The fastest fingers in the west

Last night Amy and I went to a CD release party for Lake Street Dive, a jazz/funk band from the Cambridge area. It was at Club Passim in Harvard Square. I would first like say that Passim has the best sound system of any small venue I’ve ever been to. The small brick room has an intimate acoustic setting; it was almost like listening to the band straight from their album. Knowing one of the band members via email conversations, I was able to get introduced to the band who were a group of perky and genuine people: Rachael Price on vocal; Mike Olson on trumpet and acoustic guitar; Michael Calabrese on drums and guitar; and Bridget Kearney on upright bass (which I’m now in love with and want to learn how to play (The upright bass not Bridget)). Bridget won the John Lennon Songwriting Competition in 2005 for her song “Sometimes When I’m Drunk & You’re Wearing My Favorite Shirt.” It’s a really good tune that gets better each time I hear it. Before their set I had a chance to chat with the band and told them about Amy’s Love Mix volume 5 that I made her for our anniversary. I let them know that their song, “Scones,” is Number 1 on the mix and how I’ve made these mix albums every year for the past five years. I asked if she could dedicate that song to Amy. And, sure enough, halfway into the set, Rachael took the mike and said “We met some really nice people tonight, two of which, Geoff and Amy, are celebrating 5 years of being together. He told us that each year he makes a love mix (he really called it a love mix)” - She said this swooningly. “And our next song Scones was #1 on the mix, so this next song is dedicated to Amy.” At that point sweet, shy Amy of mine had started to blush and giggle. It was very cute.. We both had an amazing evening. The music was spectacular. Rachael’s voice was phenomenal as it sliced through the air. Mike O. played amazingly on the Trumpet, to a point where he was up on tippy toes and red-faced trying to hit the high notes. His facial expressions were hilarious. Mike C. and Bridget were really pounding out the sound when it came to drums and the upright bass. Her fingers were the quickest in the west.

Lake Street Dive was who we came to see, and they were outstanding! But in the process, we discovered another great folk-Jazz band called The Accident that Led Me to the World. Mark Mandeville was on vocals, guitar, and banjo; he had the sweet melodic sound of an early Colin Meloy in his Tarkio days. Amy says she could hear some John Denver in him, too. Zack Ciras was on Upright Bass (he’s the reason I want to take lessons), and Raianne Richards played guitar and clarinet, and sang backup vocals. Raianne and Amy actually hit it off really well. When Amy went to get a copy of their CD after the show they started talking and discovered that they went to the same high school, Athol High. Raianne is a few years younger but they tried to compare friends and see if they had anyone in common. It was cute. They are now bosom MySpace buddies and we plan on seeing a lot more of their shows. After that great night of music, we got back on the T for a four stop ride and headed home, relaxed and glowing from such an awesome experience. There are some samples of the bands music on their myspace pages. Just click on the band names above!