Feb 01 : "Keep Myself to Myself" - Repelican (Baltimore - Philly)

Back to the music. January 22 I went to Johnny Brenda's. This was my first full night out since last Spring, having had foot surgery with an unexpectedly long recovery.

First up for the evening was Baltimore & Philly - based artist, "Repelican". If there ever was an example to illustrate my suspicion that "Openers steal the Night", this was it. I was drawn into the performance right away. Even though this was a "solo" act, the sound was full and textured. At times the vocals would be live with a background of recorded percussion, or maybe a live onstage guitar with other instrumental backup, or maybe spoken word, or maybe rock, or maybe noise, or maybe jazz, or maybe a news recording. And how about if all this was in just one song? There were some shorter standard-length songs as well as a couple long pieces that included a little bit of just about everything.

In listening to Repelican, I never knew where we were going to go next. The instrumental arrangements were different in each piece, as were the tempos and stylings. Yet, pulling it all together, there was a "Replican" sensibility throughout. He also had some very engaging melodic lines.

I really enjoyed this show and am clicking in all the right places to find out about the next one. Can't be in two places at once? It seems he just might be. On Bandcamp he's based in Baltimore, but on Soundcloud he's based in Philly.

Here's a sample of some of the newer work he has posted. On Bandcamp his most recent album is "Pall Mall Blues". This is the second track, "Keep Myself to Myself". It starts out with a long intro, and the vocals join in at the 1:14 point :::

Repelican doesn't have any upcoming shows listed at the current time, but here is the click to the Facebook page, where you can find out more ::: Repelican on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Jan 31 : "Lovely" - Melanie Marie (NJ)

"Valentine's Day, it's not just one day a year," says NJ artist Melanie Marie at the end of her video, titled "Lovely". Recorded previously, here it is as we get close to Valentine's Day 2016.

Last Summer and Fall I was unable to go to live shows because I had to limit being up and around after foot surgery. I was pretty much restricted to just going to work. But one night on my way home from work I did happen to hear Melanie Marie doing a live show at Hoboken Terminal as part of New Jersey Transit's "Music In Motion Concert Series". The way my schedule worked out, her show was the only one I caught this season.

Here's the video of Melanie Marie's original song, "Lovely" :::

At the present time, Melanie Marie doesn't have any upcoming shows listed on her page, but if you would like to keep an eye out for her next performance, here is the click to her Facebook page ::: Melanie Marie on Facebook (CLICK HERE)

Melanie Marie ends her video by saying "Valentine's Day, it's not just one day a year; make sure you always show how much you love your special people in your life."

Jan 17 : "Sun Goes Down [Remastered]" - The Once Was (Moorestown)

New Music / Recently Uploaded

This is my first post in a very long time. I had foot surgery over the summer and have had an unexpectedly long period of recovery. I haven't been out to a night of music since May! May 28 to be exact.

The last band I saw before I went into surgery was Moorestown band "The Once Was". On May 28 they did a good show to a packed room at Bourbon and Branch. Still don't know whether it was advisable to go out to hear music when my foot was in pain (Dr. won't catch me now hahaha), but I hadn't heard The Once Was in quite a while, and I wanted to hear some good music before I entered what I knew would be a long period of uncomfortable music "withdrawal". :)

Frank Cervantes is the mastermind of The Once Was as well as City Music Project. I've been following both bands for a few years, but hadn't heard either in a while. So May 28 was almost like hearing a new band because it was the first time I had heard most of those songs live.

The Once Was has a huge amount of work posted on their website. Their lead song on their Soundcloud page is "Sun Goes Down [Remastered]" :::

If you like what you hear and want to see them live, you're in luck, because The Once Was is doing a show at Silk City tonight at 9pm! If you can't get there but want to listen to more of their music on line, here is the click to their Soundcloud page: The Once Was (on Soundcloud)

Aug 16 : "'sundown' (Gordon Lightfoot) unmastered" - Wreaths (Asbury Park)

Not often is the "new" version or the cover of a song better than the original, but this is one of those rare exceptions. The song is Asbury Park band Wreath's version of "Sundown". The original was done by Gordon Lightfoot in 1974. I was around then :) and I remember the original. I heard it often.

But Wreaths' version has the original beat, especially with the atmospheric instrumental background. This version was recorded at Big Blue North Studio in Utica, NY, last year (Feb 2014).

Wreaths was the second band I heard when I went to Bowery Electric back on May 21 (am behind in my writing after surgery. Don't snitch on me; Dr. knew I was going there). It was my first time hearing them. This was one of those situations where I had gone to see a different band but heard this band for the first time and liked them as well. A double payoff! The band generously gave me one of their new cd's; the new album is also titled "Wreaths". I've been listening to it and like it, but I keep going back to their Soundcloud page where they have "Sundown". I hope that makes it onto one of their cd's soon.

If you'd like to keep tabs on Wreath's concert schedule, here is the click to their Facebook page ::: Wreaths (CLICK HERE)".

Aug 11 : "Stolen Dance" -- Milky Chance (Kassel, DE)

Finally I'm starting to get back to regular life after being home-bound for weeks and weeks after foot surgery. Have permission to go back to work this week.

Each place where I work has their favorite radio station, and at the job where I'm going tomorrow, they listen to a station that was playing this track a real lot in the few weeks before I had my accident. Maybe it was because the band was planning a US tour. In fact they actually came to Philly a couple weeks ago. But I haven't been able to go out to hear bands since May, so I missed out.

I'm wondering whether I'll still hear it tomorrow. The song is "Stolen Dance", played by German band "Milky Chance." (love the sultry vocals).

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6/27/20 UPDATE ::: OOPS! The music is NOT AVAILABLE IN OUR COUNTRY! YIKES! So much for listening to this band!

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If you would like to visit Milky Chance's web page, here is the click ::: Milky Chance (CLICK HERE)