Southside at Hugh's Room
03/02/12 15:49 Filed in: Review
It’s a mark of a pro to push himself to finish even when things aren’t going the way he’d like. Seemed like this was the case January 31 when Southside Johnny and the Poor Fools played Hugh’s Room. Thought from the get go this was a bit of an odd venue for a band with this kind of rock n’ roll pedigree. Hugh’s, after all, is a nice club but tends to be a folk and roots place and expects patrons to sit down for supper.
Don’t know if it was the venue but problems were apparent from the start, when Southside Johnny clearly wasn’t able to get what he wanted from the sound tech. Although the sound was generally good for the audience - aside from the odd squawk of feedback - there was something about the monitor feed the band was getting that didn’t sit well with the bandleader. We happened to be right next to the stage and could overhear him say, repeatedly, “I just can’t do this.” The band members seemed to take it in stride though, and kind of ignored it and went on with the show. And in fairness, so did Johnny.
Great group of musicians with Tommy Byrnes on guitar, Jeff Kazee on piano and accordion, John Conte on bass, and Neil Pawley on guitars, banjitar, mandolin, drums and trombone. (Yep, trombone.) Sometime during the evening everyone in the band took a shot at playing drums, they all sing and they’re all excellent players. Guitarist in particular deserves kudos because he played the heck out of his instrument while apparently also feeling pretty awful. Southside’s harp playing is terrific and he has a great voice that’s truly been seasoned by years in the bars and on the road.
Interesting, eclectic mix of songs and although not everything worked and it wasn’t as polished as expected it was still a really fun evening of music. (The lack of polish may be by design. My impression when I first read they were touring in this configuration was that they wanted to keep things pretty loose.) Anyway, this is a group of guys who know their way around the stage, who honour their commitment no matter how poorly they’re feeling, and who soldier on even if what they’re hearing on the stage doesn’t jibe with their expectations.
Don’t know if it was the venue but problems were apparent from the start, when Southside Johnny clearly wasn’t able to get what he wanted from the sound tech. Although the sound was generally good for the audience - aside from the odd squawk of feedback - there was something about the monitor feed the band was getting that didn’t sit well with the bandleader. We happened to be right next to the stage and could overhear him say, repeatedly, “I just can’t do this.” The band members seemed to take it in stride though, and kind of ignored it and went on with the show. And in fairness, so did Johnny.
Great group of musicians with Tommy Byrnes on guitar, Jeff Kazee on piano and accordion, John Conte on bass, and Neil Pawley on guitars, banjitar, mandolin, drums and trombone. (Yep, trombone.) Sometime during the evening everyone in the band took a shot at playing drums, they all sing and they’re all excellent players. Guitarist in particular deserves kudos because he played the heck out of his instrument while apparently also feeling pretty awful. Southside’s harp playing is terrific and he has a great voice that’s truly been seasoned by years in the bars and on the road.
Interesting, eclectic mix of songs and although not everything worked and it wasn’t as polished as expected it was still a really fun evening of music. (The lack of polish may be by design. My impression when I first read they were touring in this configuration was that they wanted to keep things pretty loose.) Anyway, this is a group of guys who know their way around the stage, who honour their commitment no matter how poorly they’re feeling, and who soldier on even if what they’re hearing on the stage doesn’t jibe with their expectations.