Free Week 2011 Report – Friday and Saturday

My Free Week Friday was spent at Cheer Up Charlie’s, a cute tucked-away eatery with a backyard-turned-venue that is very homey. There was a fire pit raging (and I do mean raging — smoke shot up like we were trying to send an S.O.S.) I found a counter in the back to lean on and cleared my head (for some reason, there were a pair of horses hanging out at Shangri-la, and for some other reason, I hopped up on one before the show. I really don’t know.)

The first act I caught at the vegan-friendly establishment was ALJ & Pals. A three-piece, the group was fairly quiet (especially because the loud-mouthed Austin concert-goers were in full force at the show, seemingly not there for the music at all, save a tiny group sitting near the fire pit). The music was understated, and although the vocals were at the fore, I generally couldn’t understand the lyrics. The music itself was sweet and sleepy pop music. The songs were short, which kept the pace moving, but they did tend to blend together and the guitars were too low in the mix. It basically felt like the kind of band Mr. Rogers would front, if Mr. Rogers switched from piano to guitar and sang for people instead of puppets.

Next up (and the last act of the early night) was Nick Krill, one of the lead singers of the Spinto Band. I am a Spinto Band fanatic — Nice and Nicely Done is a beautiful album with smart lyrics that play in the light and the dark, and I’ve seen the boys live enough now to know they always put on a fun show. Unfortunately, since Krill was by himself, he didn’t have the full-band power behind him, and even though I’d scooted up near the front by the fire pit, Krill’s very-acoustic set was hard to hear over the distracted, drunken chatter in the venue. Krill seemed totally unfazed, and was his usual charming, strange and witty self. He opened with the Spinto Band’s “The Cat’s Pajamas,” which was more delicate with just Krill, his guitar and a kazoo. He followed this up by apologizing in advance for being distracted by the fire pit. “I had a friend who thought it’d be great if we all lived in a sort of commune-situation, where we’d all go have coffee at the house of whoever woke up first, and another friend thought that was weird, and it’d be better to just dance naked around fire pits.” Next up was a song about a rabbit he befriended out on a farm. Krill’s picking patterns had a Spanish vibe to them, and he told the story of his rabbit in between verses, endearing himself to the audience. His third tune was introduced by making confessions. He said, “My first confession is that The Cosby Show was my first favorite television show. My second was I Love Lucy — that’s my second confession. And one of the reasons I loved Lucy was because of how she sounded when she nagged Ricky. ‘Naaaa naaaa nanana!’ Like that. And that’s important because we’ve got a little audience participation song coming up here.” He tested us, having us nag-sing at him in between his verses. He played songs to sway to, songs to sing to, and songs to groove to, all the while entertaining us with his marvelous thoughts. He got excited about MoPac, the fire pit, and generally seemed pretty happy with the whole situation. He ended with two of my favorites. First was the Spinto Band’s “Summer Grof,” with its melancholy chorus, “I won’t lie, I won’t lie, I won’t lie, I won’t lie, I won’t lie to your face anymore.” He finished the whole affair with “The Living Thing,” which he spat out with vigor. It was powerful and awesome, a perfect cap to the night. Nick is definitely a musician’s musician; in attendance at his gig were Bill Baird (ex-Sound Team, Sunset) and Tyler Thompson (ex-Corto Maltese). It was a cozy evening, and Krill overcame the talkers to k(r)ill it (oooooh dad jokes).

Saturday had Mohawk written all over it. I help manage Royal Forest, and for good reason; these guys are some of my faves. They make music I can jam out to, cry to, or just get all nostalgic over (they’ve been around for 5+ years now, formerly under the name Loxsly, and they were regulars on my KVRX radio show playlist when I was in college). First up, though, was a very pleasant surprise. My Golden Calf have a pretty diverse sound; they can pull of the Hush Sound-esque vaudevillian pop with ease, but they also tip into comforting folk rock and even get a little sinister at times. Lead singer Dabney Dwelle’s vocals are unique, and I love ‘em; they’re high pitched, but soulful instead of whiny, and a perfect complement to the music the band makes. Dwelle is also a great guitar player; he runs through riffs seemingly effortlessly, which makes him fun to watch. Otherwise, they guys are pretty subdued when they perform. Their show was solid, and they’re definitely an act I’d like to see again.

Royal Forest kicked in next, and included all sorts of treats in their playlist. They combined their first two songs, jamming on the heavy “The Manual That You Wrote” and “Civilwarland.” They dropped in a new song third, which was great; dark, with very sad vocals from lead singer Cody Ground. It’s like the evil twin B-side to “Save the Ghost” off of their 2010 self-titled EP. “Anagrams” and “Courtesy in Decline” off of that disc followed, and then they dug deep to close out the set. “Lamprey Eels” got a few hollers from the crowd, and it sounded totally tight, the most energetic track they played all night. Finally, my brain was melted when they dug into their oft-neglected 2005 release Maps and Organs for “Card Gauge.” It fit in perfectly with the rest of their set, and had a lot of punch, with eccentric key parts and twangy guitar breakdowns. Apart from two underage not-nice-words boys who were mocking basically anyone who unfolded their arms to enjoy the gig, the show was fantastic; the Mohawk is a great venue for the band, and it was nice to get them outside so their songs had the space to really rock. (Side note: if you were the really tall kid or his prep school-wannabe friend talking loudly and being d*cks from the second row during the show, you are on my list. Nobody is impressed by your nastiness.)

The skies opened up after Royal Forest’s performance to drown us all, so I called it a night. It was a less-ambitious Free Week than I planned for, but I still managed to check out bands that I’d never seen before, and catch my old favorites. Hope y’all had a great time, too!