Of Ward and Other Rewards
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It was a grand weekend in the San Francisco clubs for this particular music freak (And no, I’m not talking about the sold-out Slim’s show by rising “American Idol†also-ran Chris Daughtry and his band, whose overly-earnest vocals and pre-fab populist hard-rock sound are as tiresome and played-out as pop clichés can be.) The true sonic splendor came by way of two marvelous acts: of Montreal and M. Ward.First, I hit the Great American Music Hall and caught the Friday gig by of Montreal – the arty, groove-heavy psychedelic pop-rock group from Athens, GA. (of Montreal sold out the Bottom of the Hill last Thursday night, then followed that show with a weekend’s worth of full-houses at the Great American. Uh, yeah. They have a very devoted following.) As expected, the theatrical, versatile singer-songwriter-musician Kevin Barnes was the centerpiece of the raucous quintet. I’ll just say that the set I saw was a phenomenal crazy-quilt of intricate melodies jazzed up with wild crescendos, warped time-signatures, and wacky costumes. Part music box, part factory assembly-line, part disco-funk band. About 20 minutes into their performance, they played a thundering "Requiem for O.M.M.2," and I was, like, tripping out for the rest of the evening. I seem to recall a jam that mutated into John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary.†Or maybe not.The next night, M. Ward - rootsy, plaintive, sandpaper-voiced singer-songwriter and dexterous guitarist - treated an appreciative audience at the ever-stylish Bimbo’s 365 Club to the first of two (mostly) solo performances. Often standing in shadow, the superb, yet unassuming Portland, OR.-spawned Ward was like the proverbial lightning on the strings, from a thrilling instrumental that opened the show, through a tender take on "Chinese Translation" from his most recent album “Post-War,†to a cover of Don Gibson’s immortal country ballad “Oh Lonesome Me,†and so on. The rockabilly-style echo on his voice reinforced the timelessness of the "What do you do with the pieces of a broken heart?" refrain from “Chinese Translation.†(I believe that Hank Williams himself would have been proud to have written that song.) Among the material from his own songbook, Ward played “Eyes on the Prize,†“Magic Trick,†“I'll Be Yr Bird," and "Sad, Sad Song." Throughout, his finger-picking and Delta slide licks were nothing short of sensational. He sat at the piano for an emotive “Here Comes the Sun Again†from the “Transistor Radio†disc. He ran a minimalist video for his cover of Daniel Johnston’s “To Go Home,†saying that he made the promo using the Power Point program on his lap-top during a plane flight from the Sundance Film Festival. He honored James Brown - who, prior to dying, had been booked for Bimbo’s that night - by covering the J.B. ballad “I Found Someone.†Another cover was Ward’s deep, dark interpretation of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance,†which gets to the heart of that song’s angst and desperation. After an encore duet with opening act Victoria Williams, he ended the concert with his “Rollercoaster†and a delirious "Outta My Head.†By that time, I was.
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