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Something old,something new
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hedgehog42
Oct 2, 2016, 2:51:16 PM10/2/16
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"Something old"is not JUST yours truly, fortunately.
10 to 15 years ago, a number of us connected here, and one of the most frequent topics of discussion, given the dearth of band news at the time, was Sam's weekly/regular music nights at Linneman's Riverwest Inn. While he's continued to play off & on Don't know about you, but I've missed those frequent shows and their rich, varied setlists or lack of setlists. B-sides, rarities, covers, works in progress, audience requests all made frequent appearances, sometimes performed solo, sometimes with the backing band du jour.
As summer festival season ends, Sam and Jim have revived that weekly tradition, with a twist. A few twists, actually, starting with the fact that there's no cover charge. There IS a donation jar, and last week, Sam mentioned that even a $1 contribution would receive one of his solo CDs as a thank you.
The money, he announced, would go toward the featured artists. Also, he announced, "we" want this to be a listening room, so anyone who needed to talk should head out to the bar to converse. That done, he began, solo -- a new song, "Hey, John"... went into "True Devotion" and then another new one "that I've been working on this summer -- it's called 'Follow Your Heart.'"
And then came the biggest twist: He introduced Liv Mueller and left the stage... for her three songs. He returned to introduce Molly and Max, from Milwaukee band Tigernite, left again during their three songs, and repeated the process for Alex Ballard and then for Waukesha native and new country music artist Alyssia Dominguez, before returning for three more songs of his own, including "Wishing Well," "Far,Far Away from my Heart" and one more that I am kicking myself for not writing down. Followed by 3 more songs from each of the other artists.
This singer-songwriter showcase revives an idea with roots going back to The Grand Ole Opry, tours like the Winter Dance Party and Woodstock -- a variety of acts, with different styles, in short segments. And it seems kind of genius to me. If you don't care for a particular style, walk the 20 steps to the bar in the front room, get a beer, check your Facebook page and then come back in to catch the next. More likely, though, you'll find something good that you'll make an effort to seek out more of, later.
For instance, Liv Mueller's been playing Milwaukee for more than 20 years, but when her band, The Lovelies, was active, I missed out. Stage of my life at the time made me reluctant to commit time & money to a band I knew little about. Thursday night, though, she absolutely blew me away with her haunting, powerful vocals and dark, swirling guitar. And her songwriting.
Because there really is a focus on the song in this format, and I got the sense that that's something near & dear to Sam's heart.
The fact that he was also free enough to try something beyond the "safe" songs in his catalog was the capper for me. I'd attended two more outdoor shows of his this summer, full band. Neither of those setlists was as BoDeans-material-heavy as his Sunnerfest show a few months ago (as I'd predicted). But the festival atmosphere and his move to rebrand himself as a solo artist make truly new material less advisable in those situations, since his solo album cuts ARE in essence new material to festival-goers.
I hope there will be a few more full-on Sam shows this winter -- I can't imagine February going without his traditional birthday show, for instance. But in the meantime, I'm happy to put money in the jar at these singer-showcases, most Thursdays. Next one is Oct. 27... hope to see some folks from back in the day there.
10 to 15 years ago, a number of us connected here, and one of the most frequent topics of discussion, given the dearth of band news at the time, was Sam's weekly/regular music nights at Linneman's Riverwest Inn. While he's continued to play off & on Don't know about you, but I've missed those frequent shows and their rich, varied setlists or lack of setlists. B-sides, rarities, covers, works in progress, audience requests all made frequent appearances, sometimes performed solo, sometimes with the backing band du jour.
As summer festival season ends, Sam and Jim have revived that weekly tradition, with a twist. A few twists, actually, starting with the fact that there's no cover charge. There IS a donation jar, and last week, Sam mentioned that even a $1 contribution would receive one of his solo CDs as a thank you.
The money, he announced, would go toward the featured artists. Also, he announced, "we" want this to be a listening room, so anyone who needed to talk should head out to the bar to converse. That done, he began, solo -- a new song, "Hey, John"... went into "True Devotion" and then another new one "that I've been working on this summer -- it's called 'Follow Your Heart.'"
And then came the biggest twist: He introduced Liv Mueller and left the stage... for her three songs. He returned to introduce Molly and Max, from Milwaukee band Tigernite, left again during their three songs, and repeated the process for Alex Ballard and then for Waukesha native and new country music artist Alyssia Dominguez, before returning for three more songs of his own, including "Wishing Well," "Far,Far Away from my Heart" and one more that I am kicking myself for not writing down. Followed by 3 more songs from each of the other artists.
This singer-songwriter showcase revives an idea with roots going back to The Grand Ole Opry, tours like the Winter Dance Party and Woodstock -- a variety of acts, with different styles, in short segments. And it seems kind of genius to me. If you don't care for a particular style, walk the 20 steps to the bar in the front room, get a beer, check your Facebook page and then come back in to catch the next. More likely, though, you'll find something good that you'll make an effort to seek out more of, later.
For instance, Liv Mueller's been playing Milwaukee for more than 20 years, but when her band, The Lovelies, was active, I missed out. Stage of my life at the time made me reluctant to commit time & money to a band I knew little about. Thursday night, though, she absolutely blew me away with her haunting, powerful vocals and dark, swirling guitar. And her songwriting.
Because there really is a focus on the song in this format, and I got the sense that that's something near & dear to Sam's heart.
The fact that he was also free enough to try something beyond the "safe" songs in his catalog was the capper for me. I'd attended two more outdoor shows of his this summer, full band. Neither of those setlists was as BoDeans-material-heavy as his Sunnerfest show a few months ago (as I'd predicted). But the festival atmosphere and his move to rebrand himself as a solo artist make truly new material less advisable in those situations, since his solo album cuts ARE in essence new material to festival-goers.
I hope there will be a few more full-on Sam shows this winter -- I can't imagine February going without his traditional birthday show, for instance. But in the meantime, I'm happy to put money in the jar at these singer-showcases, most Thursdays. Next one is Oct. 27... hope to see some folks from back in the day there.
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