The end of December means a lot of things to people: exchanging unwanted Christmas gifts, travelling home from family visits, prepping for the new year, and for us, the anniversary of our first gig as Absynthe Makes The Art Garfunkel: A Tribute to the Music of Paul Simon. The band, with it's cyber-home here, has maintained a curiously consistent lineup with Matthew Smith, J.T. Alessi, Jeff Fritz, Adrian Ash, and myself remaining the core band. The percussion position has rotated through several eager souls; this most recent occupant was Featuring Trenton Sicola. We've also added woodwinds to the proceedings with Jason Passmore on saxophones & flute plus Shanti Price on flute, piccolo, & penny whistle. This most recent anniversary was our third year together. The show in our honor was the final Saturday of the year, December 28. With Matthew's help, we arranged 3 sets including a cornerstone performance of Simon & Garfunkel's swansong opus Bridge Over Troubled Water. The first set was built from earlier Simon & Garfunkel favorites we've been covering, while the third was reserved for Paul's solo years with an emphasis on the Graceland album.
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The Opening Act
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The Show Stealer
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Horns and Winds
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The Driving Force
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The Driving Fritz
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Electric Uke
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We had the luxury of setting up as early as we could. For me, it's a lot to bring and almost always a bit difficult to load up and get out of the house. Rain was here and it only increased as the evening came on. I brought in my system and instruments to the enclosed patio area. Soon after, the rest of the group followed suit. We had a lot to do, but it came together well. The show was well paced and actually included an opening act with Matthew & J.T. performing some acoustic S&G as a prelude to the full band. I always strive to have an ebb and flow to a show, if I can inject any input. I love the concept of building up the band one by one, adding members until the stage is teeming with copious poly-rhythms all interwoven into the musical fabric. That's just me. We had it for a spell. I played my NS, and it seemed to fit the sit-down nature of the faceplace setting. Everybody played and sang their hearts out. Some great moments there, including a jaunty take on their feel-good beatnik vibe-induced 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) [it's indeed a tough vibe to cop, as Dave Brubeck's famed rhythm section of Joe Morello and Eugene Wright were on the original session - with those same 4 chords repeating over and over, the challenge becomes keeping it fresh in note choices with a walking lilt and an almost "floating" quality] and our set closer, a particularly powerful Fakin' It, where we really hit every chorus with some real zeal [especially that fake-out one near the end - hey, a fake-out in Fakin' It, did you catch what I just did?].
The 2nd set, consisting of the Bridge Over Troubled Water album, was a lot of fun. We had played most of these tunes before, but learned the deeper cuts to complete the list. I am really grateful for this schooling of Paul's vast body of work. Very few weak points along his storied career. Possibly my favorite of these tunes we learned was an Art vocal feature: So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright. The arrangement is neo-Latin, with some nifty nylon-strung rhythm guitar in a bossa setting. Without the I -V standard bossa bass motif, it feels more European. I chose to attempt it arco, hoping to cover the cello lines and supply some bass of course. My arco playing needs more practice, and my tone was a bit scratchy. I had worked on the tune quite a bit, but first night jitters, a lack of a complete transcription, and my challenged legato bow technique made for a scary ride. Too bad, as that song deserves a more seasoned performance. Hopefully down the road. Baby Driver came off well, classic rock 'n roll in a retro vibe. Shanti and Jason had a nice flute feature on El Condor Pasa, and Jason sounded like a full section on the bluesy Keep the Customer Satisfied. J.T. always nails the angelically Artfull title track, and this time we all built up that soaring crescendo the way we wanted to all of these times. My secret was shedding on that oblique contrapuntal lower register exercise that underscores the final 8 bars. Of course, The Only Living Boy In New York is a great highlight of any performance we've done. I've come close to nailing that Joe Osborne bass performance (which he attests is a composite made from several passes through and one that he had to simplify to perform live - nice little recollection from Joe here). A very imaginative performance, yet this time out with our stage as it was and all of that rain, I wasn't able to switch to my Fender so it wasn't exactly as I had practiced it.
As the notes from the album closing Song For The Asking drifted away, we were faced with the realization that we would not be able to finish out the night. Yes, this "indoor" concert had become rained out! A steadily increasing deluge had overtaken the already tasked drainage system and water had slowly crept into the stage area. We were one foot away from a health inspector's wet dream! Alas, a round of cold draughts was the only recourse, that and packing our damp cases with the moist contents. I set my NS case atop the fireplace space heater in hopes it would dry it out. The drying continued at home. We hope to bring this event to a greater public perspective in the near future, but the fates have not yet tempted us with a proper venue and occasion. Such are the spoils of being the premier Paul Simon tribute in the Southeast. In looking back, how could we have possibly left out the most pertinent tune of all from the set: Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall...
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Trenton was rightfully voted as MVP for obvious reasons
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Many thanks to Bob Watkins for the many pictures he took of our performance! Great memories!
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