Ryan Ober & The Loose Ends And Swale At The Monkey House March 29, 2014

Words by Tim Lewis.

I had a great time seeing music on Saturday. Friday was a long workday followed by a late night show with Vedora. Towards the end of the long workday of Saturday, all of my energy seeped out. I held it together and made it through the end of my shift, which went an extra half hour due to a long last call. I had nothing left, but there was a great show happening, and my focus was still there. I walked out of work and got to a crossroads. I could turn right, take the short walk home, and get some much needed rest, or turn left and head to The Monkey House. I stood there for a minute in complete indecision then took the left. I made good time on the walk and entered with Ryan Ober and the Loose Ends on stage. I settled in and moved up front. The first two songs were well played country songs. The mandolin was nice on the first one, then the player switched to banjo for the second. Jeremy Frederick was super solid on drums, as always, and Creston Lea kept the bass locked in. The keys were mixed down a bit, but added a nice texture. Ryan switched between electric and acoustic guitar and sang nicely. The other guitar player was subtle but stinging. After those two, they played two off kilter pop songs that had a nice range and movement. I perked up and knew I had made the right decision.

Since I arrived so late, the second rock song ended their set. It would have been nice to listen to them a bit longer, but I caught as much as I could. During the break I chatted with Ted Pappadopoulos for a bit, but soon Swale were set up and ready to go. They played a short and rocking set, and I was dancing blissfully. Popular Crowd and Everyone Likes To Fight (I can’t wait to get their new album and find out the real song titles) rocked especially hard, but the whole set was very upbeat. After a few songs something sounded wrong. Amanda’s keyboard had a problem, so for the rest of the set she had to avoid playing an A. It was a challenge but they got through it. Their set was pretty short, but I had fun for every note.

The moment they finished, I checked out and headed home. Padraic Reagan and Paper Castles were set to come on next. I really like their music and seeing them live, but the fumes I had been running on were totally exhausted. I got home around midnight and was well rested for the work day on Sunday. It would have been so easy to skip this show, but I’m really glad I put in the effort. The little bit of music that I caught really meant a lot to me.

This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.