What a weekend for music! If you didn’t see any live music this weekend, I pity you, truly. Between Randolph Street Fest and Mobfest alone, I was hard pressed NOT to see any music – it seemed like all of my favorite haunts had good bands playing, and I was having hard time making it to shows on time. None the less, I was on time for Incredible Shrinking Boy – and actually early enough to also catch a little bit of singer/songwriter Matt Ryd as well.
Matt Ryd has a smooth, raspy voice which is remarkably similar to John Mayer. His songwriting is stellar and his guitar playing is pleasant. Unlike most singer/songwriters stuck in the down up, down up down, holding pattern, his strums alternate between different styles, accenting the songs. One of his songs has been featured on Zach Braff’s “Scrubs”, and he deserves it – overall he put on a good show ending with a montage of covers, the most notable being “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” by Stevie Wonder.
Poor Incredible Shrinking Boy; despite horrendous sound at Fiesta Cantina and a broken bass string in the middle of the first song, ISB played a decent set for us at the Natiiv Media showcase. I could sit here and rag on the sound guys for probably an hour, although the hard wood floors and walls probably had a lot to do with it – here’s a hint though – turn down the drums! Anyway, after an incredibly awkward minute of ISB reaching out for some help in the bass guitar department, they stumbled through one of their piano-lead older songs, but once the nervousness wore off – and a Samaritan lent his bass they hit their stride. They rumbled through the rest of their set – what I was most intrigued about was how they still kept in touch with the depth/density of their songs using only one guitar, a keyboard, a drum kit and a bass. Good job guys, next time I’m sure will be better.
June 23, 2009
Thanks so much for the great review, Jason! That show was a blast, and I was especially impressed with how ISB managed to keep it together even after the bass incident. It’s a testament to the energy that these guys have onstage that they broke a bass string in the first place (and I believe it was the A string, too? So not even one of the lighter gauge strings!) — I’ve never seen that happen before!