Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Bo and Lefty Getting Electrical at Cat's Art MusikCircus

Untolerable Bohemian played first at Cat's Art MusikCircus and I'm pleased to tell you it was nothing like what happened the week before.  He got punched at the start of the set as he lost electricity but he recovered in about fifteen minutes.  He didn't get started right away after he got back but it wasn't long before he found a groove and then he was running with it.



When you hear Bo's Groove, you'll know right away as he doesn't memorize anything.  He didn't cast the bit into his memory banks a day or a month ago so he could do an improv along that line, he does it absolutely fresh.  Maybe he even makes up the riffs each time, I don't know.  And maybe you think riffs are bad but don't tell it to Beethoven as he was kind of partial to them.

What comes in Bo's show will be anywhere from what I was considering kind of a beatnik fifties jazz to maybe a late seventies jam band. This is Bo's greatest strength but he seems conflicted on it.  I believe but I'm not sure that he's thinking he needs to do some type of covers to find any success but this is the single biggest mistake a musician can make.  The only success that ever comes to a musician is in playing what you want to play, finally no-one can tell you what to play.  I cannot possibly recommend strongly enough against playing something just because you think this is what the audience expects.  In fact what the audience expects is for you to come out and be what you really are.  That's precisely what you will hear when Bo gets his groove.

To Bo's strength, his grooves, there are times when I hear Hendrix in this.  I've said this more than once and I've listened to a ton of Hendrix in my life.  There are times when Bo is exploring when it will have very much of a feel I got from when Hendrix was doing it.  I'm not comparing Bo to Hendrix and it would be stupid to try - I loathe comparing musicians - but I do want to give you an idea of the flavor and it's just a taste for a few bars and then he continues exploring.


lefty Unplugged played the second show but he did not do the Angela Merkel song, sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't.  The show was wonderful and there was an excellent lesson for Bo in it.  I don't regard this as comparison and hopefully there will be no offense.  lefty sings whatever he wants and he very rarely does covers.  It takes a long time for most to discover you have the freedom to do this and you will be judged but so what ... people will judge you anyway.




When lefty Unplugged finished his first song, he looked out over the audience and said, "CRIPES!  Jupiter just flew in front of me!"

Well, actually, no.  It wasn't Jupiter.  That was Saturn ... Jupiter will fly past your face in just a moment.  The True Confessions part is that we turned them on but now don't know how to turn them off and now there are huge planets flying around the dance floor.  Welcome to the virtual world!

"Love Gone Runnin' on Home" is the ballsiest song lefty performs.  At times he may sound like a minstrel, at others a protest singer from the sixties, and at others an emissary from the future ... but this is when lefty sings his blues.  He's got the beat, you can definitely dance to it, and this is one fine tune.  Art, schmart, it's a good song.

But lefty is an artist, he's a craftsman, he's Doctor Dolittle.  All of this is in his music and his vibe.  His songs are beautifully crafted but one way they really excel is that he can screw with them.  If he wants to extend then he can do it and he can go with the groove of it.

And then he can talk about Pidge who has been acting in a most unusual way lately.  Everyone knows Pidge as lefty frequently uploads videos he has shot of her flying into his backyard and hanging out with him.  (She really does come when he goes outside.  I've seen it!)  So perhaps Pidge has fallen in love and that is why she behaves strangely.  Perhaps it's a summer romance.  Right now we just don't know.  Did that pigeon Love Go Runnin' on Home?

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