Friday a week ago I went to a show at Lot 49 Books. Great show! 3 great outfits. Had heard about the show on Songkick.
But before the show began that week there was one bad zap, and that was with the flaky venue where the show was originally scheduled to play, Space 1026. I contacted the venue myself when I found that the band's Songkick page for the event had information that didn't match that of the venue itself. I emailed the venue and was surprised to receive a curt reply that didn't entirely clarify what was going on. I was later to learn that the plans and conversations between the bands and the venue imploded, and the bands temporarily found themselves without a venue for the night's shows.
But Lot 49 Books came to the rescue and provided space for the concert. It actually turned out to be a good space, an excellent match for these particular bands on this partiular night. The pic above is from Lot 49's Facebook page.
Mavis the Dog (Philly)
First up that evening was Philly band Mavis The Dog. The sound was much fuller and well-rounded than what I heard on the recorded versions. The music at the show gave the feeling of all elements, vocals and all instruments, moving together cohesively. This was compared to the Bandcamp songs where the vocals and each instrument can be heard more individually, each having its own say without being lost in the whole. The Lot 49 performance was smooth with what felt like a faster tempo, while the Bandcamp version has a little more laid-back (yet firm in its feeling) and with a little more choppy song structure (in a good way). As we moved well into the set the band played their rendition of "You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog", which turned out to be stiff competition for the originals. It certainly had much more texture than either of the two originals.
The band's newest music on line is their album "The Jetsies (Silver Racecar)". From that album is its namesake, "Silver Racecar", the fifth track:
Mavis the Dog doesn't have any shows coming up soon, but here's the click to their Bandcamp page where you can keep track of what they're doing::: Mavis the Dog on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).
Carlos Truly (New York)
Next up was Carlos Truly who did vocals and guitar in person and with percussion and other backgrounds as a recorded backdrop. His songs are about relationships. I noticed that the main character in the songs often uses the past tense in talking to or about his significant other, and I therefore got the impression, after listening to the total work, that maybe some of these relationships were in the past. This was especially evident in the song "Vessel".
Indeed when I listened to the song "Vessel", I got the distinct impression that the main character had either suffered a breakup or loss, and, mindful of the gifts from his significant other, was stoically moving on and forward. ... ... But I had the opportunity to have a brief chat with the artist, and he said that, no, the relationship was still going strong, and that the lyrics reflected the complexities of it.
"Vessel" appears on Carlos Truly's most recent album, "Not Mine", which was released in July 2022. It's the fourth track:
Carlos Truly is on a cross-country tour and doesn't have any other shows lined up for our area in the near future, but here is the click to his Bandcamp page where you can hear the full album as well as keep tabs on what he's doing ::: Carlos Truly on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).
Special World (Philly)
Moving on in the world of complex relationships, and becoming a little more ethereal about it, in the script and the presentation, the final band in the night's lineup was Special World, a new band from Philly. They're very new; just got two tracks up on Bandcamp. At the show, one thing that caught my attention right away was the keys. The band has a lot of keys. The frontman sat with keys in front of him, and then keys to the right which joined in with some melodic enhancements from time to time. One of the guitar players also stood by a third set of keys, which he played in certain songs. Here is my diagram of the lineup of band members (D=drums; G=guitar; K=keys; V=vocals).
I think there was even a starker difference between the Log 49 show and the recorded music than what I found with Mavis the Dog. Both bands were more forceful at the show, but Special World is quite mellow and textured in the Bandcamp recordings with some interesting chords that weren't front and center in the show. Here is "Cloak in the Attic". This is from November, 2022:
Special World has another show coming up on July 23. Here's the click ::: Special World at Black Squirrel Club, but, in the meantime, here's where you can find their new music as they release it: ::: Special World on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).
Lot 49 Books
And special mention to Lot 49 Books who stepped in to save the day, or save the night, so to speak. Here is the click to their Facebook page: Lot 49 Books on Facebook (CLICK HERE).
