Friday, July 8, 2011

The Irish Rover in Sarasota

Goodbye to the warm and welcoming Irish Rover in Sarasota FL. Here's hoping Paul Duffy and his merry musical mates find a fitting venue before next St. Paddy's Day!





The Sarasota live music scene will be too quiet without The Irish Rover as a venue for diverse and wonderful bands.

Hymn for Her in Carbondale CO

Shortly after arriving in the Aspen CO area, we were surprised and excited to learn that Hymn for Her, a unique duet/band we'd enjoyed several times at the Phillippi Farmhouse Market in Sarasota FL was scheduled to play at Steve's Guitars in Carbondale CO.

Lucy Tight & Wayne Waxing are “Hymn For Her”, a band that hails from anywhere they can park their trailer. H4H live, tour and record in their 16 foot, 1961 Bambi Airstream (comes with dog and baby). Their new release, ‘Lucy & Wayne and THE AMAIRICAN STREAM’ was entirely recorded in their classic trailer on a coast to coast U.S tour.

This couple's sound is so unusual, I spent most of the concert at Steve's Guitars thinking about how to describe it. For starters, Lucy plays a gut-churning slide "guitar" which is made from a cigar box, toilet plunger pole, and three strings (one bass and two guitar strings, to be exact).

Wayne sits in front of a one-man-band setup consisting of guitar, harmonica, bass drum and cymbals.

And what a LARGE sound comes out of their instrumental and vocal harmonies. Their playing is loud and very very tight, and it's a blast watching them feed each other's crazy energy and seamless musical wizardry.

To add to the ambiance, Lucy works a foot pedal to periodically change slides on a screen set up behind them. The photos are from slides found in Wayne's father's attic and depict people and scenes from the 1970s.

But enough 'splaining. Here's a video to give you a bit of Hymn for Her's rootsy, Appalachian, folk rock bluesy, zydecoian jambalaya. . . Ya gotta see them in person. You'll be smitten and boggled, for sure.



Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Instigators last gig at Irish Rover!!



Sad news for all Sarasota live music lovers and Irish pub-goers: The Irish Rover is planning to close! This popular Gulf Gate bar-restaurant has featured live music every night of the week for 5 years. It is also site of the most fun and well-attended St Patrick's Day bash in Sarasota.



The very popular and distinctive reggae band, The Instigators, offered their reunion concert at The Irish Rover two years ago and played weekly for a season.


This Thursday, July 7th, will be the final performance of The Instigators at The Irish Rover. Be sure to come out and fill the room to overflowing so the musicians and Paul Duffy, Irish Rover owner, know how much you love 'em!

Show starts at 7:30PM, no cover. Do throw some $ into the popcorn box, though, so the band knows you appreciate their incredible musicianship and good natured fun onstage.