Tag: Live music review

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Artists Worth Checking Out indie music Reviews

Jesse Macht lays it all out on Hotel Cafe Second Stage

Several years ago our friend Laura G. Falls (Red Boot PR) turned us on to one of her clients, Jesse Macht.  At the time he had just released what became one of our favorite albums, Suitcase Heart, which we reviewed back in January 2015 on AXS.com.

Macht’s father is actor Stephen Macht, and his brother is Gabriel Macht, star of USA’s Suits.  Although he isn’t an actor, he has still made a presence in Hollywood with the placement of his music in a multitude of shows, including The Next Great American Band, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, LA Ink, The Voice, and much of Viacom’s programming.

Through his publicist, Macht became affiliated with Keaton Simons and his step-father, Eric Roberts.  As a result, Simons placed his song “When I Go” on the Suits season 5 episode “Faith,” while Roberts became a recurring character on the show.

Macht brought his “A” game to the intimate Second Stage at the renowned Hotel Café.  His band included Rob Humphreys on drums Kenneth Belcher on guitar, Jeff Liffmann on piano and Tyler Carroll on bass.

During the show, he played songs from his diverse catalog, including the title track to his latest album, I Was Born, which was become one of his most successful songs, and “Broken my Faith,” which is one of our favorite songs off Suitcase Heart.  Despite some technical difficulties mid-set, Macht and his band turned in a superlative set, culminating in one of the best covers we have ever heard of the Tina Turner classic, “What’s Love Got to do With It.”

All in all it was a wonderful night of great music and catching up with friends, as Roberts and his wife Eliza were among the audience members, as well as Alisha and Dan Kalisher of Sleep Machine, another Red Boot client.  We highly recommend going to his live performance if he ever makes it to where you live.

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out indie music Reviews Women in Entertainment

Casey Ahern brings it home at the Mint

You may not have heard her name, but we guarantee you will in the not too distant future.  Casey Ahern is a 20-year old singer-songwriter who is a multi-talented professional that is a potential game-changer on the country/Americana scene.

The southern California based Ahern, who has been performing consistently with her band since she was 16, defines herself as a contemporary country artist.  Truthfully, her music has a strong resemblance to what came out of Laurel Canyon in the 70s – with obvious influences of artists like Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and the Eagles.

Photo by Haley Ahern.

Ahern recently released a four-song EP called He was Summer (which we will be reviewing shortly), produced by David Brown, who has worked with Fleetwood Mac (including solo works by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks), Alice Cooper, Willie Nelson and Frank Zappa.

“David brought out elements of that classic Fleetwood Mac sound that I love so much,” explained Ahern.  “Thanks to my parents, I grew up listening to country, all decades of country music, from Glen Campbell to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, and so it’s got a unique mix of influences.  As my first EP, the songs represent the different aspects of who I am as a person and artist, and the people, places and values that are important to me.”

Considering the fact that Ahern was just getting over pneumonia, her vocal quality was pretty good, but nothing compared to the smooth sound of her EP.  What truly sets Ahern apart from her peers is her amazing songwriting, which tells elaborate stories that her listeners can truly connect with and relate to.

Photo by Haley Ahern

She performed two of the songs on the EP – the title track “He Was Summer” and “Indio,” as well as four more great songs that included “Bradley” (a song about a town in northern California, “Never Finish Anything,” “Just a Dance,” and “Seeing Eye Dog” (our personal favorite, with our favorite line “Love is blind, but I’ve got a seeing eye dog”).  She was joined onstage by Alex Kawasaki on upright bass and Aaron Rudin on cajon (who had an amazing solo on the closing track, “Indio.”

Photo by Haley Ahern

Ahern is heading to Nashville next month to work on her follow-up EP.  We can hardly wait to hear the result.

 

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Artists Worth Checking Out Reviews

Music still abides at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire

If you know anything about my history, you know that I started attending the Renaissance Pleasure Faire back in 1994 when it was in Devore.  That was the same year that the Poxy Boggards started out, and they are still actively playing the Faire, as are their female counterparts, the Merry Wives of Windsor.  Their private domain is called Rogue’s Reefe and is the only “Adults only” stage at the Faire.

The last time I was at the Faire was 2013 as a participant member of St. Helena’s.  I spent a couple of years before that working at Rogue’s Reefe.  Back in those days, just like today, the primary bands were the Boggards and the Wives, but they had such bands as The   Belles of Bedlam and the Dread Crew of Oddwood to support them and draw a different set of fans to the Reefe.  These days, that support is limited to a couple of sets from Tea and Strumpets, featuring past members of the Belles, and a single set from Sportive Tricks, which are still playing the stage despite quite a few personnel changes over the years.  Still, the rabid fans of both the Boggards and the Wives keep coming back over and over again, as both groups continue their storied tradition of providing a type of music you can’t find anywhere else at Faire.  I was truly impressed by the richness and fullness of the sound at the Reefe, particularly that of the Wives, which seems to  have grown both in talent and vocal ability over the years.

Besides the risqué offerings at the Reefe, there are numerous other stages presenting music throughout the Faire.  Of these, our favorite for the day was the Royal Music Stage, which has moved from the front of Faire to closer to the Reefe.  On that stage you will find “clean” sets from the Boggards, Wives, Strumpets and Tricks, as well as four amazing sets from the visiting band The JackDaws Band, a three-piece group from the East Coast that bring some great Irish rock.  Composed of Buttercup on electric fiddle, Roxy on drums, and Whiplash on guitar and vocals, they are worth the price of admission with their outstanding sound and riveting stage presence.  You can also catch Buttercup out and about the Faire playing her fiddle.

Other music you can find at the Faire includes the Wives and visiting act The Freestylers of Piping on the Golden Jubilee Stage near the entrance, the Freestylers on the Maybower Stage near the food court for three sets, Ad Hoc Consort in Kids Kingdom and the Royal Music Stage and the Washing Well Wenches in their own area throughout the day.

If you love music, you will find plenty of it at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, regardless of whether you prefer bands that sing or just instrumental offerings and dance, both Celtic and Arabic.  At any rate, get thyself to the Faire before it closes on May 19.