Francesca Blanchard at Juniper At Hotel Vermont And The Nancy Druids At Radio Bean December 18, 2015

Words by Tim Lewis.

I had a great time seeing music last night. I worked until just after 7 then went home and had a bit of dinner. I headed out around quarter of nine and went way down Cherry St to the Hotel Vermont. Francesca Blanchard was on the lobby stage singing and playing acoustic guitar. She was joined by another guy on acoustic guitar and they sounded nice. The lobby lounge was full of people listening or talking quietly. The main bar was close by and jammed with people taking loudly. I found a place to stand and listen and was well rewarded. 

I’d only seen her once before and like the sound and structure of her songs. Even though I assumed this might not be the best venue to really get to know her music, I thought it would give me an idea about wanting to get to know her music better or being content to look for other favorite bands. Each moment that she played made me want to get to know her music more. She played a bunch of originals, all of which had a nice flow to them. Her voice is strong and she has a great stage presence. She played a couple of covers that were fun. She played a couple of Christmas songs that were not overly Christmasy, which was pretty cool. For the last song of the first set, she traded the acoustic for an electric guitar and played a gorgeous version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. It was delightful and I will have to check her out again when listening is more optimal.

Around quarter of 10 I headed over to Radio Bean and got settled in as The Nancy Druids hit the stage. I am starting to learn their songs and several are finding their way into my head. Songs like Falling, Ordinary Breakdown Day and Space Between A Secret And A Lie (song titles approximate) are quickly becoming friends. Ann Mindell‘s drumming is solid and the couple of times she throws in the rapid fire sequences get my heart fluttering. John Franklin’s Rickenbacker has such a great sound as he wanders over the fret board and drives the songs into a happy place. Sean’s singing is nice as always and his over the top guitar playing is wonderful to be in the presence of. For the closing song, a cover of I Am The Walrus, he used a beer glass to play some slide. What a great rock show. I’m so glad I finally got myself out and about.

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