Hooray! The pandemic is over and two of my favorite guitar slingers share the bill at Cafe 9. Cue a humongous record scratch, because the opener , Nashville based William Tyler tests positive for COVID. Replaced by former NewHavenites and now chilly scenesters EJ. I have seen these guys with a larger group back in the day, tonight it was two, vocals and guitar and standup bass. These guys have aged well and the singer’s style reminded me of a nicer, less obtuse, Stephen Malkmus from Pavement. They did an admirable last minute fill in, but it was hard not to regret William’s absence. You know he would have played some duet work with Steve.
Versatile guitarist Steve Gunn has been positively reviewed in this blog before. A resident of Philadelphia as well, Steve has had quite the evolution. He has some punk roots, played jazz and instrumental work with drummer pal John Truczinski, ambient soundscapes and more. In the past few years he has discovered an ability to sing, albeit in a fractured freak folk fashion. The song lyrics are hard to follow but his voice and playing are captivating, especially when it’s just him, acoustic guitar, and some effects pedals. He played a tune from Tyler’s catalog in homage. Some new material including a great reading of The Byrd’s Wild Mountain Thyme was featured. Morning Has Mended from recent The Unseen Inbetween and the title track from Way Out Weather, were excellent. Gunn appears to be “on the spectrum”, and I mean that as an asset to his craft. He gets bothered by crowd noises, which was not a problem from this rapt pandemic-addled crowd. As with any adversity, the new normal will present subtle (or maybe not so) changes to the live music experience, I’m just happy to be back.
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