LOCATION: Canal Street Tavern, Dayton, OH
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REVIEW BY: Chris Emery
Ahh...Friday night in dismal downtown Dayton. Canal Street Tavern remains a great place to see music, though - probably the best I've been to in Dayton. I arrived pretty early - I didn't want to get stuck parking five miles away like I did last time I went there. I spent some quality time with John Dahlgren, the merchandise guy, driver, and self-proclaimed 'Band Buddah Boy'. If you're ever at a Monk show, make sure you stop by and be friendly to the long-haired guy with binoculars for eyeglasses. He'll probably have a book and some Hershey's Kisses for you. I grabbed a primo table front row, slightly stage right. I was bound and determined to see just *exactly* how Ric plays that riff on 'One Eye Open'. (yes, I figured it out eventually) Unfortunately, I couldn't see his effects pedals because of the big monitors on the edge of the stage, but such is life. ;-) Anyway, on with the important stuff... The Setup: Dave LaBruyere: backing vocals 4 string Fender bass, situated stage left Josiah Wolf: small jazz drumkit, situated stage right rear Ric Hordinski: lead vocals 60's era Fender Stratocaster '52 (?) Fender Telecaster Fender 12 string (couldn't tell the model) funny forehead wrinkles The Setlist: (improv) Eyes Of The Maker (?) Circle Of Quiet Womb Of God One Eye Open Can't Drink The Water This Train The Show: *(improv)* This was pretty much a nice ambient warmup for Ric and all his electronics. I *did* hear him sneak in the opening 'Jacksie' riff while testing his e-bow. ;-) *Eyes Of The Maker* (?) This song sounds *so* familiar, but I doesn't seem to be on _Quiver_. Anyone know the origins? I *know* I should know it, but...I'm drawing blanks. Anyone want to clue me in? *Circle Of Quiet* Another great version of this favorite of mine. Ric really gets into it. That Strat is like a familiar lover to Ric - he knows it intimately, and knows exactly how and when to do exactly the right thing. I guess that metaphor applies to this song, too, because it just gets better every time he plays it. *Womb Of God* There was a pretty bad buzz in the PA during the first half of this song, but they sorted it out before it got *too* out of hand. One thing I noticed was that the bass was more up in the mix this night - at Ripley's the night before, the bass was waaaay too down in the mix. It was a good level here. Dave LaBruyere's bass playing is very good - he really stands out on this tune. He's also not afraid to play way up the neck a la Chris Squire. ;-) Oh yeah, Karen Jean - you know he loves you. You can be sure of that. *One Eye Open* This is probably my favorite Monk tune. If this one could get some radio play, I tell ya... ;-) This is simply a *great* song. And the good news is that it gets better live. If you go see Monk for no other reason than to see this track performed, it'll still be worth it. *I* can see the color of love. *Can't Drink The Water* Between this song and the prior one, Ric noticed that the waitress was wearing a Little Feat shirt, so he told the audience that there was a shot of Jaegermeister for whoever could name where Little Feat was originally from. It turned out that Dave was the only one who knew, so he got it. But in the interests of egalitarianism, everyone in the band had one. ;-) Ric gets some killer reverb outta that Vox amp on this song. *This Train* This one is definitely in the running for favorite song...close second at least. ;-) The simple, yet terribly catchy guitar riff drives the song along, and Josiah Wolf's percussion enhances the locomotive imagery. This song rocks, and takes you for a great ride. In the middle of the extended jam/guitar solo, they mix in a chorus of 'Day Tripper' - nice touch. This was a great closer. Short set, unfortunately, so notably missing: 'Birds Of Appetite', 'Daddy Untwisted', 'That's My Love', and 'Green' The headline act was Bashaw, Krietzer & Thompson. They were an interesting combo: acoustic guitar, fretless bass, and flute/harmonica/various world instruments. The highlight came at the end when they invited Monk on stage for a free-for-all fully improvised jam. It was *really* cool. You had to be there to experience it. Josiah *really* went to town, Art Blakey-style. Summary: I didn't know until after the show that Dave had been playing with the band live for only 2 weeks. Wow! They are really tight. Monk is a must see if you're even vaguely interested.