Flanfire

Matt Mollica with Slowtrain; Ricky Stein with Philip Morris; Brett Staggs sings solo.

You just have to live here to get it -- every night in Austin can be a night of GREAT MUSIC and great camaraderie. Take last Saturday at the Hole in the Wall -- a club that came back from the dead a couple of years ago. Local singer-songwriter and sometime bandleader Ricky Stein assembled a sizable collection of friends to make it a nice night for New Yorkers Aaron Berg and Rosy Nolan [natives of South Carolina and California, of course!], whose solo sets demonstrated why they are able to travel around the USA for months at a time living off their tips and bar tab shares. [Aaron writes and even sings a lot like Leonard Cohen; Rosy reminded me of what Kasey Chambers would be like if she had been raised here instead of in the Aussie Outback. Both have their own full bands Back East -- and both are recommended by flanfire -- but this article is about Austin music, and so we continue.]

Brett Staggs (who doubles as Slowtrain's drummer) opened the evening with a rare solo set of his own excellent songs -- these "Arms of Love" are missing you; the wonderful "Electric Heart"; "Kentucky Tap Water" (er, whiskey); "There's Always Drugs," but not really; "You've Got It!"; and "Hangover Blues" -- many of which Brett promises will be on a forthcoming CD collection. After Aaron and Rosy had finished charming the growing crowd, Brett got back on stage with Slowtrain (Adoniram Lipton's songs and piano, Matt Roth on bass, and Andy Keating on lead guitar) and special guest Matt Mollica (one of my favorite Red Sox fans) on Hammond B-3. The band played many of the songs from their own forthcoming CD -- including a couple of songs new to the audience. NOTE -- SLOWTRAIN OPENS ON NOVEMBER 16TH FOR FUTURE CLOUDS AND RADAR AT THE SCOOT INN -- 8 PM!!!!!

It had been a long time since I had seen Ricky Stein with a full band -- this night it was longtime collaborator Philip Morris on bass plus Adoniram and Brett from Slowtrain -- and it only took one song to remember just how much fun this guy is as a bandleader playing rock 'n' roll. Come to think of it, Ricky also had a lead player -- but I was focused elsewhere and forgot who he was. Lots of activity always out on the Hole's back patio -- met up with Nathan Singleton (whose Sideshow Tragedy I really have to get out to see) and lots of other folks as well. Also got a brief report from Daren Appelt on the amazing Lonesome Heroes show at Longhorn Caverns (which he has recorded for posterity and maybe a live Heroes release someday). Dustin Welch and his band closed out the evening -- but I was dead tired and went home.

INTERMISSION --- Sunday evening my lovely wife encouraged me to get on down to Jovita's to catch yet another show from my beloved Sasha and Blues Mafia -- and I am so glad I did. First off, I met up with Kai Roach's brother Phil, who is playing on Friday with my pals Melody Mann out at the Nutty Brown. Second, local guitarist Austin Roach (no kin to Kai and Phil) got up on stage to showcase his fingerspeed on Red House -- he is BTW the lead guitarist for Mesamora (all members are Anderson High grads), which plays alternative reggae rock. I am told that Austin, another Rock Camp USA alumnus, has a rather sizable set of pedals, but on this occasion he was playing Max Frost's guitar, and Max uses only one (brand-new) pedal.

Sasha Ortiz and Chris Copeland of Blues Mafia.

The best reason for showing up, though, was that Blues Mafia unveiled a bunch of new songs -- including Led Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand," the Beatles' "Why Don't We Do It in the Road," Hudson Mueller's song written for Sasha -- "Some Girls" is part of the title and it is about our girl who just loves to rock and roll, and yet another Blues Mafia original, "No One Else." The band opens on November 24th at Jovita's for the South Austin Jug Band -- and I might also mention that Joker (which features the Blues Mafia rhythm section and guitarist J. W. Wright) opens for Zydeco kings Li'l Brian and the Travelers at Jovita's on November 23rd -- what a fine Thanksgiving weekend for one of Austin's finest family friendly music venues.

Now on to Tuesday! Last Wednesday at the Hole I had run into Darwin Smith and Aimee Bobruk, both of whom urged me to get down to the Scoot Inn for the songwriter showcase that Aimee co-hosts with that tall blonde contralto dynamo Hilary York. And why not? Not only could I get to see the co-hosts, but Darin Murphy and his Future Clouds and Radar bandmate Robert Harrison -- I did miss Danny Malone, who will be back next week along with Darwin Smith and his full band (but Aimee will be MIA next Tuesday).

I could write a book about Aimee Bobruk, who has grown so much as an artist and songwriter since I first saw her years ago. I only got to hear two of Hilary's songs but will definitely be back for more -- my immediate thought on hearing her sultry voice was, Marianne Faithful (after her voice dropped the octave and more). One of the highlights of Aimee's set was when her fabulous sister Erin joined her on stage for the anthemic (and Narnia-istic) "For the Lost Airwaves" (from her very soon to be released "The Safety Match Journal"). Darwin Smith accompanied on guitar and backing vocals on all songs except the closer, "So Human," which once again showcases why this absolute soprano is such a heart-warmer on and off the stage.

But I have to write about Darin Murphy the whistler (well, so is Aimee) -- and longtime partner with sis Trish from their early days in Houston. Darin has the soul of the Beatles (and indeed he is a virtual Beatles historian) but the voice of a Beach Boy -- built for harmony and lots of high up woo woos. Which is to say he has a great pop voice -- but his songs are complex stories with lots of words and ideas. "Boneyard" tells of the now-defunct Astroworld, and then there's "Gina Gardenia," "Boxing Day" and so many more. Indeed he and Trish and their great band "Skyrocket" (formerly KTEL Hit Machine) will be back at Cedar Street this Sunday -- but more to the point, he and Robert (no kin to George) Harrison and FUTURE CLOUDS AND RADAR will be at the Scoot itself on November 15th.

Which brings us to Robert Harrison -- longtime co-leader of Cotton Mather and genius behind Future Clouds and Radar, which early this year released a debut self-titled double CD that upon playing takes the listener right back to the days of Sixties euphoria. Though he did join Robert to sing harmonies on several songs, Darin confirmed that this 15-song set marked the first time he had ever seen Harrison perform all by himself on stage -- and what a debut it was.

Robert swung back and forth between the new songs he is showcasing with Future Clouds and Radar and older songs from the Cotton Mather days -- and on occasion, he also showed off some special effects on guitar that brought big smiles to the sizable audience. The set list included --"Drugstore Bust," "Palm Sunday," "40-Watt Solution," "Last of the Mohicans," "Girl, You Spin My Wheels," "Altitude," "and "Green Mountain Clover" -- well, I may have some song titles wrong, but RH fans will know they missed a magnificent experience BUT can have great hopes of getting another chance very very soon. Just let him (and Aimee and Hilary) know. The Thursday show will be sans Kullen Fuchs, who is playing with Ian Moore that night -- but Robert and Darin promise a great show.

One final note -- Erin Bobruk will reprise her recent Central Market show with MUNDI at St. Michaels Episcopal Church on FM 360 on top of the hill at 3 pm on Sunday -- tickets are $10, I am told.

Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.