Backseat Sandbar

Viva La Diva!

A Celebration of Louisville’s Women Musicians

Featuring:

4th Wall Falling, Amanda and Audrey, Andie Sandage, Andrea Davidson, Artie Wells, Ashley Burchette (Confessional), Blue Umbrellas, Brigid Kaelin, Carly Johnson, Cole Kiser, Daphne Luster, Jennifer Lauletta, Karen Kraft, Kathleen Hoye, Kelly Wilkinson, Kimmet & Doug, Leigh Ann Yost, Linda Sparrow, Marilyn Kington, Marion Dries, Martha Brewer, Mary Pat Willis, Most Wanted, N’Style, P.S. Willie, Patty Butcher, Patty Cain, Rachel Stump, Rebecca Williams, Robbie Bartlett, Sherry Edwards, Sheryl Rouse, Sue O’Neil, Tanita Gaines, The Sirens, Troubadours of Divine Bliss, Walker and Kays

$7 Donation

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Doors: Open at 5:00 pm

Music: 5:15 pm – 11pm+ -

3 Stages

Jim Porter’s Good Time Emporium

2345 Lexington Rd., Louisville, KY

All-Ages until 10 p.m. 21+ after

From the Americana of Brigid Kaelin, the blues of Tanita Gaines, the country sounds to Karen Kraft to the rock of Kimmet Cantwell, the performers for Liva La Diva! run the gamut of Louisville music. Because this event is a celebration of Louisville women musicians, no performer is considered the headliner for tonight. Proceeds benefit MERF. Since 1981, The Musicians Emergency Resource Foundation (MERF), a 501(c)3 Corporation, has granted financial and resource assistance to Kentuckiana music industry professionals in times of need and emergency crisis. The heart and soul of a caring music community, MERF receives applications for aid and then allocates assistance based upon a juried process. Funds for MERF are raised through tax-deductible donations and by live musical events, with the music donated by musicians in the Kentuckiana Area. More information is at www.merfbenefit.org. Donations will be accepted at the show and on the website via PayPal.

Brigid Kaelin along with Danny Flanigan and Johnny Berry will be performing this upcoming Sunday, October 11th at the Farmington Harvest Festival located at 3033 Bardstown Rd.  The festival runs from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. but we haven’t seen details on when the performances will take place.  The festival is part of the Week in the Highlands that started last saturday and ends with the Sunday festival celebrating the Farmington Hemp Plantation.  We’ll see you there!  Thanks to one of our favorite Louisville websites, Consuming Louisville, for the tip.

It’s The Rud’s 25th birthday and Motherlodge is throwing the party. What better way to spend opening night than seeing Rud veteran/local hero My Morning Jacket’s JIM JAMES solo? Come earlier to see other fantastic locals John Gage, Brigid Kaelin and a.m. Sunday. You’d be crazy not to go to this. So be there.

See our full coverage of the Motherlodge tribute to the amazing Rudyard Kipling here

Aaaaaand here’s tonight’s rundown.

7:00 Reception/Buffet dinner served by Tim Tucker

7:30 John Gage intro - Shelby Park Soul Stew (BARSTAGE)

8:15 Bridgid Kaelin and guests (PARLOR STAGE)

9-9:15 John Gage (BARSTAGE)

9:15 a.m. Sunday (PARLOR STAGE)

And of course soon after will be the incomparable JIM JAMES

Cover: $20 for dinner, show and auction, $15 show and auction (auction starting at some point after 9:00)

We’ll see you there.

One of our favorite local musicians, Brigid Kaelin, was on one of my favorite radio shows, A Prairie Home Companion, and I’m sick that I missed it.  Tickets were pretty expensive (and it sold out) and it was on the same night as Halfway to Forecastle.  I was able to hear her on the radio on my way downtown and it was FANTASTIC!  So I just had to share a clip from her performance (singing “One More Last Kiss” with Shannon Lawson…) and a link to the whole broadcast.  Also, here is a clip from Brigid’s MySpace blog (The original is pretty long, so go here to read the whole thing):

“…[L]ooking out into those lights, singing my original music, looking over my shoulder to see Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band reading charts of songs I composed, and hearing almost three thousand people laughing at my lyrics (laughing where they are supposed to laugh), was an absolute dream come true. I looked over at Garrison Keillor during “Future Mr. Used-to-Be” and saw him dancing and watching me sing.”

Brigid Kaelin

Shannon Lawson

@

The Monkey Wrench

November 26, 2008 – $7 – 9pm

Peter Searcy – Mixed Blessing (Squirrel Bait)…Couldn’t find “I Believe.”

Brigid Kaelin – Mazel Tonk (I know it isn’t the season, but it is all I could find…check out her myspace to hear her new album)

w/ Jim Bianco – Life During Wartime (Talking Heads cover)…Do I hear Tom Waits?

@

The Monkey Wrench, 8/22

$5 bucks

Listen to some songs from her new album, West 28th Street” on her myspace page, then catch her at ear X-tacy Wednesday, 7/2, at 6pm or at Forecastle on the 27th.  We have been big fans since she broke out Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” at the Label X showcase back in December ’07.  On top of giving a great performance, her set list was written on the back of a Makers napkin.  Indeed, her future is bright!

Here a clip from one of her previous performances at ear x-tacy, playing “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”

Ben Sollee & Brigid Kaelin played on friday at The 930 Art Center in Louisville, KY. This was my first trip to the 930, so for those of you who haven’t been, the building is an old elementary school and now the Sojourn community church which makes the art gallery easy to miss if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. I had to actually stop at the liquor store at the corner of Oak & Mary to get there.

When I got to the venue, the place was absolutely packed. Every seat was taken & the walls were lined with kids. It was encouraging to see this number of people showing up for a cellist & a Nashville girl in Louisville. The venue itself was really nice, with an exhibit entitled “Homeless: Telling Our Own Stories” with some very touching pieces. I highly encourage making it over soon.

Ben Sollee went on around 9. I had the opportunity to interview Ben earlier in the week. Ben plays the cello, and he does it amazingly well. He plays a folk/pop kind of style, with a touch of occasional melancholy. He makes the cello fun and unless you have a very adept ear, you’d never know he was playing what for years was considered a boring instrument. This was probably never more clear than on the very fun “Boy’s Don’t Cry”. His slightly country voice was comforting and sets his style of play off nicely. That said though, songs like “Change is Gonna Come” really showed off the Paul Simon influence and his range.

On “A Few Honest Words”, Ben showcased his ability to play the cello in a way I’ve never seen. He was very playful at the way he picked & his words were very emotional and heartfelt as he sang “Just a few honest words, it shouldn’t be that hard.” At one point, he sang “Love is a bitter fruit we’ve learned to eat” which I thought was simply a great line. What caught me off guard about the song is that in all its passion and emotion and beauty, it took a shocking political turn in the last line as he sang “tell me again about democracy” which I’ve not yet decided whether I liked it or not (though I think I did).

Like myself, Ben’s 7 week old son Oliver West Sollee got to see his father perform for the first time. Ben told us the story as the lead in to the song he wrote when he decided to tell everyone that he and his wife were going to have a child. It was a surprisingly intimate moment as he relayed the story to us that as a musician and touring with a new wife, that Oliver wasn’t entirely planned. It was somewhat refreshing honesty, but a little uncomfortable too. They say having children changes everything, and I think the lyrics to “Try” are as clear an indication of that as you can get as Ben sang “I can’t wait to hold your hand.”

Ben got on guitar a few songs later for “I Can’t”, and noted how easy life would have been if he’d had frets over the last 15 years. Finally, Ben finished the set with “Bury Me with My Car”, which seemed to me to be a commentary on the American lifestyle. For this one, he brougt up a Sojourn Community staple Brooks Ritter, who brought a lot of soul to the show.

The show was a very relaxing an enjoyable show. If you’ve not gotten the chance to see Ben yet, I highly recommend watching out for his next show.

Set list:
Built for This
Teach Me Baby
A Few Honest Words
Change is Gonna Come
Try
Boys Don’t Cry
Chocolate Jesus (Tom Waits cover)
I Can’t
Bury Me with My Car

Brigid Kaelin came on next, with her ruby red slippers her mom gave her and looking like she needed to be on a yellow brick road. Behind Brigid was some of the best musicians Louisville has to offer. Steve Cooley who is one of the most famous banjo players alive (though unfortunately not playing the banjo that night). He has been nominated for Grammy’s on 3 occasions. On guitar was everyone’s favorite, Peter Searcy. Scott Langford was on drums. This was also my first chance to see Brigid although Nick has seen her a time or two. Honestly, I was a little hesitant because I thought her sound was a little more country than I typically like. Brigid reminds me of so many people that I met and saw play in Nashville on the strip of venues there. I don’t write that to mean that she was miscellaneous at all, because I hold the people playing in those bars with incredible esteem. Brigid started her first song of the set called “Whiskey in the Faucet” and it was pure and fun Nashville alt-rock. What Brigid could do that so many can’t though is show her broad range, playing guitar, piano, accordion, yodeling and even a hand saw on Over the Rainbow. Not to mention she was much jazzier than I’d realized.

I spoke a little with Brigid recently and she was talking to me about her new album, which she literally just finished recording in the past few weeks. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait to see what she’d made because she played a significant amount of the new album that night.

She was very vocal during the performance. She explained “You Make Me Want to Go to Church” that she’d met a man in Nashville and she told him that the way he sang made her want to go to church. He told her that if she was a songwriter that she’d better go home to write a song under that name before he did. The song seemed to turn drastically from the original story (or maybe it didn’t), but it was incredibly sexual as she sang how he made her want to get down on her knees.”

Later, she performed Sunday Afternoon from the new album on piano. The new song was very playful & cute and I couldn’t help but think of high school summer love from the years prior to over analysis, fear or inhibitions. It was a beautiful song that really took me out of the room and into my own imagination, which is something rare, but impressive.

Perhaps the most touching song though, and I’m not lying when I say I was near crying, was “Ballad of Motorcycle Joe”, a song about a friend of hers who operated the door at countless concerts. She performed this song from her first album solo, which was best. Recalling him, she laughed and claimed he looked like a pirate. He had his motorcycle stolen one night, and became so depressed that he literally drank himself to death within 2 months thereafter. It was beautifully tragic.

Finally, the crowd got what many of them no doubt waited for as Brigid yodeled two songs in a row. First was the 1935 country uber-classic “I Want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” by Patsy Montana, and lastly the WFPK favorit, the driedel song. I found it great she closed out a performance in a church with a song about Judaism, but it seemed to be appropriate I guess. Overall, the show was very entertaining. A big part of the entertainment value was the interaction between Brigid and her backing band for the night. I think it was a little impromptu as a back-up band, so I think they truly enjoyed getting to all play together.

Setlist:
Whiskey in the Fountain
Betty Jean
You Make Me Want to go to Church
Watch Out
Keep Your Secrets
Sunday Afternoon
Ballad of Motorcycle Joe
Over the Rainbow (instrumental)
Hold Me Like that Old Guitar
Future Mr. Used-to-Be
I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart (Patsy Montana cover)
Dreidel Song

For pictures, (more…)

Amherst, Jimmy Vegas, On Parallels, Sugar Spell it Out, and Indy’s Rosewood played all acoustic sets last night at SSIO’s house. The show was originally billed for Gerstle’s, but apparently it was sold and is undergoing renovations. The SSIO guys decided to invite everyone over to their house instead of canceling; another example of the rising house concert trend. We didn’t show up until after midnight because of the Ben Sollee/Brigid Kaelin show at the 930, but the party was still going strong. I would guess there were 20-30 people there, perhaps more earlier. Not a bad showing at all. We got to see the end of the SSIO set and all of Amherst’s. That said, if you look at the picture above, you can see members of three of the five bands sharing the mic. Amherst played my personal favorite, “Breaking in Two,” and a new one they had never played live, “The Capital Of.” When they played one of the songs on their myspace page, someone fittingly referred to it as “MySpace Live.” I may have to steal that line. Anyway, loved the acoustic sets and low key venue (does it get any more low key than a house?). It was a nice change of pace.

Another house party is going down tonight w/ music by Jackie O’s RIP and Azns & Bnzs if you are in the mood.
More Pics Below the Break…

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If you are going out on Thursday night, there is no excuse for you not being at Gerstles. If you aren’t going out Thursday night, there is no excuse for you not going out to Gerstles. The “Sound Syndicate”…Peter Searcy, Brigid Kaelin, Rob from The Muckrakers, John Mann, and more “surprise guests”, will be playing together this Thursday night at Gerstles starting at 9pm sharp. The show will be absolutely FREE.

From Gerstles:

“It’s all about the music. FREE. No cover. Music starts at 9:00. We mean it. Seriously, 9:00. We mean it. Peter Searcy, Brigid Kaelin, Rob from The Muckrakers, John Mann, and more surprise guests play together, new and old, originals and covers, changing instruments, laughing, having fun, and most importantly … playing good music. Come join the party.”

Label X Showcase @ Headliner’s Review and Pics

Ben Sollee with Mike Mangione and Brigid Kaelin

Friday February 8th 2008

930 Listening Room • 8 pm • $5

Louisville native, Ben Sollee will perform his first Louisville show of 2008 on February 8th at the 930 Listening Room with Chicago’s Mike Mangione and Louisville’s Brigid Kaelin. The New Year also brings about the national release of Sollee’s Learning To Bend, an album that has already gotten Ben recognized as one of NPR’s Greatest Unknown Artists of 2007.

2008 will be a busy year for Ben touring with Béla Fleck, Uncle Earl’s Abigail Washburn, and Casey Driessen as The Sparrow Quartet. A new album and tour by the group will have Ben stopping in at Bonnaroo, SXSW, New Orleans Jazz Fest, and a return to China. Undoubtedly the rest of the world will be seeing more of our resident cello shredder than our great city of Louisville in the coming months.

Born and raised in Kentucky, the young cellist and singer-songwriter Ben Sollee is changing the way people think of the cello. While Ben has studied classically, his voice and style of playing reflect his connection to American roots music. His cello playing is a unique alchemy of fiddling, percussive bow work, and three-finger style plucking. His performances around the world with artists like Abigail Washburn, The Sparrow Quartet, and Otis Taylor reflect his diverse abilities.

There is hardly a need to define Ben Sollee’s music; it is, by nature, a fluid and versatile thing. He is just as likely to be found performing with a contemporary dance ensemble as with a bluegrass band. Ben’s songs honestly address social issues, faith, and love with a soulful voice that transcends his 23 years. There are hints of influence by Sam Cooke, Paul Simon, maybe Ralph Stanley, but none tie Ben to a singular approach.

In 2006 Ben Sollee performed in China with The Sparrow Quartet, an ensemble featuring vocalist Abigail Washburn, fiddler Casey Driessen, and banjo-master Bela Fleck, and the group became the first-ever Official U.S. Cultural Mission to tour Tibet. In four performances the band played for nearly ten thousand young students.

Ben Sollee’s newest album, Learning to Bend, is evidence of his broad musical perspective. With guests such as Rayna Gellert and Bela Fleck, the music sways from a driving, fiddle-fueled song about Americans’ infatuation with their cars, to a playful song on growing up as a boy. The title track, Bend, poignantly addresses our need to accept difficult change and features a striking harp accompaniment composed by Ben.

Label X is putting on a showcase of their own, similar to the Home Grown Series, only that its solely Label X bands. All bands on the Label X “label” are from Louisville. Label X is owned & operated by Todd Smith, and he is doing amazing things for the Louisville Music scene and I think can really be someone who can put Louisville on the map from a musical perspective. I think it’s important that while Production Simple is bringing artists from around the world to our backyard to let us know them, and our city is getting put on the map in that way, Todd and Label X are leading that push to show that more than just a place where other artists want to play, we’re a play where artists are born and inspired. I think people aer starting to take notice. I recall back in college I hired the Muckrakers for an event, and now I’ve heard them on television shows because Hollywood is interested in licensing their music. Label X is pushing the music scene forward and I think is in many ways the face of the new music industry. Rather than being so much a label, these guys operate more as a collective and as things in the industry continue to change, I think you will find that these guys in our own backyard were an important force behind that change.

Cost: TBA

Line-Up:

Peter Searcy
Digby
Code Red
Marion Square
The Muckrakers
Brigid Kaelin