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Field Recordings
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Written by Nate Groth
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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
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at The Press Room on Feb. 23
“We were very nervous,”
said Roman(US)’s laptop wielding singer, Felix Duque, after the band’s
inaugural gig in front of a packed house at The Press Room on Saturday.
Duque’s apprehension was attributed to the fact that the performance
marked the first time that all three members had ever played in the
same room together. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Felix and his cousin,
local drummer/synth player/yoga aficionado José Duque, began
collaborating as Roman(US) via the Internet for the 2006 RPM Challenge.
Two years later, they continue their musical collaboration with the
addition of multi-instrumentalist Nick Phaneuf. Phaneuf, a former Dover
resident who recently moved to Hamburg, Germany, returned to the
Seacoast to play a series of shows with the Duque cousins and work with
them on their submission to this year’s RPM Challenge. The vast
geographic distances that separate these musicians were not evident
during the solid night of music they presented in Portsmouth.
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Written by Michelle Moon
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Friday, 01 February 2008 |
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at The Press Room, Jan. 26
Even for music fans, leaving
the house on an icebound January night to catch a live show takes a
certain amount of grit and determination. That and simple faith—the
hope that after making your way through streets so cold that the
sidewalks ring under your heels, you’ll hear something hot enough to
justify the trip. A band that can turn up the heat acts as a steam
valve, releasing the explosive pressure of a month or so of built-up
cabin fever. Saturday night at the Press Room, King Memphis provided
abundant BTUs with three solid sets of rockabilly rhythm.
King Memphis front man Matt Robbins took command of the stage
with cool authority, a laid-back balance to the sparks thrown by
bassist Kris Day (also of the Jerks of Grass) and drummer Dave
Ragsdale. The backing musicians’ fast and fiery styles suit the
material just right. Strong originals like the fuzzy “Flat Black
Cadillac” and the Commander-Cody-esque “Thinking about Drinking” settle
firmly in the rockabilly tradition of songs about various kinds of
engines, women and dangerous behavior.
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Written by Matt Kanner
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Thursday, 17 January 2008 |
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at The Barley Pub, January 9
Members of jazz-funk
sextet Mac Tough seem very much at home within the familiar confines of
The Barley Pub in Dover. Most of the musicians have played here
regularly, in various contexts, over the past several years. The band’s
comfort level and casual approach translate into a perfect fit for the
pub’s Wednesday night funk series. Pub patrons can catch Mac Tough on
three more nights, Jan. 16, 23 and 30, during the band’s month-long
residency in January.
Led by guitarist Jim Dozet, Mac Tough plays a blend of originals
and covers, blurring the lines between jazz and funk in the tradition
of pioneers like Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Smith and
latter-day Miles Davis. Dozet, drummer Jay Trikakis, bassist Roland
Nicol and trumpeter Chris Klaxton are also members of The Press
Project, a jazzified Seacoast hip-hop band that has developed a
substantial following over the last couple of years. Mac Tough is
rounded out by organist Eric Donnelly and saxophonist Sean Barry.
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Written by Matt Kanner
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Thursday, 03 January 2008 |
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at The Press Room, Dec. 28
Elsa Cross sipped from a
shot glass before stepping onto the stage on the second floor of The
Press Room in Portsmouth. Wearing a red dress that contrasted vividly
with the all-black outfits of her band mates, her blond hair pulled
back into a long ponytail, Cross picked up her guitar and played her
first song of the evening alone. The rest of the band joined her on the
second song, “Because of You,” and Cross’ elegant but authoritative
voice quickly drowned out the noisy chatter in the packed bar. Within
moments, everyone was paying attention.
Having released her debut album, “Unavailable,” in October,
Cross came equipped with an arsenal of original rockabilly folk songs
and country-western covers. A few songs deep into her set, she played
“The Burden,” which she introduced as one of the first songs she ever
wrote. Cross began playing guitar when she was 16 years old, she said,
but she did not establish her preferred style until she was 19, when
she discovered rockabilly music. Attracted to the outlaw style, the
greasy hairdos and the 1950s fashions, she soon began writing her own
rockabilly tunes.
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Written by Matt Kanner
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Thursday, 20 December 2007 |
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at Dover Brick House, Dec. 12
“We’re a bunch of drunk assholes. It’s good to be back in Dover.”
With these warm words of introduction, Jonny Swagger launched
his band into a frenetic set of Celtic punk rock at the Dover Brick
House. Sandwiched between power punk trio Bugo and Boston rockabilly
stars Dave Smith & The Country Rebels, The Swaggerin’ Growlers
returned to their lead singer’s hometown to participate in the Brick
House’s Wicked Wednesday festivities on the late evening of Dec. 12.
Swagger, the band’s lead singer and guitarist, was obviously
amped up for the occasion. With a devilishly giddy grin on his
sweat-caked face, little flecks of spittle occasionally cartwheeling
off his lip, he crooned his first line of the set: “I sold my soul for
a bottle of Bushmills.” Meanwhile, Swagger rapidly strummed an acoustic
guitar, like an Irish folk musician in fast-forward.
Joining Swagger were Matt Cost on bass and backing vocals, Corey
Nolan on drums and Seth Moore on tin whistle. The Growlers had to make
do without fiddle player Annie Libertini, who could not make it to the
show. The group was also without mandolin player Matthew Lister, who,
according to other band members, wandered off the stage in Portland
some weeks back and never returned.
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