Welcome to Spring! -- Mountain Stage Review

Well, spring is here in the Mountain State, which means snow apparently. But maybe a review of last Sunday's Mountain Stage concert at West Virginia University will warm things up. For those who aren't familiar, Mountain Stage is a West Virginia Public Radio broadcast hosted by Larry Groce, which gets distributed worldwide by NPR. It is recorded in an old-time style in front of a live audience and has been running for 30 years. (It just celebrated its anniversary.) It also features some of the best contemporary music has to offer--from roots music, to indie rock, to jazz (including stars like Sarah McLachlan, Norah Jones, Crash Test Dummies, Barenaked Ladies, Ben Harper, Paula Cole, Counting Crows, Phish, R.E.M., The Black Crowes, Booker T. Jones, Joan Baez, Suzanne Vega, Vince Gill, Nellie McKay, They Might Be Giants, Bruce Horsnby, Johnny Winter, Bela Fleck, Lucinda Williams, Jackob Dylan, Ani DiFranco, Martina McBride, Regina Spektor, Amos Lee, Kathy Mattea, and so many others I can't even begin to list them all.)

Though I've lived in West Virginia and Ohio for over ten years now, this was actually my first Mountain Stage concert. We went as a class for my Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life course, and we picked a good concert to see because not only did every performer fit within our definition of rock, but they were also all fantastic--not a dud among them.

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Milo Greene

Making their first appearance on the Mountain Stage was the band Milo Greene from Los Angeles, California. Though this group describes themselves as "Cinematic Pop," they struck me as everything that is right about Indie Rock. I'll be the first to confess that, while I like some indie bands, the genre is not among my favorite. Often, the indie scene is too self-consciously opaque for my tastes, too soulless. But that was not the case with Milo Greene--this band of multi-instrumentalists sported a powerful, swirling, almost psychadelic sound. And they didn't live off the 1 and the 3 beat all night. Four of the five members share singing duties, and watching them switch instruments (sometimes during the middle of the songs themselves) was like watching a finely 

choreographed juggling act. They reminded me a little of Fleetwood Mac--if Fleetwood Mac had been Indie Rock performers. 

What was also interesting about this performance is that it ran non-stop, each song building into the next (not unlike what you'd expect from a rock opera). This made even more sense later when I looked up the band and found that their album Milo Greene actually doubles as the soundtrack for Moddison a short film the band made (a kind of extended music video, which you can view below).

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P.S. I can also attest that this album makes for great driving music!

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Steve Forbert

Forbert was really the performer I came to see, and he didn't disappoint. As I watched him chop at the guitar and play to the crowd, I couldn't help but think of other singer songwriters I admire, like Colin Hay and (in his quieter moments) Bruce Springsteen. And where other folk performances can sometimes be somber affairs, Forbert played with a wiry kind of energy--as though he were being controlled like a marionette--that kept his performance lively and entertaining.

At the end of the night, I left feeling glad that we (as writers) got to hear him perform because it is just so clear that he is a storyteller as well as a musician. With clever lyrical hooks like, "Baby, I know / you're only 90% happy with me . . ." and folk masterpieces like the song "Goin' Down to Laurel" (below), Forbert taught a valuable master class in character and voice. 

His new album, Over With You, would be a good buy for any music fan who enjoys story-driven lyrics and a stripped down style.

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Mieka Pauley

Though not billed as top act, Mieka was one of a few performers who really stole the show at Mountain Stage. With her matte black guitar, her single drum, and her gallows humor, Pauley was a hurricane force. Think, Adele meets Bonnie Raitt. 

She opened her set with the soulful dirge "Marked Man," which she sang accompanied only by a single drum. (Not easy to do!), and ended with some intense strumming (backed by the Mountain Stage band) with the song "We're All Gonna Die." My favorite song, however, was the delightfully dark, "Wreck" (below), which opens with what has quickly become one of my favorite song lyrics of all time: "I want to wreck your home . . . ."

Pauley was offbeat, weird, and funny--bantering with the crowd between songs--and she was one of the performers who stayed around after to sign CDs. (I'll post a photo when I feature Pauley on a future Saturday Morning Soundtrack entry.)

Though it's hard to compete with the live show, Pauley's album The Science of Making Choices is worth adding to your collection.

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Vintage Trouble

Another group that really stole the show was Vintage Trouble. I had never heard of these guys (though I later discovered that I had one of their songs on my iTunes already), and I have to admit to being a little skeptical when they first came out in vintage suits with old-fashioned arm-garters and saloon-tender mustaches. I thought to myself, This is going to be one of those pretentious hipster bands. But let that be a lesson to me! These guys were anything but pretentious, and their sound hearkened back to the rock and soul of the fifties and sixties. Lead vocalist Ty Taylor (and I don't say this lightly) is as close to James Brown as you can get without seeing the Godfather himself. (Imagine Brown backed by one hell of an electric rock band.)

Seriously, you can smell the vinyl when these guys play. 

Brown also earned the moniker "the hardest working man in show business," and it seems like Taylor has taken that to heart, as well. He worked the crowd with the best of them--at one point, climbing up on the chair backs to walk into the audience (this was not your typical Mountain Stage!) and get the crowd on their feet and clapping along. (Let's face it, that's no small feat--Mountain Stage crowds are not typically known for their demonstrative participation.) It wasn't just for show either--these guys formed a real connection with the audience that extended even beyond the end of the concert, where the band met with the fans (patiently posing for picture after picture), shook our hands, and signed autographs. (Again, I'll post a photo when I feature these guys on a future Saturday Morning Soundtrack entry.)

VT's performance was a whirling, non-stop blast of sound--I got winded just watching them--interspersed with some very earnest social commentary while the band vamped. I enjoyed all of the performers, but these guys topped my list. They're one group I'll be talking about for a long time.

To hear more, check out their album The Bomb Shelter Sessions and watch them on the Tonight Show on April 8!

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Robben Ford

By the end of the concert, the only thing missing from Mountain Stage was some virtuoso guitar playing. Fortunately, Robben Ford took care of that.

Ford was the headliner at Mountain Stage, boasting a career playing alongside some big names you might recognize, like George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and others. Backed by a crew playing Hammond B3, upright bass, trombone, and drum kit, (all talented musicians in their own right) Ford did not disappoint. From the moment he hit the stage, it was clear that he was the most skilled guitar player at the show. His solos were tremendous and bluesy without feeling indulgent--it's a cliche, but he made hard work look very easy. Unfortunately, due to some poor leveling work by the Mountain Stage crew, it was hard to appreciate just how spectacular Ford was. (His guitar was amplified to the point where it had two volumes: loud and painfully loud, drowning out some of the vocals and the accompaniment.)

The highlight of Ford's set for me, was his instrumental rendition of the gospel classic "On That Morning"--a smooth and dreamy song that reminded me of the music I'd sometimes listen to on my retro radio on a Friday night, sitting in my easy chair with the lights turned low, a drink in hand. To hear this track and more, check out Ford's new album Bringing It Back Home. 

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All in all, a fantastic concert (as my students may attest to in the comments below). To hear it for yourself, check out Mountain Stage's public radio broadcast in mid-May and/or sign up for the Mountain Stage podcast through iTunes or on the web. And, of course, if you get the chance to check out a Mountain Stage broadcast for yourself, feel free to share your experience in the comments below!