| It is a telling point of my interest in Local Amplified Music that I nearly always require a personal interest in order to motivate myself out to a club to hear it. For many years, this was accomplished almost excessively through the activity of my brother's band and the solo and group performances of my old friend Pam Howe. It was at a performance by the latter at Ten High some months ago that I heard the band Hope for a Golden Summer, who played last night at the Echo Lounge and will be at the Eyedrum tomorrow. This band is built around two sisters, Claire and Page Campbell. They sing and compose the material, although golden-haired Claire appears more assertive about both of these than dark-haired Page. Both exhibit a pure delight in their performance, which is a significant reason for my attraction to their work. That they clearly enjoy what they are doing -- the music-making itself -- makes it so much easier for the audience to share in the pleasure, rather like eating dinner with a family bound by love rather than one streaked with unhappiness. They exude ease and confidence, but also a simple modesty and generosity: to me an irresistible combination. I largely lost my appreciation for large, amplified rock-pop performances a long time ago. The two shows I've attended by this group were delightfully quiet -- it seemed that the more people they brought on stage to play music, the quieter the overall sound became. Fortunately, most of the crowd (which was not overly large) listened, although even the few conversations in the room registered audibly (and annoyingly). All of the musicians and many of the instruments interchanged throughout the set: guitars, accordion, xylophone, percussives. Claire played the saw on several songs, evidencing a seeming new found glee at each warble and shimmer. It is impressive that the sisters have assembled three musicians behind them who are willing to operate in such a sparse, idiosyncratic musical setting, and who succeed within this form. The drummer intelligently portioned out his immense bass drum and occasional full kit playing, while the extremely talented cellist bowed and plucked, rendering a superb range of tones and evidencing considerable musicianship. The latter reminded me again of the ripe possibilities presented by the cello in a avant-rock setting -- c.f., Tom Cora. But, none of the compositions I've heard is especially complicated or far-reaching. Hope specializes in luscious at times droney songs, tempo-ed from somnolent to unmoving, with two or three chords alternating in round measures. This simplicity of construction perhaps fosters the band's thorough attention to detail and coordination of sound elements, although it may hamstring a bit the musical talent this ensemble possesses. Regardless of that, their careful assembly of sonorities delights the ear. Much of the musical structure is built on Southern Music: blues, old country, hints of gospel. The familiarity of these further invites the listener in; their music is, indeed, tremendously open and welcoming. The loose rhythms do leave a little more wiggle room for vocal harmonizing than I prefer. Many of the vocals are offered in a broad, unkempt manner. This fits well many of the pieces, but perhaps it acts at times as a limit to fruitful possibility. One song, at least, was simply a super slowed down country-blues, and my ear kept leaping in hope that it would jump into double time, cello acting as string bass and banjo (brought out by the drummer) picking up a hopping tempo. The sadly optimistic tone of the lyric would then have had delightful contrast. (I admit that some of my desire to hear this tune performed uptempo is due a need for waking me up (1:30 am is a hard hour for those of us who are older and are obligated to awake early on weekdays). I've been extremely impressed with this group's steady musical voice and unaffected presentation. They remind one that small group music-making is largely about a few people doing something joyful together, and sharing that experience with others -- surely a worthwhile aesthetic motivation. The band is presently working on a studio release, funded in part by their performances. Go out and support their efforts tomorrow evening at the Eyedrum. |