| Author | Message | ||
     Sandy Unregistered guest |
Hi kids, If you run out of ideas for stuff to play this Saturday, how about Cup Overflowing or Prayer for the Unrequited? | ||
| David Kowalski (David) Advanced Member Username: David Post Number: 21 Registered: 12-2001 |
Well, it was another "joy-of-discovery" evening with Groovelily in Kingston last night. Although the crowd at the diminutive Kingston Methodist Church was not large, they were adventurous, with approximately 90% hearing the band for the first time (!). It will come as no surprise that pretty much everyone was very appreciative and I estimate that more than half of the folks there went home with at least one CD. As Brendan said, we were "small in numbers but big in volume!" The sound was awesome!...one of the best-balanced mixes I've ever heard with the three-piece (kudos to Maestro Brendan at the mixing console!). From the very opening note of the Breathe In, Breathe Out violin solo, it was clear that Val's playing (and singing) was going to be clearly heard tonight. The wonderful aural presence beautifully complemented that sheer joy-of-music-making that so sucked me into Groovelily the very first time I heard them and provided an evening that was at once powerfully in-your-face and beautifully intimate. The band played two sets, as follows (watch for the surprises!): Breathe In, Breathe Out Shannon Looking Forward, Looking Back Weight of the World Diva Girl Happy, Happy, Happy (a brand new song (finished Friday morning!)...more below) Tempt Me No Room in Your Bag ------- Love is the Perfect Crime Apocalyptic Love Song Little Nemesis (with one of the most kick-ass solos I've ever heard Val play!) Wait Coming Home It's All Right Day of Reckoning The Odometer Song (encore) Some highlights: After Gene lost his pony-tail, I guess Brendan felt the need to make a similar statement. I won't give away the details but his new look did give Val the opportunity to accuse him of "having a blonde moment" when he missed a line in No Room in Your Bag! We're used to seeing Val jump on chairs for her in-the-audience solos on Phantom Lover and The Odometer Song but seeing her waltz across church pews added a whole new-dimension to it...kind of like a revival meeting getting out of control! Happy, Happy, Happy deals with an emotion we've not heard in any GL songs for a while (envy). I hate trying to describe songs with words but since it may be a while before a lot of you get to hear this song, I'll do my best: Musically, the song evoked a number of associations for me (both with earlier GL songs and with several other artists). The verses are lightly accompanied and fairly wordy (and drip with a fair amount of sarcasm). Stylistically (although not lyrically), they're not unlike the verses of It's All Right and, in some respects, they hark back to the textures of Brendan and the Extenuating Circumstances. These alternate with much fuller, hard-hitting choruses assuring the "target" of the song that the singer is "Happy, Happy, Happy that you're doing alright" (I think I got that right!). If you're still curious, well, you shoulda been there!  Note to Rob: If you're still maintaining the list of unrecorded Groovelily songs...here's another one for the list! All-in-all, no matter how much I know I love these guys, this was one of those performances that managed to get me even more present to the exhilerating, joyous music-making that is Groovelily! --David | ||
| Rob Bond (Rob) Senior Member Username: Rob Post Number: 70 Registered: 7-2002 |
David, Super write-up of the show, even Charles would be proud (  ). Sorry we missed it. I'll definitely post an updated "unrecorded" song listing. Thanks to you and Lonna for your Petal Pusher efforts. -- Rob | ||
| Jim Greenlees (Jimgreenlees) Senior Member Username: Jimgreenlees Post Number: 53 Registered: 7-2002 |
David, I have to agree with Rob; your review makes me almost feel as if I were there (well, I did say "almost"). The set list a mixture of new (It's All Right and Happy Happy Happy - can't wait to hear this one) and old (reaching deeeeep into the bag for Tempt Me). Are we talking streaks or the whole nine yards? What next, tattooed eyelashes? JimG | ||
| adam wolf (Adamwolf) Advanced Member Username: Adamwolf Post Number: 21 Registered: 7-2002 |
I missed the debut of a new song???  | ||
| adam wolf (Adamwolf) Advanced Member Username: Adamwolf Post Number: 22 Registered: 7-2002 |
Oh, and thanks for the review, Dave.... see everyone soon! Adam | ||
| David Kowalski (David) Advanced Member Username: David Post Number: 22 Registered: 12-2001 |
Oops...forgot one additional highlight...Brendan's new "instrument" I didn't catch the exact date of acquisition but, at a recent wedding reception, Brendan came home with a little bottle of soap-bubbles (the kind you blow through a little hoop on a wand) and he punctuated a number of his (and Val's) comments with streams of tiny bubbles (at one point making the comment "If we were a cover band, we should probably play a certain Don Ho number right now!" an-a-one-anna-two... | ||
| David Kowalski (David) Senior Member Username: David Post Number: 23 Registered: 12-2001 |
And apologies for anyone on the list under 40 for whom that last line probably makes no sense (actually, if you're over 40 and had a more tasteful upbringing than I, it probably won't make sense to YOU either!) | ||
| Ellie MacNeil (Ellie) Member Username: Ellie Post Number: 9 Registered: 7-2002 |
Gee, Dave...I always _thought_ I had a tasteful upbringing. I just spent a lot of time at my grandparent's house. They had a color TV before we did!! Old Larry's show was so much better in color. NOT!!!! Ellie | ||
| David Kowalski (David) Senior Member Username: David Post Number: 24 Registered: 12-2001 |
Yes, something about grandparents and Lawrence Welk (although in our case, my grandparents came to our house to watch!) I actually do have at least one nice memory of the show (actually of the man himself)...shortly after my grandfather died, my mother took my grandmother to one of Welk's concerts. At the end, he invited couples up on stage to dance to the closing number. When he noticed that my grandmother was alone, he came out to the audience and asked her to dance (she talked about this for weeks afterwards)! I guess he was something of a class-act after all! But this is getting kind-of far-off topic for the Groovelily board, don't you think? David | ||
| Rob Bond (Rob) Senior Member Username: Rob Post Number: 71 Registered: 7-2002 |
David, Great story! I think the "class-act" part of your Lawrence Welk story definitely relates the GrooveLily. I'm sure you agree . Rob p.s. Congratulations on becoming a "senior member" | ||
| David Kowalski (David) Senior Member Username: David Post Number: 25 Registered: 12-2001 |
> I think the "class-act" part of your Lawrence Welk story definitely relates the GrooveLily. I was actually thinking the same thing just as I hit the "Post Message" button! Maybe we'll see Brendan doing the same thing when we're all in our 70's! David |
