Flanfire

Must be so -- where else do you drop into the Dirty Dog on a Sunday evening and get treated to an amazing set from Feeding 5000 (their stripped down acoustic trio version) on top of four or five other excellent singer-songwriters, stop by Artz Rib House on Monday to relax with Sarah Elizabeth Campbell and the Banned and get treated to a stunning set from the captivating Stefanie Fix -- and then go over to the Scoot Inn for your birthday surprise from Jennifer Leonhardt (well, it FELT like my birthday - and for dessert we hiked over to TC's for a little bit of The Little Elmore Reed Blues Band -- and then back to the Scoot on Tuesday, where Chris Brecht and Gary Newcomb were the guest performers in what increasingly feels like the big living room of the house that Aimee (Bobruk) and Hilary (York) built with their own bare hands.

I could write a lot about Chris Brecht and the Broken 45's, whose new record is nearly completion. This evening the band had a camera crew in for a photo shoot, and Chris brought a lamp from home and who knows what all else to further enhance that living room feel. He also brought his great songs and great players (notably Ray Jackson on pedal steel and Matt Mollica on Hammond B3) -- and his new-found beard. Newcomb's own pedal steel playing was magnificent, and his Trio (Brandon Gonzales on bass, Outlaw Billy Doughty on drums -- he also played with Brecht this evening) played both covers and originals with a zest that kept the huge crowd (a house packed with songwriters and pickers) well within their comfort zone. The fourth Breather - Claire Hamilton - was in the house as well -- along with such folks as Ricky Stein, Tucker Livingston, Sarah Stollack, and Matt Maye. Hilary York is always a joy to hear -- that sultry, sexy svelte supernova.

But I cannot help but devote my space here to Aimee Bobruk -- partly because I have watched her work so hard to build her talent for bigger stages and yet recognize that sometimes she still wonders what she is doing in front of so many people (and her crowds will get much bigger!) and remembers that she is not alone. Her long-awaited CD, "The Safety Match Journal" (with cover art from Shuan Tan) is now available at Waterloo Records -- and she is having a CD release party (with the great players who lent their talent to what I am already recognizing is a CD every bit as special as (and very reminiscent of) the Cowboy Junkies' Trinity Sessions (and yes Kim Deschamps played on both). But I promised Aimee not to publish my "review" until mid-February -- and yet just giving a little tidbit is not a review. So today's tidbit is that the artwork on the insert that also contains the lyrics and player lists is worth the price of the CD all by itself.

But then my wonderful Jennifer Leonhardt also has created some amazing music, some of which she showcased on Monday evening at the Scoot -- and someday soon I will write, but that evening I was just taken aback by her wonderful spirit and wrote nothing down at all. [Well, I was sitting with Joanna Barbera, Ann Sauder, and Tara Craig -- all friends of Jennifer -- but it was the first time I had heard nearly all of these songs and I just wanted to breathe deeply and get the FEEL rather than ANALYZE what she was saying. I was expecting maybe the high-energy Jennifer, but all of the songs were quiet but hardly mellow. Jhon Bellizia on bass, Victoria Hammill on electric violin, and Adam Temple on guitar helped create the mood -- but I was in the mood from the moment of that first two-minute hug. TC's was an extra treat -- with Jimi Lee and Eve Monsees and an amazing female harmonica player sitting in with regulars Willie Pipkin, Dale Spalding, Mark Hays and J. P. Whitefield (Mike Keller was on the road) -- and the cherry on top was Sasha Zoe blowing the house down with "Mojo Working" to close out the night.

On Sunday, I stopped by Jovita's early to catch half of Joker's set and all of Blues Mafia's -- got to hear yet another new song from this great young band (which shares its rhythm section with Joker). Then it was on to the Dirty Dog, where I had promised Jennifer to catch a set from Tara Craig (who had moved to Austin a while back but has just started playing out). Tara shared the stage with my new friend Matt Maye, and they were followed in turn by host Sideshow Rob (Cooperman) and Dertybird's Clayton Colvin (who hails from Muscle Shoals and clearly escaped with all of that city's famed musical heritage grafted into his soul). Rob and Monte have created a comfortable scene for musicians at this cavernous Sixth Street joint (with massive help from the Dog's Ben Davis and his great sound system).

But not every night do the boys have the likes of Feeding 5000 -- the five-piece alt rock band that has been making waves all over the place. But this was the Feeding 5000 acoustic trio - vocalist Kelly Scott Taylor, guitarist Michael Gonzalez, and drummer Alex Geismar on djimbe. Keyboardist Aaron Brown was present, but I missed bassist Jeremy Rocha. The trio is about to head off to San Diego to embark upon a major radio station tour to promote the full band's new CD, "The Books We Read," which is getting rave reviews from all over --and why not!

I am already thinking Austin's U2 not for their sound but for the content of their songs. "Amnesty" in fact sounds more like Kansas. These songs are like conversations set to music -- and yet the poetry works. Almost too well for the comfort zone (which if of course the intent -- to get us OUT of our comfort zones and into the fray). And "Amnesty" hits us in the breadbasket with these and other lines: "Remnants set in virtue burn within the haze; Far from righteousness iniquity remains."

Maybe my favorite here is "Sing Out Loud" -- "Listen as the strong at heart sing out loud. May all the damned and all the lost be found." This is a call to those with songs in their hearts to "follow the sound" and to be wary of "Ol' Scratch." This music is all about power vocals -- that is, about being strong and singing out loud. Some words that wake us up -- "I promise to put on a better face" (Falling Further); "Fruitless face in the window, Vacant and hollowed, Eyes begging for mercy, Invaded and thirsting for balance from the tilt" (Last Wish); "Have we drained our discern? Conforming to structure. Ungrounded we suffer. Abating transmission. Will nobody listen in?" (Reach Out). "Fly" really does remind me of U2 - "To the sky, fly, elevate, lift your body from the ground." And "Carry On" brings the promise that, "If ever you fall I'll lift you from the ground. If ever you doubt, let me turn your faith around. Whatever it takes, we'll carry on." Good music -- provocative concepts expressed well. And, oh yeah, the music rocks, too.

One more thing -- what with Aimee having her CD release at the Cactus on March 4th and Hilary being so in demand so many places, there are rumors that their "Chicks with Picks" showcase will end its run at the Scoot Inn at the end of February. My friends -- this is the most fun one can have anywhere in Austin (okay Rich and Landry -- your Wednesdays at the Hole are fun, too, but this is almost like a private party to which everyone is invited if they only knew just how cool it would be to come). So my charge to you is to write your friends at the Scoot Inn's management -- http://www.myspace.com/redscootinn -- and let them know you want them to BEG Hilary and Aimee to stick around a few more months ... and keep the scene alive. [Maybe they have friends who can host once in a while so they can get more breaks -- but those who have been there know just how comfortable the Scoot on Tuesdays has become as a songwriter's gathering place -- where else would we all go?

Flanfire -- Bringing LIFE to Austin music.