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Ten Dollar Mistake, Wet Guests, Keith Pierce, Jiblantos PA's Lounge, Somerville March 15, 2017
Henry Marcucella III and John Funke hit the year anniversary for their rollickin’ back porch stage Wednesday night series at PA’s in Somerville. Short money, relatively early 8 pm start and a rotating cast of FOH and J. This night kicks off with Keith Pierce from Party Bois and assorted other civic organizations.
Pierce beat his Party Bois funky disco alter ego into submission and brought out his acoustic guitar and unadorned vocal. Anyone willing to stand up in front of a rock crowd and play solo gets points just for the effort. The leather betrays his affiliations. He keeps most of the attention of the sparse crowd. A couple of tune hit home. He notes that one tune actually got sold and used out there in commercial land. See, it happens.
Jiblantos are up next. Feels good from the stage. Nobody seems to notice the clams. Carol Gyurina plays her violin through a sweet new Fishman amp with a few twiddly knobs that kick her rockin’ moments up the scale. Drummer Bjorn Nielson and bass player Matt Ballasteri ride the dynamics up and down. We like that. Me, I dig that big bari horn, especially on Can’t Judge a Book. Brian on guitar and vocals proves we are not heartless with a tenderloin take on Gram Parsons’ Brass Buttons. We get a few comments after the set, “Sounds like some rockin, cape cod summer band”. “(Jiblantos’) Americana thing into Wet Guests electronica thing made me wish I had some mescaline”. “Unintelligible, unintelligible, unintelligible, Don Van Vliet, yeah Don Van Vliet!, unintelligible, unintelligible”.
Wet Guests - Scott Howe on guitar, Leilani Mroczowski on percussion, Kaos, and vocals, Dory Dinoto on drums, Jessie Banhazl on synth and vocals - keep their electronics primitive and catchy. Howe keeps the subway on the tracks with well-placed, flangalated riffs, runs and chords. Dinoto’s drums are basic but fit the spirit of the band. Banhazl and Mroczowski alternate lead vocals and collaborate on some girl group harmonies. The keys and synths lay out the sound foundation. Everyone digs the Korg Kaossilators. One carves out the Hawkwind; the other pings Stereolab. A couple of the mid-set tunes grab right on. Decent covers of Cities in Dust and These Boots Are Made for Walking.
Ten Dollar Mistake don’t need nobody. They dredge up swamp water from a bottomless pit of I, IV, V. Funke lets the demons possess him. He prowls the stage and floor. He’s lookin’ for a backwood exorcist, but not too hard. He beats the piss out of one or two notes and couple of chords. He barks choruses at the moon. H III spells him now and again and the energy doesn’t flag. Henry and Mr. Funke don’t take to no fancy shit - they drive their tunes right through the kudzu and out to the roadhouse just past the Cypress trees.
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