No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master. ~Hunter S. Thompson
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| South Farwell and The Old Fashioneds a Night of Music on Eau Claire Street |
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| Written by John Abbott | ||||||||
| Saturday, 16 January 2010 02:27 | ||||||||
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At the State Theater, another night of Volume One's Backstage Series. The band South Farwell, with guest The Klenz/Walk Jazz Sextet. And, just down a couple of blocks Eau Claire street, The Old Fashioneds playing at The Haymarket Grill. It was a great night to enjoy local talent. I continue to be impressed with the band South Farwell. From the very beginning they were impressive, but I thought they relied very heavily on the vocalist Bill Boles, lead singer. Skilled though he is, I felt the rest of the band was somewhat subdued, given their talent I had witnessed in previous bands. Over time though, the South Farwell has added depth by letting some of that talent free. The backing solos done by brothers, Tim Coughlin on guitar and Joe Coughlin on sax, I think are what really propel South Farwell into a new plane. After the show, down the street from the State Theater, we caught the third set of a new local band, The Old Fashioneds. One word hyphenated, ya'all, Out-standing. I think it tugged to me in particular because this was the music my dad listened to when I was growing up. Hank when there was only one Hank, Merl Haggard. Real country music. Granted, even in it's wildest days back then, it didn't have near the punch of this night's performance. It would have confused my father. Long hair and 'lectric git-tars. And energy. The Old Fashioneds played the wildest version of Folsum Prison Blues I have ever seen, and that was just what opened the third set. 
Tim Coughlin plays a solo at the State Theater, Eau Claire
If I was going to give awards for "Most Improved" South Farwell band member, it would be to Joe Coughlin on Sax. When the band was setting up, it was with trepidation I saw Joe setting up his sax. I have to admit that I leaned over to my friend Joanna (CPHQ), who had never seen the band before, and said "The sax player is kinda marginal" Which in honesty, he had some rough patches when I saw South Farwell at Phoenix Park during the summer. Not so any more. I don't know if Joe is getting more playing time now, or if before he was just having an off night before, but Joe and his sax were on top form. His solos vibrant, exciting and technically perfect. Keep up the good work Joe! I have never seen Tim Coughlin, on guitar, anything less than stellar. But, previous to this night it had been a long time since I had seen him released to solo. Two years ago in the packed and harshly echoing 1st and Goal bar, in Chippewa Falls, I saw Tim solo a jaw dropping Stevie Ray Vaughn song. Since then, with South Farwell, not so much. I think its a great improvement to South Farwell's music to add the bluesy riffs of Tim's guitar. 
Bill Boles, lead singer of South Farwell on stage at the State Theater
Opening for South Farwell was The Klenz/Walk Jazz Sextet. The group is a joint project between nationally famous Jeff Walk on trumpet and local singer Adrian Klenz. My bias against jazz is well known. I am not a fan. So, I don't really feel right judging them. The audience, though very small, seemed to like them ok. I have to assume that means they were good. The music they played I would classify as straight jazz at the start, moving into a somewhat eclectic mix of jazzed up popular songs. Musical high points, the Leonard Cohen song, Hallelujah, made somewhat famous to us parents in the movie Shrek. And, as an encore song, Stevie Wonder's song Superstitious. Both of them jazzy, well performed, and well sung by Klenz. 
Klenz Walk Jazz Sextet
Also present last night, among other friends, Freak and Geek, Chapter President and High Queen, Joanna Dane. Joanna and I have a long standing disagreement going about jazz. I don't like jazz, and she is convinced that if only I heard the right group. She at one point even said she would burn me a cd, knowing that under the right tutelage, I would come to see the light. I conceded after extracting from her a promise to offer equal time to a cd I returned to her. I immediately went home and burned her a cd of my favorites of heavy metal. I was sure Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails and Five Finger Death Punch would all have a new fan after she only listened. I carried that cd in my coat pocket for months waiting. But, I think I appeared a little too exuberant. She never got me my jazz compilation.
The Old Fashioneds at Haymarket Grill, Eau Claire
Later, down the street at the Haymarket Grill The Old Fashioneds, made up of local musicians Jeff White, Greg Gilbertson, Bill Hamilton, Bronson Bergeson and Tony Campbell. All big name players and soloists. It's great to see them all come together in this group. The Haymarket was the band's first public gig. It was almost unbelievable as a first gig, except for the amount of talent on the stage. At one point two of the five admitted to never having played the previous song.
At the HayMarket Grill I ran into Nicholas Fennel, who will be playing at Haymarket Grill on Saturday night. I won't be able to make his show. I am holding out to see Straight Up (previous) at the Snout Saloon later in the evening. If you are in the mood for something quieter than the train wreck of Straight Up, Nicholas would be an excellent alternative. South Farwell's schedule can be found on their MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/farwellonline
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| Last Updated on Monday, 23 August 2010 16:45 |
