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The Other Side of the Bear is packed tonight! It's a strong bill, with Chris Zerby of Helicopter Helicopter leading off. I love his band, and his songs are great, but I think they work better as big rock songs, and his voice is just a little odd for solo acoustic. There are also some technical issues initially. But the set gets much stronger when H2 drummer Dave Foy joins him on drums. He's not doing anything flashy tonight--I'd go so far as to call it "tasteful"--but the drums really help to anchor the sound, and together they play some of the more upbeat H2 material.
Cubby is next. Ad Frank's been talking her up for a while now, and I can see why; there's a lot of genius in her music. It's pretty straight-up singer/songwriter fare, and if it has its trite and facile moments, it can also veer into some wild and gorgeous rhyme schemes, with imagery that ranges from intense and personal to surreal and fascinating. The melodies are simple, but in a way that draws me in. I can't tell if Cubby is terrified, or if that's just her voice: it's not a bad voice, but it shakes as if she were about to burst into tears. Her guitar playing is pretty, but underrehearsed.
Ad starts out on piano, which I always love, and he sings with a beautiful delicacy tonight. He also drops the octave once or twice, and I like the way certain lines sound in this richer, almost growly part of his voice. After a few originals, Valerie Forgione joins him for a Bette Midler cover! They sound great together, Valerie is all sad sass, and Ad is a natural-born accompanist. Then we get a few songs on guitar to close out the night. One of the new ones ("Friends For Five Days," I think?) has a wonderfully simple, rich, involving guitar part, and "You May Already Be a Winner" sounds very different on solo guitar; warmer, somehow, and more personal. I like it.
