Foobar Funk

On Friday, March 25th, Absylum and Fiddlehead pile into the Foobar, a nice little basement style bar in Portsmouth, NH. Even though it was a hike, the bands arrive ready to rock. The light show is also in attendance, with a new laser and a great atmosphere for it. The crowd is a bit sparse this evening, but those in attendance are all having a great time. Two live paintings are going on and there are constantly people on the dance floor.

Absylum takes the stage first tonight and they play through their set with maybe one or two breaks between songs. The mix isn't very good tonight but despite that they still sound pretty good. They've been practicing a lot together lately and it seems they are starting to get their stops down and be able to improvise together well. Most of their songs really remind me of the good time favorites, but they have some stuff that sounds very original.

After Absylum, Fiddlehead takes the stage. The crowd fills in a little bit as they let loose the funky jams. Included in their set list tonight are most of their hits, from "Baby Monster" to "Space Cream" but also some new stuff they have been working on. Surprisingly enough I was most impressed by their last song of the evening, their rendition of "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones. They also tried some new dub step/electronic kind of stuff added in, I think with a little more practice on that it will be great.

Fiddlehead and Absylum will be playing again at Dodge Street on April 2nd with Brown Chicken Brown Cow. Should prove to be a great evening. The following Thursday Fiddlehead will be invading the Gulu Gulu Cafe in Salem, check them out!

Spotlight On Fiddlehead!

On Saturday, March 12th, Fiddlehead once again took the stage at the new Spotlight Tavern in Beverly. Its located on Rantoul Street across from the Ford dealership and it seems to be the new happening spot in Bevtown. Its a pretty cool bar with a nice layout and the staff is excellent. I also spoke with one of the co-owners who was a really nice guy and seems to want to do a lot to help promote local music since he is in a band himself!

This particular evening Fiddlehead is opening for a band called Moss. They have a really good sound person, everything is mic'd well and the mix sounds great from the audience side. I recorded Fiddlehead's set on a digital camcorder so hopefully some of those clips will be online soon. There is a great crowd and I heard later that around 150 people came through the doors during the course of the night!

Fiddlehead's set is great and I think some of them were letting out some stress. Its difficult for a band to play shows every week, sometimes traveling for hours, while keeping up with their personal lives. Pat's solos sounded particularly awesome this evening and he had some new gadgets to make crazy sounds on "Save the Robots". Mike and Kevin both sound solid and switch between bass and guitar flawlessly. Tim tries out some new techniques and his drumming sounds great all mic'd up.

Overall it was a great show and I wish I had ended up staying for Mauce. They had a live painting raffle like Fiddlehead usually does and they banged out a good sound check. They also had some cool lights to combine with Fiddlehead's. Next time I will definitely stick around and write something about these guys but unfortunately I had to dip back to Salem. I see a lot of big shows happening in the future at the Spotlight Tavern, it seems like the new hot spot in Beverly for sure.

If you missed Fiddlehead at the Spotlight, don't worry! They are playing again March 25th at Foobar in Portsmouth NH. They are also playing at the Mill Street Brews in Southbridge the following evening, March 26th. If you gotta stay local, stay tuned for April 2nd when Fiddlehead, Brown Chicken Brown Cow and Absylum invade Dodge Street!

Chit Chat Lounge Revisited

On Tuesday, March 8th we all decided to go up to the open mic at the Chit Chat Lounge in Haverhill. Its a really nice place with a chill atmosphere and a great staff. The host of the open mic, the bartenders and the patrons were all very gracious and kind. Not only did Fiddlehead and I show up to play, but another of our local favorites, Absylum, also decided to join the party.

The host played with a drummer and did some good covers, my favorite being his very different version of "Billy Jean". He made me feel not so bad for basically being a lone guitar player up on stage. I got up after the host and did an open call for anyone to jump up and jam with me. Mike Strakus of Fiddlehead and Justin Lopes from Absylum came up and played a couple good time favorites with me and it went surprisingly well.

After I played, Absylum got up there and did their thing. I had heard them practicing earlier in the day and they sounded awesome. Justin Lopes can really rip some keys and during some parts I almost felt like I was in church. MJ Sands is an excellent drummer and keeps the beat so precisely while maintaining flexibility. Absylum has a lot of cool original songs and their bass and sax players are great additions to the band. Definitely expect to see more of these guys soon!

They decided to leave the best for last as Fiddlehead took the stage around midnight. Opening up with "Baby Monster" they all sounded pretty good despite there being a bit of tension in the band earlier in the evening. I personally thought the highlight of their set was Pat Nelson using the host's all white Stratocaster after breaking a string on his Parker. He made the thing sound almost like a fiddle on a bluegrass jam.

For an open mic night I think it was a great show all around. Good practice for everyone who played and a fun time for those who didn't. I was impressed by the amount of professionalism at the Chit Chat for an open mic. Fiddlehead is playing again tomorrow night (March 10th) at Penuche's Ale House in Portsmouth NH. It starts at 8:30 and there is a $3 cover. They are being presented by Jamantics who I assume they will be opening for. In other news, here's a cool poster by Desirae Hudson:

Bangkok Bop!

On Saturday, Fiddlehead piled into Bangkok Paradise for another show. This time they were opening for Brown Chicken Brown Cow, another local funk and jam band. Bangkok Paradise is a pretty nice place to play, spacious and did I mention the Mai Tais? Seemed to be the drink of the evening anyway!

By the time I got there everything was pretty much setup and Fiddlehead was ready to play. The light show was a bit more reserved this evening and Felipe did a great job with it. I think everyone was really tired from running around and partying like crazy for the past couple weeks. Pat sounded really good, especially with the SG. Kevin was ready to play after a long day at Guitar Center so he was wiling out.

I was impressed by their set considering the circumstances. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it. Tim sounded great on the drums and his kit was finely tuned by none other than Ben Jolly, a monster drummer and another of our fellow Guitar Center cohorts. I really liked Mike's airplane flanger, it sounds like an air raid siren and always gets people's attention. I think the highlight of their show was a song about a house...but not a RED house over yonder, a HOUSE OF GROOVE!

After Fiddlehead played, Brown Chicken Brown Cow jumped right up there and started rocking out. Eric Houde is an incredible guitarist and his cherry apple red telecaster with a pearly pick guard makes him look super cool. Brian Houde, his brother, rips bass like no other, with a natural funky rhythm and great technique. I really like this band, they are original and have good stage presence.

Part way through their set Ole Kev got up and started dancing so I joined him. Nothing like shaking out all the stress from the day to some funky tunes. Mike O'Toole is a very steady drummer and makes few mistakes in his beats. The crowd seemed to respond very well to their set.

You can catch these great bands again at another local establishment, Dodge Street on April 2nd. They will be playing alongside Absylum, another local group you'll be hearing a lot more about soon! If you just can't wait for more Fiddlehead, check out this show:

Tit For Tat At The Chit Chat

Fiddlehead assembled upon the Chit Chat Lounge in Haverhill, MA. on the evening of March 4th for a further incursion into the Haverhill scene. The Chit Chat Lounge is an awesome bar with a great stage setup, cheap beer and an upstairs with a pool table and second bar. They also sport a huge projector screen, a great staff and friendly crowd. All the Fiddleheads have been running on empty lately (figuratively and literally) but they all made it!

The first set is a little reserved as people started to pile into the Chit Chat. The sound quality is good despite the fact that the band is using some borrowed equipment. Kevin is excited to be using a wireless setup for his bass for the first time, so he jumps into the audience every now and then to show off his dance moves. Mike is all business tonight and plays really well. Everyone seems to enjoy the music and the place fills out quite nicely.

Who needs a fiddle when you have a Pat Nelson on a Parker Fly? The combination of him and Strakus shredding guitars almost reminds me of a symphony. With all the vibrato and sweeping pick work, sometimes it almost sounds like a bow is being run across a guitar. Tim Johnson sounds great and seems to be really enthusiastic on this particular night. I was actually quite surprised to see Fiddlehead out in such force after the long couple of weeks.

The second set is filled with a lot of jamming out and opens up with "Space Cream". By this point there is a substantial crowd on the dance floor. I think that the light show is the only thing that would have made this gig any better. I guess that gives the Fiddlearmy some ammunition for the next time they hit the Chit Chat. Maybe something on the projector too? I think Fiddlehead is going to be playing around the Haverhill scene more in the future for sure.

Mask & Raid, some kind of metal band, plays after Fiddlehead. They have a great rhythm and powerful sound. Their lead vocalist screams out over the crowd with a great deal of power. By this point the bar is totally packed and a substantial number of them are wiling out on the dance floor. Mask & Raid is a very professional group of guys with good equipment and original songs. Screaming metal isn't really my thing, but maybe they've won a convert!

Look out for Fiddlehead at a venue near you. Tonight, Saturday, March 5th, they will be playing at Bangkok Paradise in Salem. They'll be playing with Brown Chicken Brown Cow. I think the fun kicks off at 9 PM. Come down and get down!