Musical happenings in and around the Capital City
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Toolbox
Published: August 14, 2009
It seems like forever since I last sat down and wrote this column, but it has only been a week. That's what running a festival for three days 2-4/7 will do to ya! I am back now and fully recovered from an exhausting but wonderful weekend of music and camaraderie with many beautiful and competent people – thank you all for your great work.
Now, back to the in-town scene, and what's up for this weekend. Tonight presents a double dose for fans of Abby Jenne, the longtime local songwriter who's well-loved for her great singing and easygoing stage manner. She'll start off the night at Langdon Street Café by playing the happy hour at 6 p.m., for donations. Word on the street is that the happy hour donations have been dwindling lately. For those attending, I got one message for ya – pay the girl! Later on, she'll be at Charlie O's World Famous with her band The Enablers to rock out the back of the barroom late into the night. The show kicks off at 10 p.m., and as always at O's, "never a cover."
A festival-like event of a different sort takes place this weekend at Twin Pond Retreat in Brookfield when a host of musicians from around the region and beyond descend on the bucolic village for an old-time music gathering. The event kicks off Saturday and includes fireside pickin', square dancing, a chili and cornbread dinner and some good old-fashioned collaboration in the classic folk-festival style. There'll also be a sneak preview of sorts tonight at Langdon Street Café when some of the musicians playing for the weekend gather at the coffee house to display their pickin' prowess starting at 9 p.m. For more information, visit www.twinpondretreat.org.
Saturday night at LSC, Massachusetts hip-hoppers The Problemaddicts (who I can attest live up to their name) take the coffee house stage starting at 10 p.m. Finally, on Sunday night, LSC hosts a special show with NYC's The Cirkestra, fresh off their stint with Vermont's own Circus Smirkus. The colorful group plays classic circus music in the Eastern European style originally made by the traveling Gypsy circuses of yore. This ain't no Cirque du Soleil – expect an "in your face, hairy carnival barker, sledgehammer test of strength out front circus" type of show starting at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday night at The Black Door, local hotshot Americana rockers The Dixie Red Delights return to the third floor lounge. Featuring the powerful pipes and solid songwriting on Erin McDermott, the band is gaining a steady following around these parts, and with good reason: They simply rip it up, and are one of the tighter outfits playing in central Vermont right now. And they just keep getting better and better, which is the mark of a good band. Join their rockin' hoedown starting at 9:30 for the usual honor cover.
Back down the street at Charlie O's in Montpelier, there's a double bill Saturday night featuring the kinds of bands O's has been more steadily booking of late. If you haven't noticed, the venerable capital city dive has been changing things up lately, and this kind of stuff is the direction they are heading in. Torpedo Rodeo, a surf/punk/rock band from Winooski will fill one half of the evening, and if their live stuff sounds anything like their MySpace, they should rock it out pretty durn' well. They'll be joined by The Greasecutters, a Burlington outfit that's on the more grunge/metal side of the straight-ahead rock 'n' roll ethos. Expect heavy riffs, crunchy guitars and in-your-face lyricism from both bands when the show begins at around 10 p.m. It'll be interesting to see how folks respond to O's new format as it develops, but I for one heartily approve. Most bars like O's in bigger cities that have a hip crowd host butt-kickin' rock 'n' roll all the time, and it's a natural fit. I hope people respond as we need a venue for this type of stuff, and O's is the natural choice. Rock on!
As for the rest of the week, on Tuesday, Langdon Street Café hosts NYC freak-folkies Manson Family Picnic. Though you might think they were a hardcore band judging from the name, you couldn't be further from the truth, as the group purveys in acoustic psychedelic folk-pop. Check 'em out starting at 8:30 p.m.
Finally, on Wednesday, Charlie O's hosts local blues guy Blue Fox for a solo show at 9 p.m. He'll be playing country blues standards in the classic slide guitar style, among other blues-based material. Blue is a longtime veteran of the dive for nice people — just goes to show ya, the more things change…
Until next week, when yet another festival is on the local radar scene, enjoy the late-to-happen but finally here summer and go see live music!
Ed DuFresne is the former talent coordinator for the Langdon Street Café and occasionally produces concerts. He lives in Montpelier with an aspiring lawyer, a budding artist, an annoying bird named Lucy and a clutter of submitted CDs that are steadily being replaced by Web links.
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