KS Issue #1: The Wooden Sky, Swear and Shake, David Wax Museum

Words // Scott Pingeton
Video // Steve Legare

As part of the partnership between Kitchen Sessions and Visible Voice, we'll be digging back into the KS archives and pulling out some of our favorite audio and video from past house shows.  This is the first in what we hope will be a series of monthly installments - and it features some incredible stuff.  Enjoy - and please let us know what you think in the comments.

KS #18: The Wooden Sky

The Wooden Sky is one of my favorite bands in the world, and I've made no secret of that fact over the past few months.  Gavin Gardiner's songs are so finely crafted, and the band so adept at conveying a feeling through music.  But what's so great about this band is that they can pull off an echo-drenched jam or a banjo-folk shuffle, a whisper-quiet folk tune or a stomping call-to-arms.  Or, for example, "Malibu Rum" from their fantastic new record Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon A Sun - a melancholy lament set against a breezy coconut-scented melody - perfectly evocative.  (website)

KS#21: Swear and Shake

I discovered Swear and Shake by accident, but I fell in love immediately.  I was at the BOMB festival in Hartford and was on my way between stages when they caught my ear.  A song or two later I was convinced I had to book them for the Newport Nightcap afterparty - which they agreed to do.  Kari Spieler's voice is other-worldly, and the band's mix of indie folk and pop is irresistible.  I am anxiously awaiting their debut LP, which will include "These White Walls".  This video in particular really captures the spirit of Kitchen Sessions - great music in an intimate space.  (website)

KS #1: David Wax Museum
This set pre-dates the Kitchen Sessions name - and in many ways it inspired what Steve and company have done since.  I was lucky enough to be there that night - a cold, rainy, miserable night in March 2010.  I didn't know David Wax Museum at all, but I left a lifelong fan.  Hearing these songs - many of which would not be released until nearly a year later on Everything is Saved - was a revelation.  This was pre-Newport Folk, pre-NPR Music...just four incredible musicians playing to a room full of strangers and blowing away every single one of them away.  House shows like these were the bricks in the foundation on which they continue to build greater and greater success.  (website)

David Wax Museum
Kitchen Session #1
March 30, 2010

Beekeeper
Beatrice
The Persimmon Tree
Unfruitful
(Banter)
Rosamar
Yes, Maria, Yes
Donkey In My Soul
Banter
Look What You've Done To Me
Carpenter Bird
Si Te Vas
That's Not True
Let Me Rest
Colas
When You Are Still
The Great Unawakening

Full set download: mp3 zip

Favorite Albums of 2011 10-6

10. The Shivers – More
More reads like a series of vignettes with a common theme of love.  Or, more specifically, lost love.  A musically diverse batch of songs that draws on soul, garage and a little electro-pop, but all with a gritty NYC edge. 

The Shivers - Irrational Love

9. David Wax Museum – Everything Is Saved
On Everything Is Saved, local favorites David Wax Museum deftly marry influences as diverse as Mexican son jarocho, american folk and klezmer.  A deeply personal and joyous record.

David Wax Museum - Born With A Broken Heart

8. Wilco – The Whole Love
The Whole Love shows off the band's impressive range - but this is no Wilco-by-numbers genre exercise.  The songs push creative limits and show that as the band isn't ready to start coasting yet. 

Wilco - Art of Almost

7. Fleet Foxes – Helplessnes Blues
Fleet Foxes' 2008 debut thrust them onto the national spotlight as poster childs for the new wave of folk.  Helplessness Blues proves that their success was not a fluke.  Rich harmonies and reverby vocals remain, but the lyrics seem a bit more personal.

Fleet Foxes - Montezuma

6. Gillian Welch – The Harrow & The Harvest
The Harrow & The Harvest was a long time coming.  8 years after her last release, Gillian Welch returns with another set of timeless folk songs.  It was well worth the wait.

Gillian Welch - The Way It Goes

Review: David Wax Museum in Providence RI 12.2.11

Words // Brian Hodge

Much has been made about David Wax Museum on this site - and many, many others - along the band’s ascendant rise to indie darling-ship.  But setting aside the donkey jawbone (always awesome), going beyond the multi-instrument Mexi-’Mericana musicianship (continually impressive) and looking past their zealous marketing efforts (OK), and here emerges an undeniable authenticity in their act. 

Authenticity is often-sought, rarely obtained and difficult to describe without sounding stupid.  Maybe you just know it when you see it. Thankfully, I was able to see it on Friday night. 

On December 2, the David Wax Museum skirted south to Fête, a visually-striking (and promising) new venue in the west end of Providence.  The set burned slowly to begin with “That’s Not True” but quickly ramped up with “Beatrice,” and “The Persimmon Tree” before debuting one of two new songs for the night.

The new stuff sounded a lot like the old stuff - which is to say, lovely.  The musicality is still on full display, but an increased emphasis on vocal harmonies point toward another impressive effort.  Wax and co. plan to record the as-yet-untitled album this winter with aims of a (hopefully) fall release.

But if there any remaining pretenses about the ebullient enthusiasm on display that evening, they were quickly shed when the Museum took to the audience for an acapella version of “The Carpenter Bird.”  And then things got super-fun with the soulful “Night Was a Car” and the delightfully unhinged “Unfruitful,” two highlights from the excellent Everything Is Saved LP.

The evening closed when opener Spiritual Family Reunion joined the headliners for a passionate and personal performance of “Let Me Rest.” 

Genuine articles are few and far between, especially in today’s burgeoning, multi-Grammy nomination for Mumford & Sons, hyper-hyphenated folk music scene.  Boston should be proud to possess one in the David Wax Museum.

Spirtual Family Reunion opened the evening, journeying from New York City (“Seven hours from here, if you drive on a Friday night,” lead singer Nick Panken quipped) opened the night with revivalist foot-stompers, borrowing bits from Hank Williams and early Johnny Cash, blurring the line between past and  present all along the way.

David Wax Museum video premiere + ticket giveaway

Earlier this year, VV favorites David Wax Museum released Everything Is Saved, their third full-length and an album I called "a lovingly-crafted masterpiece".  For the record, I stand by that statement and it's still one of my favorite albums of the year.  To celebrate it's release the band threw one hell of a party at Oberon in Harvard Square - complete with trapeze artists, confetti, scorpion-shaped bass guitars and splintered jawbones (donkey jawbones, that is).  Since then they've toured pretty much non-stop, criss-crossing the US and Canada from Atlanta to Winnipeg to San Diego and pretty much everywhere in between. And, well, when you spend that much time on the road this is what happens...

It can't be a good sign when donkey jawbones start talking to you...!  Luckily Alec Spiegelman stepped up, the band marched on and now we get to look forward to their triumphant return to Boston for only their second local show since the CD release back in February.  The show is December 3 at Arlington Street Church in Boston, and in these beautiful surroundings it's guaranteed to be quite the homecoming.  Visible Voice is giving away tickets to one lucky winner (and a guest), here's how you enter:

1. Go to the Visible Voice Facebook page and click "Like"

2. Write the name of your favorite David Wax Museum song on our FB wall

We'll pick a lucky winner at random on Wednesday November 23!  Good luck!  And if you want to skip all the fun and games and lock down your spot now, you can still buy tickets here.

Newport Folk Preview: David Wax Museum

The following is reposted from October 2010: 

My first introduction to The David Wax Museum was at the inaugural Kitchen Session back in March.  I still remember showing up on that rainy Spring night knowing literally nothing about the band and leaving later in the night, CDs in hand, a fan.  A polite golf clap turned into raucous applause over the course of the night as David Wax, Suz Slezak, Jiro Kokubu and Jordan Wax played an energetic set of Mexican-infused folk songs.

Over the last six-plus months I've had the chance to see the band win over larger and larger audiences in the same way they did a small living room that night.  First it was the tiny Lizard Lounge and Club Passim, later it was the mighty Newport Folk Festival - in all cases the band's enthusiasm brought the crowds to their feet as they sang and danced along. 

Since Newport 2010, the band has continued to play big and prestigious stages - from NPR's Mountain Stage to Bob Boilen's famous desk, released one of the best albums of 2011 so far, has continued to tour the country tirelessly, and has shared the stage with Josh Ritter, Will Oldham, Bela Fleck, Andrew Bird and more.  They return to Newport again this year, the site of their biggest triumph and the show that thrust them into the national spotlight to open the main stage on Sunday. 

Listen to the band's set from the Paradise in October 2010, opening for fellow Newport 2011 band Carolina Chocolate Drops.  The set was a mix of songs from their last LP Carpenter Bird, and songs from their upcoming album Everything Is Saved.  The full set is available for stream/download below in fantastic sound - a pristine matrix of soundboard and audience recording.

The David Wax Museum
Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
October 16, 2010

Beatrice
The Persimmon Tree
When You Are Still
Born With A Broken Heart
Colas
Unfruitful
Lavender Street (acoustic)
Beekeeper
The Great Unawakening
Vivian Won't You Take Me In
Yes, Maria, Yes

Newport Folk 2011 Mixtape

Delta Spirit - The Flood
Gillian Welch - The Way It Goes
Justin Townes Earle - Black Eyed Suzy
Brown Bird - Bottom Of The Bottle
Trampled By Turtles - Wait So Long
The Decemberists - Of Angels And Angels
David Wax Museum - That's Not True
River City Extension - Today, I Feel Like I'm Evolving
M. Ward (featuring Zooey Deschanel - Rave On
Elvis Costello (featuring Emmylou Harris) - Scarlet Tide
Freelance Whales - The Great Estates
The Head And The Heart - Rivers And Roads

Review: David Wax Museum - Everything Is Saved

You could say David Wax Museum had a good 2010.  They toured with The Old 97s, played one of the most memorable sets at Newport Folk 2010,  garnered lavish praise from NPR's music guru Bob Boilen and took home a Boston Music Award - but with a recent NPR Tiny Desk Concert, Daytrotter session and steadily-building buzz, it's starting to look like 2011 might be even better. 

The question is, does their new album Everything Is Saved live up to the growing expectations?  Simply put, the answer is a resounding "yes" - this is the sound of artists maturing, expanding and refining their sound and delivering a lovingly-crafted masterpiece of an album.

It's a well-known fact that David Wax spent a year in Mexico studying traditional son jarocho - and that influence is sprinkled throughout the album - but a variety of other influences as diverse as Klezmer, traditional folk and indie rock are seamlessly blended into a textured and cohesive whole.  Opener "Born With A Broken Heart" begins with handclaps and a simply-strummed jarana, but gradually builds to a rousing crescendo as accordion, ramshackle percussion and finally latin horns appear.  From there the album takes a number of unexpected twists and turns - "That's Not True" is a haunting, percussion-driven standout that features an Eastern European accordian and horn interlude that wouldn't sound out of place on a Beirut record.  "Night Was A Car" is a blue-eyed soul tune that I could picture Rick Danko belting out in the basement of Big Pink.  "Chuchumbe", a hybrid Mexican-folk-pop should-be hit that you won't be able to get out of your head. The album draws to a close with two simple folk ballads "The Least I Can Do", a poignant reflection on the past, and "Wait For Me", a solemn vow of solidarity and love. 

These varied influences are expertly combined to create a sound that is refreshingly original and tuned to suit the mood of each song.  With such a rich palette of sounds at their disposal, the restraint shown is impressive - never are the arrangements heavy-handed or excessive.  In fact, some of the most affecting moments on the album are when the songs are stripped bare - "Lavender Street" features solo piano, simple electric guitar, leaving nothing to distract from the vocals.  Similarly, subtle instrumentation is used to accompany Wax's acoustic guitar in the haunting ballad "Look What You've Done To Me".  Sam Kassirer's production cannot be overlooked in helping tie the album together and give it a cohesive, live sound - it feels as if you're in the room with the band.

The success of Everything Is Saved is clearly an extension of the people who made it, and the care, love and hard work that they invested.  The album -- and I mean that in the broadest sense, from the songs/arrangements, to the DIY funding, to the beautiful packaging -- fully reflects the dedication, belief and sweat equity that the David Wax Museum have poured into their craft.  Everything Is Saved is a triumph for a band that has done things on their own terms.  I continue to be amazed as I see this band ascend to ever greater heights, but it's not surprising in the least.

David Wax Museum - Born With A Broken Heart

Everything Is Saved is out February 8, order it here.  The band's Boston CD release extravaganza is sold out, but the band has a busy tour schedule lined up, including other New England dates in Biddeford ME, Fall River MA and Greenfield MA.  Full tour schedule:

Thu Feb 3 - Cambridge, MA - Oberon (CD Release Extravaganza)

Fri Feb 4 - Biddeford, ME - The Oak + the Ax

Sat Feb 5 - Fall River, MA - Narrows Center for the Arts

Tue Feb 8 - Greenfield, MA - Arts Block

Wed Feb 9 - New York, NY - Joe's Pub

Thu Feb 10 - Harrisburg, PA - The Abbey Bar at Appalachian Brewing Co 

Fri Feb 11 - Philadelphia, PA - Tin Angel

Sat Feb 12 - Washington, DC - Sixth I Historic Synagogue

Sun Feb 13- Charlottesville, VA - The Southern

Mon Feb 14 - Asheville, NC - Lexington Avenue Brewery

Tue Feb 15 - Hickory, NC - The Fireman's Kitchen

Thu Feb 17-19 Memphis, TN - Folk Alliance

Mon Feb 21 - Lexington, KY - Woodsongs

Tue Feb 22 - Newport, KY - Southgate House Parlor

Wed Feb 23 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern

Thu Feb 24 - Bloomington, IL - The Bishop 

Fri Feb 25 - Evanston, IL - Space

Mar 3-6 - Columbia, MO - True/False Film Festival

Sun Mar 27 - Charleston, WV - Mountain Stage

Preview: Boston Music Awards 2010

It's been a big year in Boston music.  The rise explosion of Passion Pit continued as they conquered huge crowds around the world, and Dom burst onto the scene as the next Pitchfork-endorsed buzz band to emerge from the Boston area.  On the Americana side, 2010 saw David Wax Museum triumph at Newport Folk Festival, Kingsley Flood emerge as a country-punk tour de force and Josh Ritter release another masterpiece of an album.  The legendary Harper's Ferry closed its doors for good (kinda) and the Paradise closed temporarily, only to reopen with a new, larger floorplan.  Royale took over the old Roxy space and added another world class venue to the Boston scene, booking a consistently great lineup of artists.  And that's just the beginning. [Ed's note:  oh yeah, and visible voice launched]

The 23rd annual Boston Music Awards will celebrate all of this and more on December 5 at the Liberty Hotel.  With a killer lineup of musical acts that includes Jenny Dee And The Deelinquents, Kingsley Flood, Dom and The Remains(!).  And of course, it wouldn't be an awards show without the awards.  Nominees across 30 categories include Peter Wolf, Amanda Palmer, Josh Ritter, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Dropkick Murphys, John McCauley (of Deer Tick), The Low Anthem, David Wax Museum, Mean Creek, Bodega Girls and lots more.  Get in on the act and vote for your favorite artists here.

Standard tickets are available for $20 - a great deal for a night full of great music.  VIP tickets, which include access to an exclusive cocktail hour with artists and industry insiders, are $99.  Get tickets here.  Check Visible Voice for full post-event coverage.

Check out free tracks by some of our favorite BMA-nominated artists below:

Viva Viva - Valentine
Dom - Living In America
Josh Ritter - Change Of Time
David Wax Museum - Born With A Broken Heart (Live at the Paradise)
Kingsley Flood - Roll Of The Dice
Mean Creek - The Comedian
 

Live: David Wax Museum at Paradise Rock Club 10.16.10

UPDATE: By popular demand I've re-uploaded this David Wax Museum show from October 2010.  This show featured a stripped-down three-piece lineup but as always, they delivered an incredible set -- the crowd ate it up.  They play songs from I Turned Off Thinking About, Carpenter Bird, the then-unreleased Everything Is Saved and "Vivian", a track that will finally see the light of day (in re-worked form) on their upcoming album.

My first introduction to The David Wax Museum was at the inaugural Kitchen Session back in March.  I still remember showing up on that rainy Spring night knowing literally nothing about the band and leaving later in the night, CDs in hand, a fan.  A polite golf clap turned into raucous applause over the course of the night as David Wax, Suz Slezak, Jiro Kokubu and Jordan Wax played an energetic set of Mexican-infused folk songs.

Over the last six-plus months I've had the chance to see the band win over larger and larger audiences in the same way they did a small living room that night.  First it was the tiny Lizard Lounge and Club Passim, later it was the mighty Newport Folk Festival - in all cases the band's enthusiasm brought the crowds to their feet as they sang and danced along.  As I stood at the side of the stage at Newport I couldn't help but eavesdrop as members of the Avett Brothers likened the drive and ambition of David Wax Museum to themselves.  In the days that followed it was hard to find a review of the festival that didn't cite The David Wax Museum as one of the true highlights. 

Following a successful but busy summer that culminated with a string of sold out shows at Lizard Lounge, the band took what must have been a much-needed break.  They returned to the stage at the Paradise on October 16 and picked up right where they left off, quickly winning over a crowd of Carolina Chocolate Drops fans.  The set was a mix of songs from their last LP Carpenter Bird, and songs from their upcoming album Everything Is Saved.  The full set is available for stream/download below in fantastic sound - a pristine matrix of soundboard and audience recording.

Please support The David Wax Museum by pre-ordering Everything Is Saved here, and get tickets for their October 29 show at Club Passim (early show is sold out, tickets still available for the late show).

The David Wax Museum
Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
October 16, 2010

Beatrice
The Persimmon Tree
When You Are Still
Born With A Broken Heart
Colas
Unfruitful
Lavender Street (acoustic)
Beekeeper
The Great Unawakening
Vivian
Yes, Maria, Yes