Well darlings, I’ve been out and about and not told you all the juicy details. Who deserves a spanking?

Tuesday night brought me four lovely Aussie men (and their lovely manager.) Grand Atlantic and I have been in touch for ever so long and I had my first chance to see them play live. At long last I could hear this album that I loved, expanded and elaborated on and well, just livened up. In the car on the way over to Martyrs Phil was singing under his breath… I knew what he was up to, I’d been around singers before. So I asked him, “Do you ever forget the words?” his answer, “Well yeah, that’s what I’m doing now, going over the words to a new song, a song we’ve never played live before!” Excellent news!

Martyrs is an excellent club to play. The stage is really large, the atmosphere is nice and the owner and booker are just excellent people. Phil reported having a great conversation with them after the show. Opening for the evening was a band out of Ireland, Autumn Owls. They were melodramatic in a positive way, moody and very talented. Following them came Gidgets Ga Ga, who delivered their usual high-powered power-pop performance. This is the fourth or fifth time I’ve seen Mic and Zac and Leslie on stage and they are consistently energetic and entertaining.

Grand Atlantic performed most of their new album, How We Survive, plus a few great ones from their previous record, This Is Grand Atlantic. And as I was promised in the car, they did an excellent cover of the Replacements’ “Left Of The Dial.” The live performance of songs like “She’s a Dreamer” and “Tripwire” were exactly as I imagined: heavy bass, driving rhythm (and oh lordy does Von Diehm hit that kick drum hard!) and Phil’s positively electrifying vocals. I stood with their manager, Joe and enjoyed the show, wowed with every song. Talking to Morgan afterward about his guitar and effects pedals, I was struck by how guitar-driven this group is. Morgan’s way of weaving in and out of whatever it is that Phil is playing or singing helps create the signature GA sound, with Sean, all the while providing a steady but interesting bass line. You all know my weakness for bass players; Sean’s work that night did not disappoint. Folks, the bottom line is that Grand Atlantic is a solid rock and roll band. There’s no gimmicks, no pretense of rock stardom to distract from the basic draw of their music. The new song they premiered, “Carved From Stone” was a bit rawer, had more depth to it than what I found on How We Survive. I anticipate the new record will reflect their move in this direction as they mature as a band and gel more as four people, working together on one great project after the next.

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Thursday night I shuffled off to see JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound play at the Tonic Room. You’ve heard their cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” right? I vowed to go check this out the second I listened to that. And, happily I was not disappointed. The smallness of the Tonic Room was a wonderful atmosphere to really feel the heat of JC Brooks. This man is more than a singer, he PERFORMS! With a backing band of saxaphone, trumpet, trombone, electric bass, guitar, drums and keyboards, JC held sway over all that noise with the finesse of a circus ringleader. There was no doubt who was in control that night. Giving us at least 10 songs, this band exhausted themselves for their art. When I talked briefly to JC after the show the first thing he asked me was “Were ya dancing?” and I had to reply that yes, indeed I was! You cannot listen to this modern soul music without getting up out of your seat. His falsetto is strong, his body is in constant motion.  And his ballads are beautiful and long and drawn out for the pure anticipation of it, in the finest tradition of soul music. I was entranced, despite the end of the bar talkers.

The moment he broke into “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” the crowd joined in. The chorus of that song was loud and raucous that night and I looked around and felt the future for this band and for this talented signer. I asked him how many times he had sung that song at the Tonic Room, “One time, just tonight” he replied, “They all saw the video online.” This is catching on like wildfire. A month from now there will be no putting it out and JC Brooks and The Uptown Sound will be playing everywhere.

Baltimore Is The New Brooklyn mp3 Beat of Our Own Drum JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound …. buy
75 Years of Art Sex mp3

Live @ Tonic Room, photo by Barry Brecheisen, www.barrybrecheisen.com