I got an email from Roger a couple of weeks ago telling me he was playing a return engagement at the Michael Braceland Art Gallery in Patchogue on Saturday, January 11. I enjoyed myself so much the last time that I immediately put it on my calendar. (As it turns out, this seems to be the best way to reach me. In spite of my best intentions, I wind up going to way more local music shows when either the artist or the venue has sent me an email, as opposed to me seeking out what's going on and when.)
The only fly in my ointment was I was supposed to do the Huntington run with my daughter twice on Saturday -- once to drop her off in the morning, and a second time to pick her up at the end of her shift, as her boyfriend (who usually does the pickup) was going to be out of town that day with his Dad. This meant that 1. I wasn't sure what time she was getting off and if it would interfere with the start of the show, and 2. Would I still feel like going out after doing the damned Huntington round-trip twice in a day?
Consequently, I didn't contact anyone to go with me until the last minute. By the time I did, I discovered that both Todd Evans and Rich Da Drumma had previous commitments for Saturday. Todd did invite me out for Friday night to see Tom Cavanagh and Dee Harris at Bartini's. I haven't seen Tom (or Dee, for that matter) for years, and I'd love to catch up with them. But Denise was already going out on Friday night, and I had a couple of commitments at home. (This included feeding the kids, and cat-sitting. My daughter and son recently conned me into letting them bring another cat into the house. I was going to say no, but then they started talking about how they were still so sad and really missed Noodles, our recently deceased kitty, that I totally caved. So now, somebody has to be around all the time to monitor the war zone, as our two other cats continue to be wary of the new guy -- who's very lovable, but is a bit of a feline asshole -- and try to decide whether to accept him or kill him.)
Anyway, Denise was kind enough to step in and offer to do the Huntington pick-up Saturday night, which freed me up to go see Roger.
I had a pretty quiet day after the Huntington run in the morning. I proofread a home study for my job for most of the afternoon, and also really delved into the new Who album (which is a little hit-and-miss, but overall, sounds way better than a couple of seventy-plus year olds have any right to sound. (I'm particularly liking "Break the News" and "All This Music Must Fade", for those who like to play along at home.) Not a terrible way to spend the day.
I headed out at about 7:15 for a 7:30 show. (Why go all the way to the Patchogue Theater when I can get to the Braceland Gallery for a show in half the time, heh heh.)
As I entered, Roger was still setting up. As opposed to the last time I saw him, when he played with the full Roger Silverberg Trio, this time he and percussionist Steve Cafarelli were playing as a duo.
I checked out the gallery and chatted a little with its owner, Michael Braceland-Smith as Roger and Steve finished setting up. The performing area is small (even smaller than the one at the Pisces Cafe used to be), but it's stylish and comfortable (and there are no tables, as this is a byob kind of place). As you would expect, the walls are filled with the art works of both Michael himself and those of various guest artists. In the center of the wall behind the performing area was a beautiful wood piece that I really liked. For tonight's show, the back wall was full of art done by local musician Alan Semerdijian, who I didn't even know was a painter.
I'm going to keep the write-up of the actual show shorter than usual, for a couple of reasons, which are: 1. I just wrote about it when Roger performed at this venue back in August, and 2. Not only did I not bring a pen or a notepad with me, but I also inadvertently left my cell phone home. (When a venue is dark during a performance, I often use my old flip phone to take brief notes and text them to myself). This second thing turned out to be kind of a blessing. Sometimes I get so preoccupied with taking notes for a write-up that it takes me out of the show a little. Tonight, I was really able to just sit back and float along with the music.
This was a very different concert than Roger's last gig at this venue in terms of the material presented. He made a conscious decision to play a lot of stuff that he hadn't played the last time, and as someone who was at both shows, I really appreciated this. It would have been OK if he'd performed mostly the same stuff -- honestly, I left the house tonight expecting that he would. But the fact that he changed it up a lot really enhanced things from my point of view.
Roger and Steve divided the night into two sets. The first set mostly consisted of more upbeat material (and Roger performed most of his songs on guitar), while the second comprised mostly slower (and sadder) stuff, split about evenly between guitar and keyboard.
The two did a pair some nice covers last night, including Al Stewart's "Year of the Cat", and a particularly tasteful rendition of Donovan's "Wear Your Love Like Heaven". (They also closed out the evening with a third cover, which I have to admit I didn't recognize). Other nice choices included a song Roger had written in 1984 about the changes in New York, which subsequently became his de facto 9/11 song; "Another Man's Name", which was my favorite track off of his most recent The Old Dog album; "I Wait for April" (his opening number of the night), which was my favorite song off of his 2005 Sketches & Footprints EP; "Bird", the song he cites as his brother's favorite Roger Silverberg track; and "The Sound of Rain", one of his most beautiful numbers, and the song that probably garnered the most praise of the evening at his last Braceland Gallery performance. Steve also performed a very good song of his own, "Another Heartbreak Coming Down".
Overall, it was a laid back and very enjoyable night of music. The setting was perfect, the company was pleasant and the music was chill. As I listened, I was impressed once again by Roger's songwriting, as the thought presented itself to me: "Roger chooses really nice chords". If I was a musician, I could probably tell you about this in greater detail. But as a fan who is sadly a bit of a musical idiot in regard to song structure -- I know what I like, but I can't always describe why -- that's about the best I can do.
Anyway, the show ended at around 10PM, and after a quick stop at Mickey D's down the block for a pair of Egg McMuffins, I was home and in my recliner by 10:30. Not a bad night at all!
Roger's website is located at http://www.rogersilverberg.com/. The Facebook page for the Braceland gallery (which has a listing of upcoming events) is at https://www.facebook.com/MichaelBracelandArtGallery/.
