We had a wonderful evening at New Life McLean this weekend, enjoying the music of Brett Barry and Laura Baron, along with some lovely open mic offerings from those gathered at the end.
If you haven't been to one of these, you really should come. They are a wonderful evening to spend with friends... with great music, laughter and the uplifting of heart that happens when you hear a great song sung straight from someone's soul. The Songwriter's Association of Washington is doing some really cool stuff, and I'm honored to get to hang with these folks from time to time.
Brett's set was focused around a concept of a love that endures, with many songs written for his wife of 24 years... but affirming the things that this kind of relationship Can be. Musically, it was a great set all around, with rock solid bass and percussion, Brett's guitar was inventive and flowing and the harmonies simply could not have been better. And of course, Ron Goad emceeing is always a good time...
The highlight for me was the songwriting itself, it was just really easy to relax and get lost in the spirit of the song (even though I was greatly appreciating the technical aspects), Brett really just carried us along with him... to see this love through his eyes. It was refreshingly honest, hopeful, humble and honoring of his lady and the love he clearly still has for her.
Just the powerful quality of the songs themselves, were as good as anything I've heard in years.
It seems like we live in a world where love is both romanticized beyond any semblance of reality and putting the feelings of falling in love up on a pedestal beyond reach of most mortals... while simultaneously maintaining a cynicism related to love(easy to understand in a world where so many of us have endured divorce and broken families)... as something that promises, but doesn't deliver, at least not for the long haul.
To hear Brett sing, and to watch him put his arm around his wife and just enjoy Laura's set afterwards... was simply, a blow against the darkness that the kind of love we all hope for, can't at the end of the day be real. Thank you sir, for sharing something beautiful with us... it was greatly appreciated from my end.
Laura Baron was up next, and she didn't disappoint.
Lots of good things about Laura's set, but my favorite thing was her voice. It is as clear and smooth as the perfect cup of coffee after a fine meal. Her voice was freshly brewed, just hot enough to make you slow down and sip it to enjoy it more... the kind of thing that chases all anxiety away.
Did I mention that she has that silky, sultry, jazz torch voice that has magical powers? It can make you forget yourself for more than a moment. It can make you hallucinate floral scents. It can spin straw into gold and balance your checkbook in the snap of a finger or the a blink of an eye, if you like that kind of thing.
Also, her voice was just lovely.
And when singing about her soon daughter to be, it can fill us with hope and a sense of love that can't be contained by silly little things like, you know, continents and hemispheres. She's adopting a little girl from India in a couple of weeks and this show was something of a send off of well wishes.
That isn't to discount the music surrounding her. Really interesting harmonic structures and progressions, with some bass and guitar lines that were delicious enough to gather some instant and spontaneous applause. Laura is known in the SAW crowd and the affection everyone has for her was clear and well deserved.
The thing that has been really wonderful to me about these SAW events has been how quickly the room breaks through the "ok, I'm viewing this with some skepticism, will this be good?" to "ohhh, that's really nice, ok I'm with you - take us wherever you want to go."
That is what music really Ought to be. That the performers have been able to take us there at all is a gift. That they've done it consistently is, to me, a wonder.
Thanks guys... and thanks to Brett and Laura for an evening I'll remember for years to come.
