Flanfire

Oh, the possibilities! Beerland may seem like an odd place for artrock experimentation, and yet it seems that just about everywhere in Austin venues are opening their doors to the creative, perhaps in hopes that some new art form will break forth and make them famous. But then again, a venue that runs from Fivehead to Dana Falconberry is certainly just right for MothFight -- an eclectic adventure nominally orchestrated by Hays High alumnus Kevin Adickes that featured the impresario on acoustic guitar and vocals on songs like "Hopscotch Part 2, Hopscotch Part 1, a remembrance of a tornado that hit Murfreesboro, Illinois, and more.

MothFight one this night was also a dress-up occasion for some cast members and one that also featured three visitors who apparently stepped right out of fairytaleland into their cardboard-like images (mortals may not be able to handle their real shapes?). Instrumentation (which included as usual? some recorded noise run through an add-on sound system) consisted of a viola, cello, two trumpets, a banjo, an autoharp, a keyboard, I believe a xylophone and even a small hand accordian plus bells and I probably missed something. Without being too nosy (or knowledgeable yet), my guess is that no two shows will ever be anywhere near the same for this art-theater-music mind-bending visionary excursion that truly seeks a larger stage (and one in which all is set up well in advance and sound-tested -- no distractions needed).

The evening began with a solo performance by Alex Dupree (he of the Trapdoor Band) that brought back memories of Tim Buckley, who likewise used his voice as an instrument [biographer Jerry Hopkins described Tim as having "a haunted, and haunting, voice, a countertenor that rises and slides," and it was shocking to hear those same qualities at Beerland. Big difference, though -- where Buckley's songs were "like poems, dreams, stories, hallucinations," Dupree's are like poems, dreams, stories, and hope-seeking visions that often describe desolate places and desperate people seeking meaning in this strange world. His set opened with "Denver City," a town in west Texas that is home to a friend's grandparents (he explained), that includes the line, "Here in Denver City you're lucky to be singing at all." By the end of his set, he was making up lyrics on the fly. He coulda gone on all night and no one would have been disappointed.

Later, Seth Woods and the Sad Accordians mesmerized the audience with eight songs, including "Bottomless" and a couple of others from their DC, "A Bad Day for the Sharons." Seth, like a postmodern Chuck Girard, often leads worship when Mosaic gathers, and even on this night when I tuned out the lyrics (batteries already overcharged -- see above), the pulsating music brought an inner peace and quietness to a tired body. Band members Ben Lance on lead guitar (and vocals), Nathaniel Gallagher on drums and Joy Gallagher on Moog and such, Peter Kusek on lap steel, and Lee Kitchens on bass join in to create a rich dessert that satisfies without filling.

Closing out the evening was left-handed guitar player Sean Padilla, who performs under the moniker Cocker Spaniels (the name comes from his female cousins who once told him that all men were dogs). I could only stay for a couple of songs, but it was well worth it. The humor (as well as the pathos) of his first number, "The Only Black Guy at the Indie Rock Show," was enhanced by the fact that Sean was playing pal Alex Dupree's guitar -- presumably upside down and backwards Jimi Hendrix style:

"At every single show, I am the only one who looks like me; the only sign of melanin in one big sea of ivory. My FUBU shirts and Tommy jeans…their bowling shirts and dirty Vans…I look just like a thug amongst the dressed-down Pavement fans. It shouldn't even matter that I'm the only black guy at the indie-rock show. I stand in a crowd and still feel alone."

Less tired bloggers would be screaming in joyful pain at his "Telemarketing Song," and so another visit with THIS creative genius is also much in order.

Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.