Seattle Subsonic

Bourbon and Broads and Shakers and No Bass

November 6th, 2011

Due to the release of my own book, I fell pretty far behind on my writings for Seattle Subsonic so my apologies to our readers and the bands and clubs. Fear not, though, as I’ll get back into the swing of things here today with the first of a few short blurbs and/or photos in an effort to get at least somewhat caught up.

First then: Bourbon & Broads

Here’s the preview I did for the show. I was looking forward to this night mainly for two reasons. First, I wanted to see Faustine Hudson play drums for Shelby Earl. For those who don’t know, Hudson also plays drums for The Young Evils. I’d seen them twice, and written about them once, but both shows were stripped down acoustic sets. She played shakers and tambourines and generally grooved on stage, but she didn’t play drums. Hearing that she’s quite the drummer, I was eager to see but never had. So then, what do I see at the Neptune? Shelby Earl doing her beautiful music with an acoustic guitar, and Faustine Hudson armed again with shakers and tambourines and generally grooving about the stage creating a good vibe, but alas, not sitting and playing the drums. Maybe someday.

The second reason I was eager for the show (well, in addition to all the bourbon to be had) was to see Betsy Olson. She does a bassless, drum and guitar duo that from the video of “Waitin’” that I embedded in my preview article, I thought would be pretty cool. And there she came on late with her guitar and Sera Cahoone on drums, and they did their thing, but maybe there’s something I’m missing with all the bands that seem to be doing this thing of leaving the bass player out of the picture. Some bands do it well (Lemolo and Phantogram come to mind), but some bands leave a big gaping hole right there in the middle between the guitar and the drums. It’s pretty small at first because the musicians are good, and the music does rock, but with each song, it grows. It becomes more obvious that something is missing. That something is bass. It was such at the Neptune. Olson and Cahoone are good, but there was that something missing.

I asked Olson after the show why they didn’t have a bass player, and she said, “Because I like the energy we have. I don’t think we need it.” Fair enough, but then she added, “I had one on the record though.” This surprised me since she was satisfied with the energy without the bass. “Why,” I asked. “Because it filled it out more.” Uhh … my thoughts exactly. If they add a bass player live, I’ll be right there grooving along. Until then, maybe I’ll just listen to the record.

Dave

Photos by Sandy Lane

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