Les Rhinocéros at Lilypad, Cambridge MA 6.13.12

Words // Sarah V

I'm always pleased when a band I like decides to play Lilypad; partly because it's an eclectic and intimate space with a decent sound system that makes for a good concert setting, and partly because no matter how lazy I am feeling or how hard it is raining, I can always convince myself to take that five-minute stroll down the street and go there for a show. This week, Washington, D.C.-based Les Rhinocéros graced us with a visit and played a late Wednesday night set.

I've been a fan of theirs since picking up their self-titled debut album last year, so I was happy to get a chance to see them here in the neighborhood. I wasn't really sure what to expect from a live set; their album seems very studio-oriented, so I wasn't sure if they would try to recreate that feel live or go in a different direction. The answer was a little bit of both: they had a surprisingly wide array of electronics and pedals to recreate a lot of the ambient sounds, noise, and samples that they used in the studio, but they still managed to really blow the roof off with a loud and high-energy set. They played rock- and jazz-inspired instrumentals with fairly heavy drums and some catchy bass lines, along with interludes of quieter, more ambient music. Filling out the quartet were a saxophone and a violin (which sometimes sounded like it was meant to be an unusual substitute for an electric guitar).

Only about half the set was drawn from their album, the other half was (presumably) newer music as yet unreleased. It was interesting to hear hints of what their second album might sound like - I'm looking forward to hearing their music evolve.

Les Rhinocéros is continuing their tour for another dozen or so dates; if you are interested in hearing some creative new music like nothing you've never heard before, check them out!  If you can't make it to one of their live sets, check out the recording of their Cambridge concert below.

Les Rhinocéros
June 13, 2012
Lilypad - Cambridge, MA

Up
Bea Spiders
Velcro
Johnway
Mark it 8
Unknown title

Upcoming dates:

JUNE 19th - Detroit, MI @ HYBRID MOMENTS LOFT
JUNE 20th - Chicago, IL @ TOWNSHIP
JUNE 21st - Bloomington, IN @ RACHAEL'S CAFE
JUNE 22nd - Nashville, TN @ NOA NOA HOUSE
JUNE 23rd - Asheville, NC @ BOBO GALLERY
JUNE 25th - Chapel Hill, NC @ NIGHTLIGHT
JUNE 26th - Charlottesville, VA @ TEA BAZAAR
JUNE 27th - Baltimore, MD @ SECRET SHOW
JULY 1st - Brooklyn, NY @ LITTLEFIELD
JULY 10th - Washington, DC @ BLACK CAT

Review: Joe Henry at City Winery, NYC 2.1.12

Words // Sarah V

I was fortunate enough to be in New York City for Joe Henry's two concerts at City Winery recently. To add to my great luck, my favorite guitarist, Marc Ribot, was the opening act both nights, and he sat in with the band on a few songs during the main set as well. The band consisted of the same set of musicians that were on Joe Henry's recent studio album, "Reverie," plus his son, Levon Henry, as a guest saxophonist on a few songs. (Unlike other acts of on-stage nepotism I've witnessed over the years, Levon actually did an excellent job!) 

Ribot's opening sets were a little on the tame side, compared to some of the wild concerts I've seen him do, but the audience really loved him. It didn't hurt that he was introduced with phrases like "one of the great guitar players in the world" and "there isn't a musician in the world I admire more than Marc Ribot"... you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more glowing recommendation than that, really. 

About half of what Ribot played was from his most recent album, "Silent Movies," and about half was covers - including some standards that he'd played on Allen Toussaint's fantastic "The Bright Mississippi," a couple of John Coltrane pieces, and a Lounge Lizards song ("Blow Job"). For someone like me who follows his career closely, the covers all made perfect sense: "The Bright Mississippi" was produced by Joe Henry, so of course he'd pull out some of those for this night's concert; one of Ribot's more recent bands is "Sunship," which focuses on double-electric-guitar interpretations of Coltrane, so naturally he's been working on some of those pieces lately; and way back in the 80s, he was the guitar player for the Lounge Lizards. 

Joe Henry played very similar sets both nights - he played the entirety of "Reverie," in order; plus a couple of covers in the encore. This was both good and bad... on the one hand, I absolutely adore "Reverie" and I loved having a chance to hear every song on it performed live; on the other hand, I would also have loved to hear some gems from the back catalog, too, since his last few albums are unfailingly brilliant. (I had fangirl fantasies of him getting Marc Ribot to break out his coronet so he could play that solo on "Bellwether" from his 2009 release "Blood from Stars," but I suppose that is asking a lot! Still, one or two of the songs from "Civilians" thrown into a second encore would have been a huge crowd-pleaser.) 

Joe Henry did an excellent job bringing the album to a live setting; the musicians he had on stage are all top notch, and they added some beautiful flourishes to the music. He brought Marc Ribot back on stage for all of the songs he'd played on the album - "Dark Tears," "Tomorrow Is October," and "Deathbed Version." One change that I particularly loved was giving Ribot an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar on "Tomorrow Is October," which transformed it from a spare and haunting ballad to something downright bluesy. The new arrangement was a real highlight of the night for me. Another highlight was Joe Henry's solo acoustic guitar version of "Room at Arles," which is one of my very favorites from the album - a moving tribute to the late Vic Chesnutt. 

The last song of the first night's show was a surprise - Loudon Wainwright came out and sang "Motel Blues" with Joe Henry and his band. The audience really ate that one up, and for five minutes it felt like we were transported to an entirely different concert with a much more rowdy and raucous atmosphere. On the second night we had high hopes that Elvis Costello might be a surprise guest, because the guy sitting next to me ran into him coming out of the men's room between sets - but I guess he was just there to see the show since he didn't turn up on stage. The second show's encore - which turned out to be entirely free of surprise guests - included a cover of the old Crosby/Sinatra/etc. standard, "I Don't Stand a Ghost of A Chance With You," as well as Woody Guthrie's "Ramblin' Round" to close the night. 

Joe Henry unfortunately doesn't tour very often, but when he does, I'd highly recommend catching his show - especially if you are a fan of things like great songwriting and finely honed musicianship. I'm already looking forward to the next time he comes around!

Joe Henry - You Can't Fail Me Now

Marc Ribot - Fat Man Blues

Review: Joe Henry - Reverie

Words // Sarah V.

Rarely has an album been as perfectly named as Joe Henry's latest release, "Reverie." It has that dark, late-night feel that lets you lean back in a comfortable chair and lose yourself in thoughts and memories. Henry's decision to record live in his home studio with the windows wide open gives it a very homey ambience - you can distantly hear cars driving past, barking dogs, people talking, doors closing, birds chirping. Since it was recorded live, it has a very natural sound to it and it feels like you're listening to a few talented friends jamming in someone's backyard. 

It should be no surprise that the album has a fantastic sound to it, since Joe Henry is a multiple-Grammy-award-winning producer, having produced albums for a long list of musicians including Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello, Loudon Wainwright III, and Anti- label-mates Bettye Lavette and Ramblin' Jack Elliott.

Henry has long been influenced in his own songwriting by many uniquely American music genres, like jazz, blues, country and gospel. This album is no exception. The true focus, however, is on the quality of the songs. The all-acoustic band and the live recording with minimal overdubs results in a simplicity and straightforwardness that emphasizes the songs rather than the performances or the production.

Highlights  of "Reverie" include bluesy foot-tapper "Sticks and Stones," dreamy and wistful "Room at Arles," and the peacefully sublime "The World and All I Know," which serves as an unusually satisfying album closer.

Joe Henry - Sticks & Stones by antirecords