This needs said first: this was a small show. Mickey Finn's Pub is a good-sized establishment, but even so the turnout for the show was comfortably small: about forty people. This created a friendly, quiet, and intimate show in which everyone's attention hugged the stage all night long and let the entire pub be very close to all three acts.
Over the course of three and a half hours the audience was treated to all-acoustic sets from Patrick Park (website), Sera Cahoone (website), and Alex Brown Church from Sea Wolf (website). All of these artists share a similar musical style, which gave the whole evening a very consistent and welcoming feel.
Patrick played a very energetic set via acoustic guitar and occasional harmonica and was the surprise of the night for me. I genuinely enjoyed his songs, which started with a sound similar to Sea Wolf's gradual intros but filled out with well-timed hooks. If he played an electric guitar and added just the right about of percussion we would have had one hell of a rock concert on our hands - he certainly was not lacking for energy in any of his songs.
Sera Cahoone was next up on stage. Like Patrick, she played for nearly an hour and seemed to put her best foot forward. I was less impressed with her music, especially as she seemed less skilled on the guitar than Patrick, but her songs were no less well written and full of spirit and drive. Sera shines in her voice, however, and belts out strong vocal choruses. Last night she seemed to straddle a line between Alanis Morissette and Tegan & Sara - something I noticed when I woke up today humming "Walking with a Ghost" instead of a Sera Cahoone song. Still, with a solid grasp of her songs, Sera put on a great set.
The highlight of the night was Sea Wolf - or at least one-fifth of the band. Their 2010 "Solo Acoustic Tour" consists of Alex Brown Church, lead guitar and vocals, running though an hour-plus set of Sea Wolf's two-and-a-half album career. The best of their 2007 EP Get to the River Before It Runs Too Low and LP Leaves in the River was on display. Highlights included most of their first album, especially "Middle Distance Runner," "Black Dirt," and "You're a Wolf." Alex put a solid effort into material from the band's second album, White Water, White Bloom, which from my first listen at the show seemed to be unmistakably more Sea Wolf, which is to say an evolutionary album instead of a revolutionary one.
I picked up a copy of White Water, White Bloom on vinyl at the show, so I will be giving it a listen and will get a review up as soon as I can. While I hesitated to go to last night's show thanks to being extremely fatigued, I am definitely glad that I made the trip up there. It was one of 2010's best concerts.
B3 out.
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