The 40th Anniversary Innervisions #Revisited show "was initially inspired by a Facebook comment made by Robert Drake, on-air host and producer for WXPN, in which he said, “The #XPNfest has just started and I already have a new favorite band!! Philly's own Aaron & The Spell... it's like listening to vintage 1970s Stevie Wonder.” After reading that comment, it struck lead singer and songwriter Aaron Brown that it would be great fun to actually cover a Stevie Wonder record. After looking into it further, Aaron realized that it was the 40th anniversary for one of his favorite albums, Innervisions, and the rest was easy after that. He enlisted some great friends to help play and promote the shows."
The idea for the show was well conceived on so many levels. It is a perfect reason to get familiar with a classic album, another reason to go see Aaron & The Spell, and all the proceeds of the event went to charity! The show in Philadelphia took place at World Café Live (upstairs) on
Wednesday, November 20, 2013, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting Pathways to Housing PA!
If you caught the show, you got to see Aaron Brown and his songs in their natural habitat, surrounded by great fans and his favorite players making up "The Spell."
The show started with some songs from the Aaron & The Spell 2012 release Sing as a warm-up! 'By My Side', 'Don't Cry' and 'Maria Full of Grace' gave the crowd a taste of what to expect before switching to Stevie Wonder. However, it was pretty clear this was a room full of Aaron & The Spell fans and limited warm-up was necessary.
'Don't Cry' was a soulful rendition, highlighted by Aaron's vocals, bass by Brian Schuman, and guitar by Adam Zielinski and a second layer of backing vocals and sax! 'Maria Full of Grace' was an unexpected favorite, with the great keyboard and the combo drums by Mike Pietrusko and percussion from Wesley Rast. Once you added in the backing vocals, you could just anticipate the sax hit with a symphonious bliss!
The main event, the re-telling of Innervisions was next, starting of course with 'Too High'. The crowd erupted once the band started the seminal bass line on the keys by Jeremy Grenhart and the backing "da do doos" by Imani Roach & Allison Polans! Clearly the crowd was warmed up & ready to experience Innervisions revisited! The only thing missing was Stevie's harmonica playing, but the sax work by Maxfield Gast did an ample job in its place.
'Visions' works great on the album, but to slow down so early into the show is tough. However Aaron Brown did a great job with the vocals, not letting the band lose any momentum. 'Living In the City', a hit on the charts, was a hit with the crowd. Stevie is still unmatched, but Aaron & the Spell excelled in their version complete with sirens and theatrics. Three songs in to the album, two things were certain; it must be a thrill to complete a show like this, but the band has some serious chops to pull it off.
The first half of the album was complete with 'Golden Lady'. There were some slight twists on the ladies backing vocals and a great keyboard solo. By this point in the set, it was clear that Stevie Wonder wasn't a fan of brevity!
The second half of the album led off with the ever-so funky 'Higher Ground'. The timeless song would still be a hit today, which the Red Hot Chili Peppers showed back in '89! Aaron and the Spell made some magic with their rendition of the tune. The funk continued on 'Jesus Children of America', but it was the soulful 'All In Love is Fair', that was the performance of the night with Aaron Brown's emotional and heartfelt vocals!
The last two tracks of Innervisions were quite fun. A very special Stevie scat started off "Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing" showing off another great set of vocals by Imani Roach, Allison Polans, and Aaron. By the last track, 'He's Mistra Know-It-All' all the lines between original and revisit were blurred. Aaron & The Spell were so natural with Innervisions it was hard to tell whose album it really was. The band did a great job re-telling the story as close as possible to the original, without being Stevie Wonder himself.
To reward the crowd for the high energy night, Aaron & The Spell played two more, the unreleased 'Believe In You' and finale 'Greatest Day'. The set ending was perfect with a tease of new works and great examples of the energy and raw passion of their songs.
The show was incredible, but Aaron was humble enough to remind everyone in the crowd why they were all there. The two day only show was a benefit. All proceeds at the Philadelphia show when to PathwaysToHousingPA.org while part of the NY show's proceeds went to PathwaysToHousingNY.org.
To find out more of what Pathways To Housing is all about, check out this video:
Aaron & The Spell - World Cafe Live (Upstairs) - Philadelphia
Set list 11-20-2013
Track RELEASE
If you caught the show, you got to see Aaron Brown and his songs in their natural habitat, surrounded by great fans and his favorite players making up "The Spell."
The show started with some songs from the Aaron & The Spell 2012 release Sing as a warm-up! 'By My Side', 'Don't Cry' and 'Maria Full of Grace' gave the crowd a taste of what to expect before switching to Stevie Wonder. However, it was pretty clear this was a room full of Aaron & The Spell fans and limited warm-up was necessary.
'Don't Cry' was a soulful rendition, highlighted by Aaron's vocals, bass by Brian Schuman, and guitar by Adam Zielinski and a second layer of backing vocals and sax! 'Maria Full of Grace' was an unexpected favorite, with the great keyboard and the combo drums by Mike Pietrusko and percussion from Wesley Rast. Once you added in the backing vocals, you could just anticipate the sax hit with a symphonious bliss!
'Visions' works great on the album, but to slow down so early into the show is tough. However Aaron Brown did a great job with the vocals, not letting the band lose any momentum. 'Living In the City', a hit on the charts, was a hit with the crowd. Stevie is still unmatched, but Aaron & the Spell excelled in their version complete with sirens and theatrics. Three songs in to the album, two things were certain; it must be a thrill to complete a show like this, but the band has some serious chops to pull it off.
The first half of the album was complete with 'Golden Lady'. There were some slight twists on the ladies backing vocals and a great keyboard solo. By this point in the set, it was clear that Stevie Wonder wasn't a fan of brevity!The second half of the album led off with the ever-so funky 'Higher Ground'. The timeless song would still be a hit today, which the Red Hot Chili Peppers showed back in '89! Aaron and the Spell made some magic with their rendition of the tune. The funk continued on 'Jesus Children of America', but it was the soulful 'All In Love is Fair', that was the performance of the night with Aaron Brown's emotional and heartfelt vocals!
The last two tracks of Innervisions were quite fun. A very special Stevie scat started off "Don't Worry 'Bout A Thing" showing off another great set of vocals by Imani Roach, Allison Polans, and Aaron. By the last track, 'He's Mistra Know-It-All' all the lines between original and revisit were blurred. Aaron & The Spell were so natural with Innervisions it was hard to tell whose album it really was. The band did a great job re-telling the story as close as possible to the original, without being Stevie Wonder himself.
To reward the crowd for the high energy night, Aaron & The Spell played two more, the unreleased 'Believe In You' and finale 'Greatest Day'. The set ending was perfect with a tease of new works and great examples of the energy and raw passion of their songs.
The show was incredible, but Aaron was humble enough to remind everyone in the crowd why they were all there. The two day only show was a benefit. All proceeds at the Philadelphia show when to PathwaysToHousingPA.org while part of the NY show's proceeds went to PathwaysToHousingNY.org.
To find out more of what Pathways To Housing is all about, check out this video:
Aaron & The Spell - World Cafe Live (Upstairs) - Philadelphia
Set list 11-20-2013
Track RELEASE
1. 'By My Side' Sing
2. 'Don't Cry' Sing
3. 'Maria, Full of Grace' Sing
4. 'Too High' Innervisions
5. 'Visions' Innervisions
6. 'Living In The City' Innervisions
7. 'Golden Lady' Innervisions
8. 'Higher Ground' Innervisions
9. 'Jesus Children of America' Innervisions
10. 'All In Love is Fair' Innervisions
11. 'Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing' Innervisions
12. 'He's Mistra Know It All' Innervisions
13. 'Believe In You' Unreleased Original
14. 'Greatest Day' Sing
11. 'Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing' Innervisions
12. 'He's Mistra Know It All' Innervisions
13. 'Believe In You' Unreleased Original
14. 'Greatest Day' Sing
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