Pale Blue Sky and James Faretheewell at Tonic Lounge March 19, 2010
I walked into the Tonic and made my way to the bar, appropriately ordering a Gin and Tonic (Tanqueray when I can afford it). I mingled for a bit then got down to business, finding a few of the musicians playing this evening and getting to know them, if only briefly. The crowd was dedicated and good spirits. I heard Pale Blue Sky and had an EP out so I wandered over to the merchandise booth and picked up a copy, the copy. There was one left. I threw a five spot on the table and said something like “you should have brought more”. “That’s the last copy”, said the friendly salesman. At that moment, my suspicions were confirmed; it would be a special night.
James Faretheewell was playing first tonight and I was eager to see him perform. He has spent much of his career in Portland, Oregon but also hailed for many years from Amsterdam, Austin and Seattle. I was able to spend a few minutes with him as he shared some of the sights and sounds which have surrounded his long and fruitful career. As we mused about New Orleans and I was explaining to him what area of town I lived in while I was there, a band mate swept him away – it was show time. The earthy “Bourbon Street” coincidentally and/or on purpose followed our short conversation and opened the night.
I rapidly noticed that I wanted to hear every single word he was saying, a difficult goal to have at any rock show. The sound was pretty good though, and I was able to catch much of what was being said, losing myself in the stories I was hearing. The delivery of lines like “Hey brother can you spare a million dollar bill” and “I know I’m not perfect but I’ve got lots of excuses… You make me want to be a better man” drew me in and kept me there. I then noticed that the timing of the chord changes didn’t always follow predictable structures. This reminded me of Bob Dylan’s “words go first” approach to song construction, where sometime an extra beat or two are required to complete a certain lyrical phrase. This type of fluid chording across the strictness of common time takes a lot of talent to pull off tightly, and luckily he had Drew Norman supplying the secondary guitar. Drew shone most of the night, notably on “As the Crow Flies”, and Afghan-Wigs-on-Pedal-Steel number, with a chorus burst of ride riddled vocal declarations of some ongoing apprehension.
The different hues and deliveries of James vocals deconstruct into some kind of amalgam of Joe Strummer, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and John Fogerty with a Zappa sting. The band’s sound was like New Radicals and Rolling Stones with Indie wallpaper and some non-traditional fixtures.
An 80′s Devo vamp with scientific lyrics and a wacky beginning broke up the set nicely. There’s an air of worldliness to the James’ words, movements, convulsion and general disposition. “Listen to your heart in the middle of the night. It tries to tell you something but it never comes out right”. He has traveled the world and sung his songs to fans across the nation and beyond, in that secret, faraway place where inspiration guides the artist and emerges to touch the listener.
Faretheewell is a seasoned songwriter who fluidly wields the contents of the Tool Chest of Rock. His worn, Tom Waits delivery of such lines as “Time without history, without prophesy” are spoken from atop a mountain of truth. “the only time you love me is when I’m leaving. the only time you miss me is when I’m gone.” James got off the stage, he was gone, and I missed him already. Visit him at myspace.com/jamesfaretheewell.
A 1970′s action movie projected on the rear wall of the stage showed bikers and cops chasing each other around and causing all sorts of mayhem as Pete Vercelloti (vocals,guitar) creeped on stage and fiddled with some knobs here and there. He muttered some muted comments to his band mates and shiftily scoped out the energy on stage and in the crowd as the other members of Pale Blue Sky warmed up their instruments.
Then, Bam! The smirky, matter-of-fact delivery of “Glad to Meet You” set the mood with it’s crunchy, raw, pounding, electrified hard-shell crustacean rock. Pete lights up the stage with his if-you-don’t-know-what-I’m-taking-about-then-I’m-going-to-tell-you lyrics.
Flowing seamlessly from song to song, the band took the audience on “Roller-coaster Ride”, a Counting Crows adventure with passing chromatic notes that added harmonic richness to the purposefully meandering chord progression.
The dry, mid range arsenal of “Execute Me in My Mind” pierced the room with its sincerity, as the band mutated into a wash of open chords and guitar fills that included an open string with every stroke of the wrist. “Execute me in my mind, another place, another time.”
Every once in a while Pete will throw in a Mock Rock Move, and he’s really good at them. That’s when you strum, hold a pose, and stare at the audience. An enthralled and engrossed artist, the magnetic front man is credited with inventing the growingly common slang “jobber”, which can be used ubiquitously to describe any object of any size for any reason.
The classic rock (reference) riff of “Somewhere in the Back of My Mind” broke up the chilling verses and choruses, with a sing-along slickness this is hard to find. Neil Young and Crazy Horse similarities are present, not so much defining their sound as serving as a jumping off point for Pete, whose Johnny Cash-like detachment can quickly dissolve into Built to Spill angst without warning. The bass (Joel Boutwell) and drums (Jason Mockley, who I think has played in every single Portland band but he says it’s only about 40) are solid as to be transparent to one another, merging into solid rhythm section. Anthony Lambright supports the sound with a full, rich and complex vintage of rock guitar, occasionally jumping into the spotlight to deliver some nice musical morsels and slinking back for some washy feedback soundscapes while carefully controlling the distance of his pickups from his speaker.
I hope Pale Blue Sky are making more copies of their EP soon so that these songs can be shared with a wider audience. I’m listening to the disc again as I write up this evening and am quite enjoying every minute of it. The EP is called “Glad to Meet You” and should be available through their website (myspace.com/palebluesky) if they’ve been able to get more manufactured.
