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We all wanted to be here with Ad tonight to celebrate his 62nd Other Side of the Bear. And, as if that weren't reason enough to come out, Valerie Forgione is starting the evening off. I would listen to Valerie sing the phone book. When she first gets up on stage she's really nervous, which I hope she's playing up for comic effect; it would be sad if she really didn't know how very, very good she is. She plays guitar (helpfully pointing out that she's only playing two chords) and sings a brand new song. It's lovely, with a kind of lilting melodic twist that she excels at. Next we get solo-acoustic versions of a couple of Mistle Thrush songs: "God's Enemies" and the gorgeous fan-favorite oldie "Overpass," and the latter she does screw up, though not to an extent commensurate with the amount she berates herself. There's also some really excellent guitar work on that one. She finishes with a bluesy, soulful a capella number. I only wish the set were longer.
Jonny Pape points out right off that it's terrible to have to follow someone who sings that well. He's right; his voice is pretty awful, with a grating, nasal tone in the high end, where he mostly stays. His low end isn't bad, and he should write lots of low songs. The songs themselves aren't bad, unassuming and folky, and I like some of his intricate, interesting guitar figures and unusual chord progressions. His band apparently has another vocalist, and that might help.
Ad Frank is in rare form tonight, discursive and derisive. He has, in the course of his 61 previous Other Side appearances, become entirely comfortable with the format and the unique performer-audience give and take it seems to encourage. As usual, I like him best at the piano; his guitar has kind of a tinny sound, while his piano playing is lush and delicate. (And, tonight, kind of whimsical.) And, also as usual, we get a mixture of his own finely crafted bittersweetbitter pop gems with obscure and/or unlikely covers. I love the fairly new (I think) "Friends For Five Days," which rhymes "nightstand" and "night stand" in a particularly clever fashion. And he ends the night with a long, heartbreaking cover which I am told is David Bowie's extremely early "Cygnet Committee."
