Helen Money w/ Sea of Bones 3/20/13 Bar

Opener Sea of Bones had an abrasive 3-man doom-metal sound. So abrasive, that I had to wait in another room to save my ears. There were plenty of fans, this is just not the kind of music i'm familiar with. Sheets of sound driven by guitar, bass, and drums is the requisite band geometry. My problem is the inaudible, gravel-throated lyrics that punctuate the noise...i don't see the point. The sound of three cavemen being dragged by a city bus, even if the show was free, is difficult. The final "song" started with a nice reverb-drenched instrumental intro (like "Set Your Controls to the Heart of the Sun", by Pink Floyd), which was great until they started to sing and the song devolved into unlistenableness.
    Helen Money, from Chicago then LA, was billed as a punk cellist. Her music was a sinister mix of plucks and loops. Cellist of choice for the SST punk label, one could see why Sea of Bones opened. Money didn't try to sing, the array of loops and effects made for interesting soundscapes. Money also had a jazz background, one tune was an homage to a recording studio where Charlie Parker recorded. Beautiful plucked cover of a Mahavishnu (i think) song.

Mary Gauthier w/ Scott and Joanna 3/14/13 Cafe Nine

Nice to see Mary at Cafe Nine. Canadians Scott on guitar and Joanna on drums beefed out Mary's sound into folk rock territory. A singer-songwriter from Nawlins, Mary has led a checkered life. A junkie prostitute in her teens led to jailtime. Mary rocked some favorites: I Drink (either the saddest or the funniest song ever, covered by Blake Shelton), Drag Queens and Limousines, Last of the Hobo Kings, In and Out of Love ( written on a tourbus in Vienna). Rousing last song Wheel in the Well then closed with Mercy Now (soon to be covered by Boy George). Mary Gauthier is the consummate songwriter, winning the CMA for the Gay Country category is just the start for someone who came to the craft later in life.