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Review: Monk- Brady's Cafe, Kent Ohio 10/10/98

Hey gang!   It's been a while since I've had a chance to write a
review, so let's hope I'm not too rusty.

The setup:
Well, for starters, I forgot a tiny little detail in my directions to
Brady's, so I missed the turn onto 59 in Kent.  After the Emerymobile
and I returned from venturing far to the north of Kent, we eventually
arrived at Brady's.   For those of you who've never seen Brady's, it's
a small, intimate coffee shop with lots of atmosphere and
architectural ambiguities.    After stopping for a moment to chat with
Todd Kearby at the merch stand, I quickly located jg & crew among the
dozen or so members of the audience.   jg had brought along his dearly
beloved, who was the quick recipient of a hug.  Also in attendance
were listie Amy Watson (adorable!) with husband Phil in tow.  Turns
out I only missed the first two songs, as well as some rather
compelling games of hangman - evidenced by the many napkins strewn
about.  (Purple belt?)

The band:
Same as the last two times I've seen Monk.  These guys are tight.
Dave LaBruyere: 4 string Fender bass and bemused looks
Josiah Wolf:  Drums, percussion, and Ray Charles-esque head-bobbin.
Ric Hordinski: Vocals, witty repartee, and guitar wizardry.

The setlist:
Willoughby
Circle Of Quiet
One Eye Open
That's My Love/Jam
Uncle Frederick's Farm (excerpt)
Eyes Of The Maker
Speaking With The Angel (Ron Sexsmith cover)
Little Wing/Jam/Drum solo-while-tuning-guitar
Womb Of God
That's My Love

(might be some ordering errors early in the setlist)

The scoop:

*Willoughby/Circle Of Quiet
jg filled me in on these that I missed.   Apparently, they played
Willoughby for about 45 minutes for a warmup/soundcheck.  Circle Of
Quiet was winding up when I walked in.

*One Eye Open
Still my favorite track from _Quiver_.   Ric mixed it up a little by
playing the main hook up an octave.  

*That's My Love/Jam
This is another great from _Quiver_.  The band is really starting to
loosen up at this point, and they go off into an extended jam for a
while, which is where they really shine.   More on this in a little
bit.  

At this point, Ric asked for requests half-jokingly.  I shouted out
for 'Squonk', the Genesis song from _Trick Of The Tail_, and he played
a few opening bars.  Of course, I had inside info that Ric is an old
Genesis fan from way back.  Someone else shouted out a request that
led to:

*Uncle Frederick's Farm (excerpt)
Ric played the first 2 verses of this old song from the _Serpents And
Gloves_ video.  He claimed that's all he remembered.   Does anyone
know if this has been performed live before?  I can't recall that it
has.

*Eyes Of The Maker
*Speaking With The Angel
Couple of covers, including a new one for me, the Ron Sexsmith cover
which was a song that seemed to be about preserving innocence.

*Little Wing/Jam
This was a fairly faithful cover of the Jimi Hendrix song, maybe a
tiny bit more like the Sting version than the original.   What I liked
was the way that Ric can take the band (and audience) along with him
out into the ether on a sonic journey, and just about the time you
realize that you've left all the familiar ground behind, things start
to get recognizable again, and you're back where you started.   I have
only on two occasions seen what I considered to be true improvisation
at a rock concert twice: the first was the ProjeKct Two show with
Fripp/Belew/Gunn; the other is a Monk show.

*Womb Of God
*That's My Love
Ric wound up the show with a couple more tracks from _Quiver_.   'Twas
well done, and a strong finish to the night's show.

The summary:
A good performance from seasoned artists.  The small showing was
disappointing, but understandable in light of two factors: a) it was
Kent State University's Homecoming that night, and b) the Cleveland
Indians were playing a playoff game.   Those things considered, 12 or
15 people isn't such a bad turnout at Brady's in Kent on a Saturday
night.   Ric is really opening up and seems much less hesitant to open
things up and explore new ground while on stage.   Also, Ric is one
hell of a nice guy, and spent quite a bit of time just chatting with
us afterwards.   He confirmed the Nov. 11 show in Columbus.  (YAY!)  
As always, I highly recommend you check out Monk any chance you get.
You won't be disappointed.

Upcoming dates:
14 oct  peabody's downunder, cleveland ohio
15 oct  four friends coffee house, grand rapids , mi
16 oct  TBA (bloomington, ind), live on WVXU radio in cinti
17 oct  CINCINNATI only fall band appearance. york st cafe
11 nov bernie's distillery, columbus, oh

ICQ #: 1388556  ***    AIM: ChrisEmery
"Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, 
 but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." 
      - Terry Pratchett, "Jingo"
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