Last night we played the Rendezvous in beautiful Turners Falls. I'd been there once or twice before, and had played with the Silver Jasons there last Spring. "The Voo" is a large, open room with a bar on one side, some kitschy furniture, tin ceilings, and a delightful menu, which is located just off Route 2.
We showed up early, had some dinner, met with some friends who came out for the show, and talked to some students from the Hallmark Institute of Photography, also located in Turners (there were a surprising number of SLR cameras in the crowd, almost all of which were pulled out when Jason played toy piano). We started playing around 8:30 with a large line-up including Mike McClellan of the Novels on electric bass and acoustic guitar, Matt Juggenheimer of Whistle Jacket on drums, and Matt Silberstein of Swillmerchants on mandolin. After ten or so songs, we pared down to Jason, Brandee, Andy, and myself for the rest of the first set. We played a second set later on with the whole group.
The show went really well, and I particularly enjoyed the contributions of the folks playing with us for the first time. Matt S.'s mandolin solo on "Nebraska", Matt J.'s swampy, Levon-Helmesque drumming on Andy's tune, "Love You More", and Mike's bouncy bassline on "Mr. Spaceman" were all highlights from where I was standing. Speaking of Levon Helm, recently we've been playing shows where Andy, Brandee, and Jason all sing lead on at least one song, a practice which always reminds me of the Band. I'm hoping we can write and arrange a few more for people so that it doesn't seem like Ringo Starr style tokenism.
Jason, Mike, and I will be back at the Voo along with the "Silver Higgins Band" on March 13 for the Nuggets Night Jason is putting together. That show will also feature ALOTTLE, The Claudia Malibu, Ray Mason, The Original Cowards and Tony the Bookie.
Best review of the night: Jamie from the Voo says we're "swell".
-Ryan
p.s. Here are some pics my friend Sondra Murphy took:
