When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. ~Hunter S. Thompson
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| Jason Chambers at the Snout Saloon |
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| Written by John Abbott | ||||||||
| Monday, 01 March 2010 18:48 | ||||||||
 Another very small crowd at the Snout Saloon. Typical for what has been in the bar since New Years. The music was a solo act by acoustic guitarist Jason Chambers, who plays regularly at the Sheely House. Jason plays a very wide range of songs and plays them all very well. He plays in a musical style where the chords are sloppy or mushy, letting his voice, which is clear, really stand out. What Jason has is the ability to hit the high notes. A rare thing for dudes. At one point he even mentioned "Yeah, I know, I sing like a girl…" But, girl or not, it was a great night of music. Musical high points, there were many. Jason played a really nice version of the Hoagy Carmichael song, later popularized by Ray Charles, Georgia on my Mind. It took me back a few years. When I was just out of high school I lived for nearly two years with my brother, Steve, in Minneapolis while he was going to graduate school. Steve was a huge country music fan, but far and away his favorite song was Georgia. He had a Willie Nelson version for when he was feeling mellow, and a Hank Jr. version for when he was feeling boisterous. Seldom a night went by when I didn't hear one or the other. Jason played what I think was an original, maybe titled, Walk Away. Very good for it's rap/hip-hop elements. I really liked all of his blending in of rap prose to an otherwise typical acoustic guitar set. And, with Jason's ability to spit very fast, very clear lyrics, it was totally working for me. An even better example of this was later, during the third set. The bar was calling for some Tom Petty and Jason launched into a great version of Mary Jane's Last Dance. What made it particularly interesting, and different than your standard barroom fare, was a break-away rap off-shoot, played to the backbeat of Mary Jane's. It was very well done. Still though, if I had to define one song as the high point of the night it would have to be Tracy Chapman's, Just Give me one Reason. Jason had a great voice for this song. It was really a perfect cover. All the notes were spot on, his voice was perfect. Just as he also had a great voice to cover a song I never thought I would be happy to hear again, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, Staying Alive. Not exactly falsetto, by no means normal. It was a great rendition. It brought a smile to my face, and I can't say that of any disco for a very long time. The Wife was very impressed with a song he played that is on Twilight movie soundtrack. The song was by Iron & Wine called Flightless Bird. Twice Jason teased us with the opening chords to Blackfoot's Highway Song but then at the last moment, before stepping up to the mic, changed to some other song. Too bad, I would have loved to have heard it. I don't know if it wasn't ready for us, or if we weren't ready for it. Jason will be back at the Snout Saloon this coming weekend playing bass for the band, Assembly Required.
Talking to fellow bar patron, Drew during a band break, he said he had been wanting to go down to the Sheely House, where Luke Fisher and the Cool Hands were playing, but the beer is cheaper at the Snout and so he didn't make it. I would have nearly been tempted myself. I heard them briefly one night, before being ejected from the Sheely House. Currently they are the band I would most want to see more of. Hits: 429 Comments (2)Subscribe to this comment's feedWrite comment
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| Last Updated on Monday, 01 March 2010 20:24 |
