coming. Part of me wanted to think that it was gimmicky. But it's not - everything that was the same was just as good, if not better, than the first time. The version of Superstition, for instance, that he plays with a guitar app on his iPhone - way better this time. After another year and a half of practice he went from looking super nerdy, sitting and playing his phone, to standing up and rocking out.

And the stories... he's just a great story teller. Take his opening song, Patanga, for instance. What is the meaning behind it? The beauty of a made up word is that you can make up the meaning ...which is what he does every single time. Maybe a few of the times he uses the same stories, but it's unlikely that you will ever hear the same definition/story of Patanga twice.

The stories go from complete nonsense of how Patanga is the film on top of SPAM to how he had a nearly-fatal climbing accident 10 years ago and how the song, Traverse, is partially about that. And they touch everything in between. Elephant Kings. Ninjas. The baboon guard. A monkey referee. He has the imagery of the great song writers, only he builds it into the dialogue surrounding his compositions.

It takes a lot to be great. Some people say 10,000 hours. But that's only to be good at your instrument. To be a good entertainer. To make people laugh To make a dining room fall silent. That's something you don't just have. I'd like to think that I have some pretty good stories surrounding my songs, but I don't have near the delivery. When you see Trace Bundy live, you see a real person. Rock and pop stars are so disconnected from reality that you don't get them. Singer/songwriters are generally more real, but they're a dime a dozen; it's the same thing time in, time out.

With an instrumental act, you've got to work hard. First, you've got to be able to hold people's attention with your ability. If you don't have the chops, you're going to fail. But in order for people to listen, you have to get their attention. And you get peoples attention by relating to them. You relate to them with songs like Joy and Sorrow; telling about how there is this dichotomy that governs life, making you feel joy when seeing your newborn son, but sorrow when he pees into your eye...

And then you do things for the people. Stories about your life experiences are great. Stories that are just stories are too. But something that people like, for whatever reason, are covers. And Trace does a few. He turns them into feats of finger ninjary, doing the one-man-band bit on Oldies, Zeppelin, and Eminem.

But in the end, for me, it comes down to the music. He's brilliant. And for once in my life, I made the brilliant decision to write down the setlist. Since you most likely weren't here, you can watch the videos sans-stories (for the most part), on youtube:

Patanga

Pachelbel's Cannon

Elephant King

Oldies Medley

Superstition on iphone

Overtime
     Couldn't find a video
Tres Capos
     Couldn't find a video
Traverse

Dueling Ninjas

Joy and Sorrow

Lose Yourself Kashmire

Hot Capo Stew

U2: Where the Streets Have No Names