Phil Yates At Radio Bean November 3, 2014

Words by Tim Lewis.

I had a great time seeing music last Monday. I got out at 8:15, got home at 8:30, spoke to mom and wished her a happy birthday, then headed to Radio Bean. I got there just about 9 and Violette Ultraviolet and Padraic Reagan were tearing down. Rats! I missed the show on the schedule, but wouldn’t have made it in time anyway. Still, rats! I got settled and Phil Yates got set up to play. Usually he rocks out with his band the Affiliates, but tonight it was just him and a hot pickup acoustic guitar. Without a band the focus was on his singing and how he controlled the flow of the songs, and on both accounts he was wonderful. The guitar was a little buzzy, but just added a bit more rock to his upbeat songs. He played a couple of new ones, like Burn It Down, Bernadette (?) that I’m really starting to like. He played a few classics from the Oh So Sour album. The version of Ninjas VS Zombies was as fun as always, and has that great chorus. Since he was solo, he took advantage and played a couple of older songs he never plays with the band. All in all, it was a night of great melodies, well played and sung, and a sign of the strength of the Burlington music scene. He wrapped the night with a Violent Femmes cover and that was that. I was a bit tired and hungry, so I ducked out quickly and took the pleasant walk home. Many of the songs have stayed in my head in the four days since the show and now, when I’m writing. Thanks Phil!

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