Tapis Bleu And MPH At The ½ Lounge Wednesday August 19, 2009
Words by Tim Lewis.
show was set for 9 with a singer songwriter calling himself MPH on first. I decided to try and skip it and show up around 9:30. As I cruised down Church st I ran into Sean. He said the singer before MPH was still on. We chatted for a bit and I realized it was going to be a late evening. I finally walked in as the singer wrapped it up. I ran into Christine and Ginger and Christine’s roommate Nicollette. We grabbed seats at the bar and settled in for MPH’s set.
He played several songs but none really stood out. They weren’t bad but weren’t really good. I was enjoying the company but the music was not grabbing me. After a bit he said he had a couple of songs left. He committed the ultimate sin for an opening band and overstayed his welcome by playing four songs. Really, as an opening band you need to gauge the audience. Giving people enough to get to know who you are without playing so long you are boring them is a fine enough art. Giving them more than you say you will, when you don’t know if they really want it, doesn’t make your case as well as you might think. After all, most of us are here for the main band.
It was pretty late when Sean and Caroline took the stage. I had the next day off so I did not care about time, but I was a little tired. Fortunately feeling tired, and a bit drifty after a couple of drinks, is a great headspace to listen to Tapis Bleu. Their sound slowly comes together and leads you down a blissful sonic river. The shimmering drone soothes the emotional side of you. The steady djembe provides a comfort base allowing the intellectual side of your brain to wander on Caroline’s sax journey.
Their show was short. I think with all of the earlier delays, they only got in four songs. Fortunately time sort of melts when they play so it still seemed like a good solid show.
It took a lot of effort to get to and to get through the obstructions to the show, but when Tapis Bleu finally played, it was so worth the effort.
This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.