Vedora, Mildred Moody Band, Lee Anderson, Dr Ruckus Zac DuPont At Club Metronome And Nectars Wednedsay August 1, 2012
Words by Tim Lewis.
I'v been curious about the Mildred Moody’s Full Moon Masquerade shows that happen every, uhm, full moon. I knew they had lots of music and fun stuff happening, but had not caught one. Wednesday was my day off, so I thought this might be the night, but the only band listed was Dr Ruckus. I listed to a bit online, and was not moved.
I went out for the usual lunch, came home, hopped on Facebook, and there was a posting from Caroline O’Connor saying that Vedora were playing the show from 9:15 to 10. I guess it was time to check out the Masquerade after all.
I arrived a bit after nine and settled in. On the right, while facing the stage, there was a row of booths. There was some local art, the Human Canvas had a table set up with T-shirts, and there was a massage chair, with masseuse. In the back, behind the soundboard there was a well lit area where professional photographs could be taken, and some face painting was going on. Cool.
Soon after, Vedora hit the stage and rocked it hard. The opener was a solid rock song, with just enough changes to make it a challenge to follow. Dragnet followed with it’s slow winding opening leading to the monster chorus. The sound was perfectly clear and the band was on fire. It felt like the power of the full moon was running in their veins. The vibe had that mystical quality I was hoping for in a Masquerade show. Up next we went south for Maria, and the audience was starting to pay attention. The band followed with a cover of True Blue. I thought that eased off the intensity of the show, but at the end of the song I looked back at the crowd, and the dance floor was full of women. I’m OK with being wrong. Basalt Anchor was up next and kept the flow at a slow burn intensity. A few more rockers followed including In the Park (?) that rolled into the end of Fleetwood Mac’s the Chain. As Caroline took the guitar and Matt the bass, the audience chat became louder. I thought the spell might be broken, but as Vedora kicked into Solution, the audience quieted and the song finished their set in rock and roll glory. These guys are really solid, but Wednesday’s show was out of this world.
Next up The Mildred Moody Band took the stage. With a singer/acoustic guitar player, guitar, bass, drums and three backup singers, they started out in a funky pop way that reminded me a bit of old Talking Heads. The sound was clear enough to hear each singer and player. Their style wasn’t mine, but the four or five songs they played were pretty darned good and had the audience dancing. I was hanging out with Matt, Caroline and Jeff as the band wrapped up the set. Caroline said we should check out what was happening downstairs, so off we went. Zac DuPont was playing some gentle music, but a bit more fiercely than his set at the Precipice. At that show he was on acoustic and had a stand up bass player. At Nectar’s the bass player was electric, the drummer rocked, and Bob Wagner sat in on electric guitar. They sounded very sweet and the playing was outstanding. Hmm, are his songs growing on me?
After they wrapped it up, I went back upstairs just as Lee Anderson was about to start. He had two keyboards set up and played lots of beats with some sweet piano playing on top. It wasn’t quite my thing, but I so admire him for all his efforts to bring music to this town. He is a man who deserves oceans of respect.
Dr Ruckus followed almost immediately. They had a big band rock funk sound going. They sounded nice enough, but did not grab me. Feeling a bit tired, and rocked out from the stunning Vedora set, I took the option to head home. What a great night of music in Burlington.
This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.