[FM] REVIEW: "Live From New York" Takes the NYC Scene On The Road

[Tom Neff]

"Live From New York" Takes the NYC Scene On The Road
by Tom Neff <tneff@grassyhill.org>

   The group-tour trend has been popular in folk lately.  Talented 
singer-songwriters are banding together and touring as groups and 
showcases, in the realization that while it may not make you rich 
overnight, it can build your listenership fast -- and it's a helluva lot 
more fun than gigging solo for eternity.  Led by the early flint-making 
collective Camp Hoboken, we have seen the Folk Monty, Cry Cry Cry, Voices 
On The Verge, and the recent Indiegrrl tour, among others.  Now comes the 
latest posse, Live From New York - and they may just be the coolest news in 
folk this year.

   Born from an impromptu gathering of performing friends at last year's 
Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference, LFNY brings together Anne 
O'Meara Heaton, Ina May Wool, Andrew Kerr, Sam Shaber, Teddy Goldstein and 
Edie Carey, together with Anne's frequent collaborator Frank Marotta Jr. 
Any of these talented young performers would merit a review of their own, 
but as a group they're an absolute riot -- and living proof that New York's 
next full-fledged folk "scene" has arrived for real.

   Funny thing about the Big Apple: it's such an "industry town," with 
entertainment conglomerate headquarters every five blocks, superstar movers 
and shakers lined up in limos outside the hot clubs at night, its streets 
renamed for music greats, and a thick crust of tourist legend spread 
everywhere, but it can be Death Valley for new folk -- the droughts last 
for years.  It's expensive to live here, clubs die like flies, nobody gives 
a damn, you can't park, and if you're really all that good there are 
jingles to write for a living.  (This is why Jack Hardy is a pagan saint, 
by the way, with his undying upper room full of songcraft and pasta.  Help 
him keep it!)

   But in recent years, New York folk's started to come back -- not just 
the tiresomely "edgy" urban folk/punk of the anti-everything crowd, but 
REAL new folk with heart and humor, at a network of decent clubs like 
Arlene Grocery and the Living Room.  It's taken years of nurturing, and a 
lot of credit goes to some of the LFNY crew, like Sam, Andrew and Anne, who 
ran stages during the leaner years and kept the flame lit.  Now we can all 
enjoy the rewards.  There are many more interesting new (and old) talents
in New York, by the way, but these folks are a pretty good cross-section.

   At six (6) on the roster, Live From New York is about as big as you'd 
want a showcase to get -- I'm certainly no fan of those dreary "spelling 
bee" events where a lounging row of folkies stare distractedly at the floor 
while one at a time does a limply explained song -- but that's not a 
problem here, because they all help each other out on the songs, and the 
material is so darn good you don't really notice the surroundings.

   I should say a brief word about each of the singer-songwriters, although 
there isn't space for proper reviews.

   Anne Heaton was a New Haven legend who moved to New York.  Her bluesy 
piano folk has a unique slack-voweled, angular-melodied sound, while the 
lyrics explore a kind of blue-collar rapture I find very affecting.  As a 
duo with Frank you really hear the complexity of the songwriting.

   Ina May Wool, my onetime blockmate on West 97th, has a fine band of her 
own and an elegant confidence on stage in any setting, including this 
group. Her well-crafted songs are as mature and intriguing as a lipsticked 
cognac glass.  (I think that was clever, let's see if she kicks me for it.) 
The new songs have a tinge of country - my Americana detector just went off!

   Andrew Kerr ran the open mic at the (late, lamented) Fast Folk Cafe for 
years, then he moved to San Francisco and then Chicago.  But he still has 
the NY sensibility, and he is HILARIOUS.  Actually he's got a good serious 
side too, and I hope he doesn't do ONLY funny numbers on this tour, but he 
does achieve the nice trick of being uproariously funny but never mean, 
foul or snide (I wish I could say this for some of folk's "funny acts").

   Sam Shaber is the soul of New York folk.  There, I said it, shoot the 
reviewer, I don't care.  She walks a high wire between lyrical high-rises 
of raw, open emotion and brash NYC 'tude -- and does it with an infectious 
energy and joy in every note.  That's what music is about for me.  So I 
hereby give it up for Sam.  Plus, she and Anne ran a weekly folk night at 
Triad for two crucial years.  In this city you MAKE your luck.  Ok, back to 
cool omniscience.

   Teddy Goldstein is funny too, with the silly, comfortable 
self-deprecation of a guy who's "Lucky In Love" (his showstopper song). 
Then there's "the hip thing" (don't ask).  I don't think we've seen a fifth 
of what this guy is capable of down the road, but what's already there is 
pretty amazing.

   Edie Carey had a well-received album (THE FALLING PLACES) a couple of 
years ago, but instead of morphing into the next plastic Miss Thing, she 
kept her folk shirt on (accepting only the rockstar pants) and stayed real, 
bless her.  If you get a charge out of the one-strum transformation from 
slightly nervous nerd into passionate siren, Edie is yer gal.  Her stuff is 
hushed, reflective and penetrating.

   Okay, before I overflow your hard drive, here's the deal.  They're only 
on the road for a week at a time right now -- it's so freaking hard to 
coordinate six schedules.  They started with a show at Passim, and made an 
instant CD-R that they're selling at shows - after the week is up I think 
they'll mix performances for a real live release of some kind.  They did 
Makor (NYC) last night, which is where I saw them (suffice it to say that 
the finale was Andrew's outrageous white rapper act with "T-Nice" on guitar 
and all four women as a sort of Livettes chorus).  They're at the Acoustic 
Cafe (Bridgeport/Fairfield, CT), back at Passim, and finishing at 
Northampton's Fire & Water this weekend, then there's one more date at The 
Point (Bryn Mawr PA) the weekend following.  That's it until early next 
year, so my advice is to show some NEW YORK HUSTLE and see them now.

   By the way, kudos to Passim maven Matt Smith who is travelling with LFNY 
as sound man.  That's good sound all right!  And to Matt Asbell who is 
handling management chores, although as true New Yorkers these guys 
definitely run their own show.

   There's no LFNY web page yet, but the dates are all on Musi-Cal ( 
http://www.musi-cal.com ) and each of the performers has an excellent 
website.  Andrew Kerr's ( http://www.andrewkerr.com - duh) has a subpage 
devoted to LFNY.

[ Disclaimer: I am friends with some of the people in this article, in case 
you can't tell, although we don't exactly watch each other's cats or shop 
together or anything.  If Live From New York stunk, I just wouldn't write 
anything.  They rock, so I wrote this, so go.  Also, I put a bunch of the 
Passim show CD-R cuts in rotation at http://radio.grassyhill.org , so tune 
in there if you have a high speed connection. ]