"Kentucky Homefront" & "Roots & Boots" @ The Bomhard (10.19.2008)

ok, i’m a little behind on this. sorry…

last saturday evening i attended a great 2 for 1 type music event. WFPK sponsored (technically) back to back shows at the bomhard (partially to celebrate the kentucky center for the arts 25th anniversary), the shows were a part of the stations excellent series; “kentucky homefront” and “roots and boots,” both featuring american roots music.

the first show was “kentucky homefront” which was celebrating and featuring louisville singer songriters (in order of performance); john gage (also the shows founder and host), danny flanigan, teneia sanders, mickey clark, tim krekel, leigh ann yost and johnny berry. the show was in the traditional “in the round” format, with the artists sharing the stage and songs, with each performer doing two original songs.

already being a big fan of tim krekel and teneia sanders and familiar w/leigh ann yost and danny flannigan, i was mostly looking forward to seeing them. and i certainly not disappointed, all were great as i expected. i had no knowedge or reference point with mickey clark or johnny berry but really enjoyed their music and performances and look forward to seeing them again, hopefully in the near future. i got to talk to mickey clark for a while after the show and found him to be open, kind, generous and appreciative man. i look forward to hearing more from him and seeing him perform again.

my favorite thing about the show was just the sheer joy and pleasure that these performers had sharing their gifts with the (very appreciative) audience. it was infectious. it was very loose and improvised set with them jumping in on harmony vocals, joining in on guitar, sort of an acoustic jam and it worked perfectly. tim krekel was by far the highlight providing some outstanding guitar on most every song but all performances were excellent.

we are fortunate here in louisville to have a station like WFPK to give us the opportunity to have this music heard, both on radio and live. we are also fortunate to have this quality of local music in our own back yard. the talent and dedication of this music and these musicians needs and deserves our support.

next up the “roots and boots” segment featuring the LA based, but originally from louisville critics darlings... “the watson twins.”

first, let me say, i enjoyed the show, but in my opinion, it paled in comparison to the first show. the “twins” were good, but far from what i expected based on the raves they are receiving in reviews and national music magazines. it might have helped had i been more familiar with their music, etc but in kind…i heard nothing that made me want to rush down to their merch table and pick up a CD either, which is often the case when i see a band live. they had a nice tight band, but no player that i would consider exceptional. their lyrics/songs were nice, but no song, line or lyric struck me as prolific or outstanding. and Iifound their stage presence and banter to be awkward and a little distracting. to sum it up, in my opinion, they were “good” nothing more, nothing less…just “good.”