A Return to One Longfellow Square

It occurs to me that I've been neglecting to blog about One Longfellow Square lately. (Actually, I've been neglecting to blog about anything lately, so I better start making up for it!) I've seen four excellent shows in the past few weeks, and thought I'd share some links and see of I could expose some readers to talented artists they may not have heard before.

10/2/09 - Girlyman, with Po' Girl
The opening act, Po' Girl, had an exuberant, multi-instrumental take on roots music. Great fun to watch and to listen to.
http://www.pogirl.net/
Girlyman describe themselves on their website as "Leading Edge Three-Part Harmony Folk-Pop". Quite frankly, they blew me away. Their harmonies are incredible, and their performance is endlessly entertaining. They even create "tuning songs" on the spot while waiting for one of the band members to tune an instrument. Check out the song clips on the website; this is good stuff.
http://girlyman.com/

10/3/09 - An Evening with Jonatha Brooke
An accomplished singer-songwriter, Jonatha Brooke took inspiration from the music of Woody Guthrie for her latest album; she was invited by Guthrie's daughter Nora to search the archives for possible adaptations. Brooke is a wonderful storyteller and performer, introducing each song with an anecdote. She also apparently has control over the elements; just as she finished a line about rolling thunder, a great peal of it sounded from outside. What further endeared her to me was the fact that she performs the theme song for the Fox series Dollhouse... I was proud to have seen someone who was involved in a Joss Whedon production!
http://www.jonathabrooke.com/
What You Don't Know (Dollhouse theme)

10/15/09 - The Wiyos
I arrived at the show exhausted, and wondering how I'd make it to the end to clean up the auditorium. Well, I needn't have worried. These guys have incredible energy, and a fabulously unique style. I find that the washboard is quite underutilized these days in music, and I don't believe I've ever seen a bullhorn used in a musical setting. The Wiyos have opened for John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, and Bob Dylan, and it's easy to see how they landed a spot with such illustrious names as these.
http://thewiyos.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thewiyos

10/16/09 - Antje Duvekot w/Peter Bradley Adams
I didn't really get to see Peter Bradley Adams, since I was out in the lobby during his performance, but it sounded good from out there! Also, he played a few songs with Antje during her set. His latest album, "Traces", debuted at #1 on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts.
http://www.peterbradleyadams.com/
The rawness and honesty of Antje Duvekot's songwriting and performance are what really resonated with me. Originally from Germany and now based in the Boston area, she released her second studio album, "The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer", earlier this year. Her songs were emotionally powerful enough for one them to cause tears to stream down my face during the performance... if it hadn't been dim in the auditorium, that would have been kind of embarrassing...
http://www.antjeduvekot.com/index.php?page=home
http://www.myspace.com/antjeduvekot
Lighthouse (the one that made me cry!)

In conclusion, I hope this post has introduced you to some great new music. I have never seen a bad show at One Longfellow Square (or even a mediocre one).
And one last link... keep up with what's going on at the venue here:
http://www.onelongfellowsquare.com/

More OLS adventures will be forthcoming!