Sweetwater Music Hall presents Jennifer Hartswick Band and Magic in the Other
Sweetwater Music Hall
19 Corte Madera Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941 USA
8:00 PM, Sunday, September 3, 2017

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[8:12 PM lights down, announcements from Ezra]

1. [8:13 PM] (unidentified instrumental #1)
2. [8:19 PM] East of Change, parts 1 and 2
3. [8:31 PM] Helter Skelter (EL)
   [add JH: trumpet]
4. [8:38 PM] (unidentified instrumental #2: slow semi-African ballad)
   [drop JH]
5. [8:48 PM] ? East of Change, part 3
6. [8:55 PM] (unidentified instrumental #3)
   [set ends 9:01 PM]

Magic in the Other

• Steven Rue Adams: bass;
• Ezra Lipp: drums, vox;
• Roger Riedlbauer: guitar.

[9:27 PM lights down, band out]

1. [9:29 PM] Got the Love
2. [9:37 PM] Liar
3. [9:44 PM] If You Don't Wanna
   [add Rashawn Ross: trumpet]
4. [9:54 PM] Home at Last (NC)
5. [10:03 PM] Tangled and Dark
   [drop RR]
6. [10:13 PM] Numb
7. [10:21 PM] Soul Shadows
8. [10:33 PM] You Can't Take It Back
9. [10:40 PM] Ocean Floor
10. [10:49 PM] Fool for You
11. [10:57 PM] Drown in My Own Tears
    [set ends 11:06 PM; all off, back in 2 min]
    
    Encore
12. [11:09 PM] Walk On
    [show ends 11:16 PM]

• Nick Cassarino: guitar, vox;
• Dezron Douglas: contrabass;
• Nikki Glaspie: drums;
• Jennifer Hartswick: trumpet, vox;
• Rob Marscher: keyboards;
• with special guest -
• Rashawn Ross: trumpet.

Had a nice Sunday … both relaxing and crazy busy! The lastest heat wave seems to have finally broken a little, so we celebrated by working out at RSF and then heading to TXR for a birthday celebration. Arriving a little early, we caught the last tune, Ripple, from today's Stories and Songs set on the Back Porch stage (featuring Jordan Feinstein, Scott Law and Brian Rashap), then headed over to the restaurant to settle in at a few tables to eat dinner and socialize before the birthday girl showed up for her surprise. I'm happy to report that the cake was absolutely fabulous: fruit and super light whipped cream and airy sheets of cake with just a hint of frosting. Didn't seem too sinful, so Ting and I each ate our own piece! Yum yum yum!

Soon enough, it was time to head out to tonight's main event at Sweetwater, so we bid our adieus and drove over to Mill Valley. Sunday is extra quiet in town, and we lucked out with rock star parking across the street from the venue, yay!

All three boys from Magic in the Other were eating on the patio, so we stopped to say hello and chit-chat. Answering my question, Steve told me that tonight was their fourth gig as a band: I'm guessing that it's tough to get the word out: I only heard of their presence at tonight's gig by the additional advertising on the Sweetwater event page. Anyways, I'm glad to have them opening the show.

They take the stage to a sparse but enthusiastic crowd, and proceed to groove through a 50 minute set of instrumental rock. Roger is a fine guitar player, and his leads are interesting enough to keep my attention without any need for vocal distractions. Which isn't to say that I was unhappy hearing Ezra sing Helter Skelter, that was the highlight of the set! The band's arrangement of that classic was slinky and slightly slower than the frenetic original. Super fun to hear the familar tweaked and updated!

Following a half hour break, Jen and her band took the stage and proceeded to tear down the house with their soulful blend of R&B, rock and funk. This style isn't normally a big part of my musical buffet, but seeing shows like this one makes me think I ought to be a bit more democratic in my leanings. Who else playing in this niche might be worthy of a good listen?

As this was my first time seeing Jen as a band leader, I was really surprised how much she sang and how little she played trumpet. I guess that's about the right thing when you're aiming to keep people's attention: wow 'em with the soulful vocals, then knock 'em out with the killer trumpet chops.

Home at Last, Nick's tribute to the recently departed Walter Becker was razor sharp: Nick's singing was spot on, and his guitar turns were worthy of Larry Carlton's late 70's riffs. If that tune hasn't been in the band's working repertoire, I highly recommend keeping it in! Of course, it goes without saying that I'm a softy for the body of work that Steely Dan created in the 70's – it was a constant backdrop to my adolescence!

The set ended with another strong rendition of a classic, Henry Glover's Drown in My Own Tears, written in 1951. I'd always thought of that one as a New Orleans tune, but I guess that's not really the case: Henry's from Arkansas, and spent a lot of time working in New York City. Must be that slinky river of sorrow that reminds me of the Big Easy. With her giant voice, Jen knocked this one out of the park: a true clean-up shot to get the crowd hooting and hollering and clear the bases for the encore.

And Walk On? Oh, it was good, but all too short, and 11:15 felt way too early to be wrapping things up, even for a Sunday night. Guess I'm just a bit greedy that way: when you find a good thing, what's wrong with hoping for a little more in the bargain?

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2017 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2017 event list! ☸ On to the next event!