MOG

Caught the Red Sparowes with William Elliott Whitmore and Caspian at TT the Bear's in Cambridge MA on Thursday March 8th, one of the coldest damn nights of the year, but it was hot at TT's. Caspian led off with a great instrumental set. Their music tends to be in the same vein as Pelican and Sparowes with collective ensemble work, no soloing, and ebbs and flows of intense, lush multi-level, multi-textural music that alternating washes over and through and then rocks the hell out of you. They have a new CD coming out in April and if it is half as good as their show, it will be damn fine. William Elliott Whitmore came with one hell of a beautiful set of folksy, sometimes footstomping, always poignant, roots level, turn of the 20th Century style folk blues with a midwestern ambience. This guy is the balls! Besides a great rapport with his audience and a great sense of humor (Here's to all you "guyliner" bands–you know, the guys with eyeliner) and the deepest sense of real authentic American heartland soul I've heard in a long time, this guy can sing and play and by himself with just a banjo or a guitar can fill the house with sound and image and put you in a place and time most of us have never been. The man sounds genuine, no bullshit. At times he reminded me of early Tom Waits, and I mean that comparison in the best of terms, with all due praise to both gentlemen. Pick up a couple of his CDs and definitely, definitely catch him live if he comes your way. Finally, the Sparowes cames and gave a strong hour plus set of their music with an accompanying visual show. Always an intense and satisfying journey, you feel like you come and gone a long way over the course of the musical odyssey they take you on, and the hour goes too fast. It's over and they're gone. Whew!