NEW LIVE INITIATIVE CONTINUES IN NORTH AMERICA
The Communion Tour continues in the United States for its second month. Molded from the successful '20 “Austin to Boston Tour” (featuring Ben Howard, Nathaniel
Rateliff, The Staves and Bear’s Den) Communion started a tour bringing different artists to nine cities each month: New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Bloomington, Louisville, Nashville, Minneapolis, Madison and Rock Island.
The second series, in November, will feature Tennis, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Savoire Adore, On An On and additional support from local artists.
Looking back at October.....
The Communion Philadelphia session, at the nearly sold-out Johnny Brenda's was quite an event. Thinking in terms of founders Ben Lovett (of Mumford & Sons) and Kevin Jones (Bear's Den) as the brains behind the Communion tour, and seeing Willy Mason, Birdie Busch and Roadkill Ghost Choir on the bill, I expected somewhat of a roving folk fest. I was dead wrong as it was an eclectic mix of bands with the noise monsters Prowler and super energetic Rubblebucket!
Birdie Busch started off the night, taking the local slot and filling it well! Playing more rock than folk, she presented as a two piece electric guitar duo! It was quite the set, including a reprise of 'This Must Be Love', some trippy guitars and more singing out of the guitar than the expected strum of the acoustic.
Willy Mason was a must listen. Think Colin Hay meets Bob Sumner of the Sumner Brothers! He started off solo for a song showing off his vocals, before being joined his pedal steel player, who was often switching to fiddle! If you didn't know about Willy Mason's album Carry On before the show, it's a great listen completely through!
Roadkill Ghost Choir and Prowler were completely as billed, but it was Rubblebucket that was beyond expectations. I had experienced them once before on a Paste Sessions DVD, but wow live was incredible. First their live sound is just intense. If you've ever experienced Ska or any horn heavy horn band, you know the live shows are well beyond their albums. Likewise, it's horns galore for Rubblebucket! Taking things further, there was just a palpable zest that Kalmia Traver brought to the stage. A survivor, a champion, she showed a take no flak attitude on the stage. She announced she was defeating the ovarian cancer she had been treating for a few months now! Based on the strength she showed on stage, she might as well have admitted she was getting over the sniffles as she showed no weakness as she and the rest of Rubblebucket left nothing to spare.
Apparently they felt they might have left a little, so for the encore, they roamed the 2nd floor of Johnny Brenda's before falling to a sax emitting heap on the floor in front of the bar! Yes, that's musicians writhing on the bar room floor while horns jammed away! That's Rubblebucket #FTW!
Looking ahead to November 7th!
After experiencing Communion Philadelphia October, I'm more than excited for November. Locally, Low Cut Connie will fill the space from Rubblebucket, as far as bringing a full-tilt of in your face rock n roll! Those guys don't leave anything to the imagination or left behind, giving the crowd 110%
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| L-R = Nate Eiesland, Alissa Ricci, and Ryne Estwing Photo by Kyle La Mere |
On the Communion tour, I'm most excited to see On An On the Chicago and Minneapolis based trio (Nate Eiesland, Alissa Ricci, and Ryne Estwing)! 'Ghosts', their single, has been in a heavy rotation this year getting the single in the CMJ mixtape in January!
It's another diverse mix of bands, so be ready to see a full spectrum of sound!
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