When I saw Brandi Carlile at the 2022 show at Boston's TD Garden, I had no idea who Brittany Howard was. I may have been one of the few people more familiar with guest performer Alison Russell. While I found my way to my seat, the music filling the space had movement and groove. The woman singing had a Tina Turner like presence where she led an arena's worth of people in enjoying the party atmosphere. Then, she'd take up a guitar and shred. Tina couldn't shred. I was learning about the term "roots rock", and asking people about Brittany's old band "the Alabama Shakes". In roots rock, there's a wide variety of how genres like rockabilly, folk, country, and R&B can be reclaimed as rock fusions. In the case of Brittany Howard, think of the Van Morrison songs that frequently appear in romantic comedies, Sade songs which could also appear the rom/coms but maybe at a sensual high point of the budding romance. The chemistry and emotion in the singing is at times more comparable to Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett
Teaching people about lesser known acts is a way through which musicians uplift others, paying forward the kindness that other musicians had offered them. After that spectacular night, Brittany Howard was a musician who I started listening to through YouTube and Pandora. My tastes in music listening vary greatly so I may not as easily be able to go from AC/DC's "Money Talks" to the Alabama Shakes' "Hold On". However, if my starting point was Zeppelin or Jeff Beck, the segue doesn't have to be that big a stretch. That's why John Mayer's "Gravity" just wandered into my Pandora listening as I write this. This growing familiarity made Brittany's name stand out all the more when I saw her listed on the Wilbur Theatre's schedule for February 2024.
For me as a journalist, one obstacle when seeing shows at the Wilbur is that cameras and video recording is forbidden unless with special permission from the performer. That's how I got a photo with Hannah Hart in 2019 at the venue while ushers were regularly talking to people with their smart phone lenses trained on Eric Johnson's performance last summer. Looking for a creative solution, I thought about my art school training as an illustrator. Back in the 1800's, illustrators were regularly working on hand drawn accounts from the battlefield. While the Wilbur doesn't quite go back to the Lincoln administration, that piece of illustration history provided me with a solution. I made the unique call to the box office to see if I could bring a notebook, and I just had to learn a technique that would allow me to quickly capture a vibe and visual of any moment in a show. It took one night of trying to quickly draw stand-up comedians with a micron pen that convinced me to bring Sakura brush pens in the future. While brush pens may leave drawings less crisp and defined, they have the quick stroke and flow needed for gestural drawing. If a guitarist is putting most of their weight one foot while the other leg extends to operate some pedals, gestural drawing allows a shorthand that can quickly explain that action. A famous comic creator named Will Eisner would often switch between using brushes for characters and their clothing so that the folds and anatomy could be show with less rigid lines that what he could get from a pen's nib. Ludwig Bemelmans is another inspiration in gestural illustrations. The man more famous for the the Madeline books drew little gestural cartoons to illustrate his autobiographical essays. Of everything that I had to get ready before I started heading for the theater, I tell you that getting my art supplies show-ready took the most work. I had become that comfortable with sketching on on my Samsung Galaxy's "Notes" app,
I reached my balcony seat just as Becca Mancari was starting as the opening act. When I sought Pandora's assistance in learning more about Becca's music, the streaming service brought me home to the soundscape of dream pop and folkie varieties of "roots rock" that first introduced me to Brandi Carlile. It brought me back to Hope Sandoval's introspective singing, Brandi's old songs of heartache, and the harmonies of the Indigo Girls. Much of this nonbinary artist's music has that bluegrassy spirit that reverberates on through the dreamy haze of some low-fi fuzz. When they were talking about the Nashville music community, Becca emphasized how much of a presence the country genre has there. There are moments where They venture out into a variety of rock styles. Utilizing many harmonies, but also having a raw art rock vibe that reminded me of David Bowie's 80's material. The importance of string instruments in many of Becca's songs gave me a great opportunity to capture strong poses in my sketch. I started instinctively listening for moments when a musician would shift their balance. Leaning on one foot as their fretting hand works its way up the neck or as the other leg extends to adjust the pedal devices. Sure there are times for Becca to step forward and rock their moves in a well earned spotlight, but I also found great meaning in the subltlies as well.
During the intermission, the rules against cell phone use became more lax. With the photo editing abilities in my phone, I could use a "highlighter" effect to apply some tones to my drawing that could indicate the lighting on the performers. It also gave me a rough idea of what I can do to further elevate the drawings that I create at theaters with hose rules similar to the Wilbur's.
Brittany Howard and her band presented the audience a multi-layered auditory experience which I'd compare to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". The Wikipedia page for "roots rock" describes it as a reaction to psychedllic and progressive rock, so I suggest that you view a Brittany Howard set as an inversion of "Dark Side of the Moon". There are rock and R&B commonalities, but elevate the singing of Barry St. John, Liza Strike, Lesley Duncan, Doris Troy, and Clare Torry to more prominent roles throughout the album. Think about Torry's performance on "Great Gig in the Sky" and multiply her presence. Often with verbal language instead of just going instinctively with the chord progression. There were additionally solos from the organist and the drummer as additional gems of the set list. That's not to sell the rest of the band short, but such an elaborate organ solo isn't something typically expected at a concert.
As more concert dates approach, Brittany Howard's concert is shaping up to be a nice precursor to some of the shows in upcoming months. While 2024 is looking to be the year of singer/songwriters (more on that later), There's two shows coming up at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway where southern musicians combine R&B, jazz, and rock. Stay Tuned for more.
Comments
Post a Comment