Are you familiar with People vs. Larsen? Neither was I until Saturday night, when a friend who knows took me to The Beehive in Boston to see them. They're apparently a big underground thing in Brooklyn. They combine blues, lounge, and jazz. The lead guitarist drives things. He's got a lot of Buddy Guy circa 1962--or at least that's the bag he was working on Saturday, song after song--but when he plays straight jazz, he kills. Most interesting, they are NOT from the Stevie Ray drive-the-groove style; and the Cream power trio style is very far away. They're understated; they work as a unit. I wasn't surprised to find out that they're an underground phenomenon. They deserve wider exposure. They'll get under your skin if you give 'em a chance.
Please post videos and discuss.
The third video has the wrong embed code, but here's the link, and it's a great vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MZPdbxxzUg
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2013 8:21 AM
The guitarist is Tom Larsen. Here's an earlier video of straight Delta style. This guy's got something. This is NOT the sort of stuff he played on Saturday night. He has major jazz chops and major electric blues lead chops.
Here's another in a jazz/funk style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p6LrqUsFjM
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2013 8:29 AM
The next big thing? I'm not so sure about that. The treatment/arrangement of Born Bad Sign, to my ear, is very generic, almost like a backing track. He's got the emphasis on his solo rather than the song...IMHO it doesn't work...at least not as the NBT. ---------- Sun, sun, sun Burn, burn, burn Soon, soon, soon Moon, moon, moon
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2013 9:27 AM
I have to agree with Jinx that the two videos from his band set didn't do anything at all for me. But that video of him playing solo by the lake in a delta style--THAT really was very very very very good stuff. If he heads down that road, I can see him going places. The band stuff-- meh. It's not very exciting to me.
BTW, here's another guitar dude outta Los Cruxes New Mexico by the name of CW Ayon. I think THIS guy might be "the next big thing" in Blues... At least I certainly hope so...
This is NOT a comment on what I think of the music above, but I think Isaac's boy takes the current cake. The next "big" thing will have to appeal to people under 50...or 40...or even 35. People my age, largely, don't want to listen to anything posted above. Baby boomers, maybe.
At least C.W. has the "in" underground vibe. I don't dislike the other tunes at all, I just think straight ahead blues, especially with the element of swing, crosses over well.
I'm not sure Nic and Brad will be the next big thing in blues, but I think they will both make significant contributions. I like that they play traditional blues and attract younger fans to it.
Before I get blasted for saying people don't want to listen by people on this board who do - you represent, largely, a very very very small minority of relative baby boomers. "Big" things don't appeal to small niches, they crossover by gaining the interested of the outer circle of fans and beyond.
It can't just appeal to typical blues fans - even if we all like the music...which I did. I always make it a point, for example, to check out Nick's stuff. He is extremely talented. There was some great IBC stuff with his band that blew me away. However, as great as a show as they put on, it isn't want non-blues heads want to hear.
I worry about music on the whole a lot. If you watched the 12/12/12 concert or this last NYE stuff, it is sad. The "big" bands are in the 60's and 70's. Who is going to headline those shows when I am 60? Sadly, it will be an easily forgotten flavor of the day. I can't think of bands that are big now that don't seem like a flash in the pan...they remind me of pop disco, lol.
I had hopes for the NYE show when I saw Taylor Swift, but she sucks live. I was appalled by most the artists and found it unlistenable.
Tom Larsen's band project and his solo by the water did not excite me. From a "force of will" standpoint, I feel he has a bit more developing to do. By "force of will", the best way I can describe this is, in watching him play, especially that solo vid, it looks like a big ol' guitar with a skinny little kid holding it. Those that capture my imagination with their "force of will" seem to make the instrument they play shrink down as the music fills the air at the same time that they, as a person, seem to enlarge their presence. (My most fun and vivid memory of this was seeing Carlos Santana at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor in the late 70's. His guitar seemed to shrink to the point where it almost disappeared as his sound filled the room. Steve Howe also did this at an outdoor festival playing in Yes).
I'm not saying that this guy don't have potential, but he seems to be at the "guitar is bigger than him" stage of development.
As to the next big blues thing, I believe they said that about Keb' mo', too. (I think he is great, btw). ---------- The Iceman
"My most fun and vivid memory of this was seeing Carlos Santana at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor in the late 70's. His guitar seemed to shrink to the point where it almost disappeared as his sound filled the room."
Could that have been the acid?
"I'm not saying that this guy don't have potential, but he seems to be at the 'guitar is bigger than him' stage of development."
This may explain the popularity of the ukelele.
----------
They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. Charlie Parker
Mr Larsen is enjoyable and good, but I am underwhelmed that he is tagged as the next big thing. There dozens of Tom Larsens in Boston and the first dozen you'll find at Berklee playing jazz standards and then Passion Pit tunes. The next big blues thing will look like Guy Davis or Anders Osborne.
Harpninja brings up a number of good points. As dynamite a lineup that the 12/12/12 concert had, my kids had zero interest except when Kayne West played. Even that they thought was a condensed version of him and the sonic effect was lost via the teevee. As for the rest of the show, it bored them to tears. They had a point, only Clapton had the nuts to step out of his comfort zone and play with a 3 pieces. The rest of it was pretty tame to me, though many my age thought it was terrific. More importantly, it raised a lot of money for the recovery effect in NY/NJ.
"Sadly, it will be an easily forgotten flavor of the day." Too true, HarpNinja. I have been going through the Billboard Top 100 for each year over the past two decades and find that I recognize few of the artists/songs. (Wanted to make a mix CD for my wife because I am a tight-arse, as we say in Oz...) On talent: "Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising." - Cyril Connolly
The real trick, as we are all skewed by our age, BronzeWailer, is to not look for who you know, but the amount of repeated names.
I guess I don't know how common it was a generation ago, but I bet year to year, there are few people with staying power already. In fact, people probably had the same complaints a generation ago, lol.
Just thinking back to the 90's, though, I can't think of any bands that hit then and are still huge.
I am not saying this list is a good one, but a quick Google search brings up the 2012 Top 20 from Billboard Critics
"Just thinking back to the 90's, though, I can't think of any bands that hit then and are still huge."
The only one I can think of that kinda bucks that trend is Pearl Jam, and perhaps Radiohead. But yeah, a lot of the biggest bands from that era have gone by the wayside.
If we are talking 2000 and newer, clearly it's gonna be bands like (gulp) Coldplay that folks will remember as THE bands of the era (I'm only talking rock/pop here, and not hip hop). Hopefully bands like Modest Mouse, Muse, Arcade Fire, and Death Cab For Cutie will also be remembered too.
It's interesting to have some perspective on this stuff now that I'm older (33)... Bands I once thought were immortal have long since died, and bands I thought were a flash in the pan are still around making music... ----------
@schaef I certainly think there is a lot more good music being made today then ever before -the likelyhood that it will be a "big thing" is another matter.
Maybe there is a greater amount of good music being made and disseminated basically for free through the net; it just doesn't enter the mass consciousness.
I meant the "next big blues thing" with some irony. What impressed me about People vs. Larsen, live, was precisely that they weren't trying to be "big." They weren't very loud. They didn't try for peaks. They were about groove, tone, vibe, and understatement. This is so far from the typical white blues approach--including many of the artists that I like--that it struck me as a new turn.
I have no idea if they'll actually become popular in the mainstream blues world or not, but right now they don't seem interested in big--or at least they didn't on Saturday night. They were playing blues like lounge jazz guys. They were really listening to each other.
Then I come across their new album, released only three months ago, and I'm surprised once again, because it's an entirely different bag then their live show, with more deep Delta edge. Try the free streaming cuts here:
Anyway, no big deal. :) The place was packed, though, with a twenty-something crowd, about 20% black, listening to blues. So maybe they've got something you guys are missing. You heard it here first.
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2013 5:58 PM
Not sure about Next Big Thing, but if you are interested in cross genre music pollination with one foot in the blues (which is my direction!) Slo Leak have some nice stuff going on (harp on a few).
The next best blues thing is a larger and more dedicated blues audience conscience of our music. That's the next best blues thing. ---------- Hunger is the best spice.
Oh yeah, Tom Larsen is really very good. He's got a good feel for what he's about. The old guys from days gone by would recognize him immediately. He studied their shit.
Anyone who internalizes that thing that they had and works hard for the sound should tend to come off at least a little more like Larsen there instead of just another white boy in another smash and grab white boy blues band.
Guys like that may never achieve any kind of recognition on a grand scale, but just look at him, he's tied into the substance of the thing for sure and he's young so he has all kinds of room to grow and explore. He's already successful, and already a big thing. I just hope that he enjoys the thing that he has half as much as I would if I owned his skills.
Edit: Wow, Nic Clark sounding good there. He's really come a long way.
Last Edited by on Jan 07, 2013 7:37 PM
The Kid is good but I'm not overly impressed. Good guitarist are a dime a dozen. I wish the next big thing in blues would be one of my good friends. But he doesn't really put himself out there enough. Here are a few of his songs he recorded about 14 years ago. He's gotten about 10,000 times better on guitar since then.
I like Kelly Joe Phelps for blues guitar/singer... here is a link to a live tune.... since this is a harmonica forum, he is playing w/a special guest who is not too shabby on the short harp....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW-XNS9bTPI ---------- The Iceman
Love Kelly Joe Phelps. Saw him live in a very small breakfast joint over twenty years ago out in Portland. He was just starting out in the local sence. Went out there to visit a friend of mine. She was completely in love with him. He didn't know... So wanted to ask him if I could sit in on a few songs but didn't have a harp on me.
I don't listen to or care about pop, or most anything played on the radio except blues or jazz, so to me the question meant the "next blues thing". Here in Portland young people (20 somethings) are flocking to blues clubs to dance, and blues gives them the best opportunity. Frank, ditto your comments.
Portland area is a great vital music community. Glad young people are enjoying blues.
Also, funny tv show called "Portlandia" parodies this area to great effect. Lots of truths to these shows.
I especially liked the episode about people opening a coffee shop and contacting "Pretty Bad Art" company for pictures to hang on the walls. ---------- The Iceman
Iceman, It is a great city. We have a very supportive blues community . As a long time resident, I can attest to the accuracy of the show Portlandia. In fact, at times its so brutally true its hard to watch. Portland loves its counter culture. Today the news is reporting how a young man tried to strangle his girlfriend with his dreadlocks! "Portland, where young people come to retire".
Last Edited by on Jan 08, 2013 7:25 AM
I fell in love w/Portland in the late 90's....got to know Paul deLay and Curtis while out there. Hung out w/Peter Damman and he graciously got me all access passes to that great event - Waterfront Blues Festival.
Love Powell's Book Store and The UFO Museum. ---------- The Iceman
The next big blues thing interests me, but not as much as the next big harp thing. They may be the same thing, but maybe they won't. I was kind of digging Bad News Brown before he went and got shot, even if rap isn't my thing. He may have not been a technical wizard on harp, but he was playing a modern style music, with a modern sounding harp in it, and maybe if he'd gotten a little bigger before he died he might have encouraged more people from other musical backgrounds to play harp. I think most 'next big things' happen through fusion. You get a collision of styles and one or two little new inventions, and suddenly it doesn't sound the same, but it's catching people's ears.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I hope it's not dubstep harp! :) (Although, who knows...)
I was listening to a live show yesterday and remarked to my daughter how the sax solo was not interesting. She (she's 11) said he was playing too many notes, like a guitar player. I appreciated that. That's not what I get from these guys -I HOPE they are a "big thing". The first guitar solo was all about the music. The lounge environment made it the right thing to do, very accessible and easy to like. Ditto Here: They were about groove, tone, vibe, and understatement.
Last Edited by on Jan 08, 2013 1:22 PM
