Except for a handful of musicians. I love Coldplay, I love Life in Technicolor ii more than life, but Coldplay is too big for me to understand. I love Indigo Girls, James Taylor, The Carpenters. I really do.
But The Young Republic...they're in my bones. And Cheryl Wheeler takes over my heart. This week I had a chance to see both of them.
The Young Republic is a group that formed in Boston - some kids from Berklee College of Music, classically trained, thrown together to form this orchestral-folk-rock-masterpiece of a band, under the leadership of Julian "Gotta Keep the Freezer Stocked With Dead Bandmembers" Saporiti, a genius in every way. I found out about them from Lu, whose son, Nate, had just started playing with Julian et al, a couple of weeks into his freshman year. Nate was at Berklee to study film scoring. Lu, rock and roll professor, never dreamed that her son would end up... in a rock band. But it worked out. Lu played "Girl from the Northern States" for us in her class one afternoon, twice, and we had to write a brief music review (it was a journalism course).
I was not troubled by the distance of your friend -
she got close to Tennesee but she wont' be back again.
Was it the thought of love, or the rolling hills,
that she could not take?
You know the sweeter air is just too fair for a girl from the northern states.
Cyndi, Mark and I were headed out of the country after class - we had planned a fall road trip to Montreal, Canada - and I grabbed the EP before we hit the road. We listened to the...second?...track, "Goodbye Town" enough that we got sick of it, only to put it on again after switching off our next CD.
The Young Republic played in Farmington that December (?). There they stood: nine in front of us, faces we had to look up on the CD inserts Julian-lead/guitar, Bob-second guitar, Chirs-bass, MJ-piano, Nate-Viola, Kristin-Violin, Kat-flute, Jon-trumpet, Matt-drums. Julian turned to the rest of the group and said "Girl from the northern states?" and I, in the audience, whooped. Julian's head snapped around, and he said into the mic, "Whoever just whooped gets a dollar off a tshirt."
Later, Will didn't know if he could give me a dollar off, if Jules was kidding.
The Young Republic has transformed, developed, reinvented, toured, shrank, and grown, and somehow, I have been invested in everything with them. There's something wonderful about being there in the beginning, about being apart of their fluidity. It's an emotional journey, from band lineup changes, quitters and dumped losers, folks left stranded out in the Texas dirt.
On Wednesday night, The Young Republic was in town. I have seen the band too many times for my own good:
Farmington, ME [The Landing: 2006]
Rangeley, ME [2006]
Kingfield, ME [Nostalgia Tavern, 2006]
Farmington, ME [Titcomb Mountain, 2006]
Farmington, ME [The Landing, 2007]
Somerville, MA [Davis Square, 2007]
Brooklyn, NYC [2009]Manhattan, NYC [2009]
Farmington, ME [The Landing, 2009]
Portland, ME [Northstar Cafe, 2009]
Freeport, ME [Venue, 2010]
Now, the last time they were in Maine, and they played Northstar, it was a beautiful Friday night, at a venue right downtown, easy to get to, and they were ready to rock out. Will and his gang of guys were up from Boston, a group of people came down from Farmington, my Portland friends and family made an appearance. A group of us danced in the front the whole show, eating up every second, The Wolfpack.
This week was different. It was Cinco de Mayo, in Freeport, a suburb of Portland, about 20 minutes away. It was a Wednesday night. My brother, Joe, a Young Republic fan like myself ("They will be the next big band"), had to work, and his lovely, wonderful girlfriend Amy had class. A friend who missed the Portland show happened to live in Falmouth, so I put her and her husband's names on our list. Cyndi and Joe planned on the trek (they wouldn't miss a YR show in the area), and my wonderful Rachael, and record-store manager extraordinaire Rob... not a bad group.
The band was touring with Devon Sproule, a gem of a gal, voice like Janis Joplin, folk/country/jazz singer. I was a bum and should have grabbed her tunes before the show, but life gets busy, I walked into Venue blind to her offerings.
I arrived just as Lu and Nate, who no longer an "official" band member, was invited to play (much to my and Lu's relief - we'd like to put off the "seeing the YR, sitting with Nate in the audience" moment as long as possible), and I jumped through the doors ("We don't open until sev--" "I'm with the band!") to see some lovely familiar faces: Chris' red beard and warm hug, Kristin's animated face and great style, and Julian, sporting glasses that he wouldn't wear while playing, looking like an older, grown up version of himself. No sign of the alleged banjo player (had it all been a dream?), and a dummer, Joe, who I didn't meet until almost midnight.
The set started with TYR's acoustic stuff, some old and familiar,
Hearts on fire, they burn for miles true
I'll give you twenty-seven reasons why I'm coming home
but they're all just excuses to see you.
and some new songs, bluegrassy, country, smooth.
Now, in my experience, country doesn't bode well in Maine. We move faster in the Northeast, we'd like you to get to the point so we can dance. Ever since the band moved to Nashville, this country style has seeped back into their repertoire (oh-crap-we-thought-they-shook-it-off-after-12-Tales). But, I stand corrected: patience is a virtue that I don't often have, and after their quieter set, Devon hopped up on stage, and damn - when that girl opened her mouth to sing, the chatty, cinco-de-mayo bar fell utterly silent.
I understand now that touring bands must complement eachother, especially the supporting band, not changing, no, but staying fluid to fit with the whole theme of the evening. They will have their chance, I would say to my past self, keeping notes on the first set and wondering "What is going on?"
One of the most delightful parts of TYR and Devon Sproule traveling and playing together, is their collaboration. Devon played solo for a bit, and then TYR joined her on stage, backing her up, giving this lovely full background to her sensual stuff. And later, when the band had a chance to dive into their Balletesque revue, Devon had a chance to hop up with her guitar, or dance and sing, too.
From my fan perspective, there's nothing worse than waiting for your favorite band to get on stage, only to have to sit through some opener you can't stand. It's like their music has been tacked on to the top of the show, arbitrarily taking up time (building the anticipation?). With Devon and TYR, however ... this idea that they'd do oh, a little of this, a little of that, share the stage, enjoy each other, respect each other as musicians made me, the fan who only knew one band, walk away with a hefty respect for (and new CD from) the other.
The Cinco de Mayo show, including the amazing Isis (I married Isis on the fifth day of May), with Cyndi and Joe performing as much as the musicians, dancing together, spinning around, so fiercely in love, was a delightful midweek show. I can't wait for TYR to return, perhaps to play again in Portland, and really show us how to rock out.
And Devon? She will be in Portland this June. I think I'll have to check it out.
Handwritten Track List from that night; chime in if you know any real titles:
Everybody Looks Better in Black and White
Shiloh
(Kristin on vocals)"...church on Sunday..." ?
Tennessee Morning
It Could Happen to You
Excuses to See You
----Devon's set------
Girl from the Northern States
Rose Parade
Black Duck Blues
The Wolf
Alchemist
Isis
Goodbye Town
"Some non-dancing song ... psyche! actually a dancing song"
1 comments:
when paradise by the dashboard lights came up on my playlist this morning, i listened/sang along to the whole thing, just for you.
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