Concert review - Maybe August



Hi Folks,

I had the great fortune to see Maybe August at a local club in Lansing,
Michigan last night. This band features Harp-L's own Roscoe on harp and
vocals. This is a great five piece band. They feature bass, drums,
guitar(s), and of course, harp. They do mostly original material and
feature some outstanding three part harmony vocals. Their songs are rock
with some very cool technical elements and interesting changes. Roscoe
and the lead guitar player do some outstanding lines and runs in unison
or sometimes harmony. I'm talking about super fast jazzy runs featuring
overblows that only a handful of guys are capable of doing. They also
did some very cool covers of tunes by Dave Matthews, Bare Naked Ladies,
and one of my favorites, "Southern Cross" by CSN. During "What Would You
Say", Roscoe brought the house down with an extended solo. He walked
around the bar with his wireless unit while playing and played some
amazing stuff with speed like Popper, but with more of a jazzy feel -
really playing over the changes.

The band just seemed to be having a great time, despite the fact that
some of the members had a very hard time getting to the gig due to some
horrid road conditions. The good vibes coming from the stage were
infections and soon the whole place was rockin' with lots of people on
the dance floor. The crowd was even dancing to lots of the original
tunes, which is a testament to how good the tunes are. The band was also
very friendly and even let me sit-in with them. I had a great time
playing with them, even though my harp skills were no match for Roscoe's
. On the 2nd tune I played (which was in the third set and after I'd had
perhaps one to many Sam Adams), we got to trading fours, I'd play a four
bar phrase and then Roscoe would copy it. A couple of times, I played a
fast (for me) run, and hit a couple of clinkers on the way. Roscoe then
played the lick the way I meant to play it - without the clinkers. :-o

They are in the process of recording an album right now, and I can't
wait until it comes out. In the mean time, you can check out some demo
stuff on their website. http://www.maybeaugust.com

I've said this before and I'll say it again. Roscoe deserves more
recognition. I'm not aware of anyone else who is doing the kind of stuff
he's doing - playing rock harp with speed like Popper, but using
overblows to provide the chromaticity to make his lines much more
musical. If Maybe August comes to your neck of the woods, be sure to go
see them. You'll be glad you did.

- --
Alec Drachman
http://www.bluecats.org





This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.