[Harp-L] Hazmat Modine performance at Terrablues, NYC, July 15 2006



I attended the Hazmat Modine show at Terrablues in NYC on July 15, 2006. This is a brief report on that performance. I'll bottom-line it here: it was a great show, lots of fun, and a bit surprising.

The sound of the band was both great and surprising. The band's instrumentation is certainly unusual by modern standards; bass chores, for example, were handled by a sousaphone, a close relative to the tuba. You have not heard reggae -- one of the styles played by the band that night -- until you hear it with a sousaphone playing the bass parts and two harmonicas plus saxophone in the horn section. The overall sound was powerful and punchy without being overwhelmed by electric bass and drums, as most modern bands tend to be over club PA systems.

Wade Schuman's lead harmonica tended to come in two flavors: acoustic (i.e. played through an open vocal mic into the PA, often for a solo harmonica piece) and amped, i.e. played through a handheld Electrovoice RE-10 (RE-15?) mic, into an Electroharmonix POG (Programmable Octave Generator), into a vintage Fender Bassman amp. I like to hear lead harp loud, and this setup was extremely powerful, rich, and deep. I would have liked to hear chromatic harmonica player Randy Weinstein coming through the PA a bit louder than I did -- as it was, the lead harp was much louder than the second harp, and Randy's solos seemed a little weak by comparison. When I did hear him clearly, I liked what I heard. Wade handled most of the vocals, and his singing was powerful and convincing. (Wade mentioned to me that in his opinion no one who doesn't sing well ever connects with a mass audience, with which point I tend to agree, Kenny G notwithstanding.)

The band played two sets that included swing, klezmer-ish stuff, funk, blues, and reggae. Both sets opened with a harmonica solo by Wade, one apparently on a Natural Minor tuned harp. There was a lot of soloing from all hands (except the drummer -- I don't think I heard a single drum solo), and the solos in general were well received by the audience, which was a full house. I noticed a lot of people in the crowd moving to the music, always a good sign.

I sat in on a few numbers, including a funk piece on which Randy played sheng (a chinese free-reed instrument), a swing piece with Honeysuckle Rose changes, and a blues. All great fun, and it was a real blast to be one of three harmonica players on the stage.

I could describe the music in greater detail, but I'll just say here that the band's CD, "Bahumet," accurately represents their unique and harmonica-laden sound. You can hear full-length mp3s and buy the CD at the band's website at www.hazmatmodine.com. The band is on vacation through the summer, so this is the only way to hear them between now and then.

There aren't a lot of bands out there that use harmonica in a new and compelling way. This is one of the few, and harmonica players in particular should make a point of at least checking out the mp3s, which are free for the listening. As with all music that is unique, it's hard to describe accurately in words what it's all about -- as Billy Joel said, "there's a new band in town, but you can't get the sound or the story from a magazine." So I will let the band's recordings do the talking from here on, and close with a recommendation that anyone who has the opportunity to attend a live performance by this band should do so.

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com




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