World-class Songwriters at Blue Bar

Normally, I would present newsworthy events to you in their order of appearance; however, recent hoopla at Blue Bar bids me out with pertinent information.  Friends, I bring to you tidings of great delight!  I also bring some other sentiment, but I’ll try and mix it up a little.

Monte Carlo, a trio of quiet-faced and unassuming young men just brimming with the spirit of rock and roll, has been added to my list of bands to love and cherish.  Imagine, if you will, an entirely pallid bunch composed of one singer/guitarist from rural southern Louisiana, a drummer from Mississippi, and a bassist from the Memphis city limits.  Put’em together and what do you get?  The answer is as close to the visceral charisma and jovial irony of American negritude en musique as exists within those otherwise lacking negritude.  In fact, I am loath to say that I was impressed and elated by their performance, as that would be an obscene understatement.  Sorry to say, I would not encourage you to seek out their sound clips online, as I have heard no recordings that do justice to their live aural affect.  

Now, the two [almost perfect] sets that preceded Monte Carlo gave me a bit o’ pause.  Both sets showcased good music and thoughtful lyrics.  But, they also demonstrated some less-than-attractive musical sensibilities that I feel are unfortunately commonplace in our popular music today: excessive and ill-conceived improvisatory embellishment and imprudent and ineffectual vocal misuse.

Josh Flint is a whirlwind of a one-man show—a gifted composer, possessed of an able voice and replete with skill in on the guitar and keyboard.  I only question his ability to effectively ascertain the limits beyond which his ad-libbing and dynamics become unsavory.    

J.D. Riggins and Notorious is not only the tallest band I’ve ever seen, but J.D. Riggins must have one of the most endearingly sweet and well-placed voices in rock today.  Regrettably, he doesn’t seem so taken with its timbre, which so lends itself to the captivating and expertly orchestrated songs he writes.  I declare that, when Mr. Riggins accepts the fact that his voice was meant to caress and croon rather than grate and growl, all shall be added unto him.