DOUG GILLARD
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY - 10/22/08
When it comes to the music business, October in NYC means only one thing: the College Music Journal’s annual conference and showcase, for which, in one of yesterday’s posts, we showed our mildly restrained, long-held contempt. Not gonna take it back, but we’ll acknowledge CMJ sometimes does come through for the greater good.
Taking the Southpaw stage close to midnight after performing at an earlier CMJ-related gig in Manhattan, the former Guided By Voices guitarist clearly demonstrated why he’s such a respected figure amongst fellow musicians and diehards: a gifted six-stringer with killer chops who always defers to the song and its arrangement, but despite possessing a keen sense of the classic Who and Kinks canons, is talented enough to be his own man within those tight margins. No wonder Bob Pollard worked with him for so long.
Gillard was ably-accompanied by a solid 3-piece band, performing a top-notch 45 min set for an enthusiastic audience that took much pleasure in the healthy helping of tunes from his upcoming release, as well as his stellar solo debut album Salamander. (“Valpolicella” and “Me & the Wind”, from the latter, were among the evening’s most memorable moments.) Gillard brought the evening to an end with his best-known composition to date: a rousing rendition of the GbV classic “I Am a Tree”, which reminded us how much we miss Uncle Bob’s bunch of loveable misfits, but also how lucky we are to have a musician and songwriter with Gillard’s ample gifts to keep looking forward to.
Southpaw
Brooklyn, NY - 10/22/08
When it comes to the music business, October in NYC means only one thing: the College Music Journal’s annual conference and showcase, for which, in one of yesterday’s posts, we showed our mildly restrained, long-held contempt. Not gonna take it back, but we’ll acknowledge CMJ sometimes does come through for the greater good.
Taking the Southpaw stage close to midnight after performing at an earlier CMJ-related gig in Manhattan, the former Guided By Voices guitarist clearly demonstrated why he’s such a respected figure amongst fellow musicians and diehards: a gifted six-stringer with killer chops who always defers to the song and its arrangement, but despite possessing a keen sense of the classic Who and Kinks canons, is talented enough to be his own man within those tight margins. No wonder Bob Pollard worked with him for so long.
Gillard was ably-accompanied by a solid 3-piece band, performing a top-notch 45 min set for an enthusiastic audience that took much pleasure in the healthy helping of tunes from his upcoming release, as well as his stellar solo debut album Salamander. (“Valpolicella” and “Me & the Wind”, from the latter, were among the evening’s most memorable moments.) Gillard brought the evening to an end with his best-known composition to date: a rousing rendition of the GbV classic “I Am a Tree”, which reminded us how much we miss Uncle Bob’s bunch of loveable misfits, but also how lucky we are to have a musician and songwriter with Gillard’s ample gifts to keep looking forward to.
