Pernice
Brothers' music flawless, underappreciated
By Christa Nieminen~ Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 05, 2005
WEST PALM BEACH — Joe Pernice is a clever fellow. It's no surprise
the guy is a published author as well as musician with lyrics like, "Can
you pick a favorite color from a thousand shades of grey/In the green
East River where no water lilies grow, I prayed for hope to spring eternal,
even if the trickle's slow."
His master's of fine arts in creative writing from the University of Massachusetts
didn't go to waste. What could be considered a waste, however, was the
less than impressive attendance at the Pernice Brothers show Saturday
night at Respectable Street. Certainly, the evening wasn't a waste for
fans, but Pernice and his fellow musicians create music that deserves
more than people shuffling about waiting for the DJ to start spinning.
The rainy evening began with local act Summer Blanket, which has cultivated
a pretty impressive following. The group, led by Keith Michaud, delivered
a set of melodic pop, with Michaud's dreamy vocals smoothing the edges
off of the angst. Two new songs were introduced to the crowd, both uptempo,
and for the band's final number, John Ralston of Legends of Rodeo joined
the band onstage.
Next up was NYC's Cloud Room. Lead singer J. starting slapping his tambourine
around and the band launched into its New York dance-rock. J. shares a
vocal timbre with Bono — and an intensity to match. If Bono fronted
Hot Hot Heat or if Interpol kicked it up a few notches, Cloud Room would
be the product. A good part of the crowd immediately started dancing and
even remained attentive when the group slowed it down for a little love
song, O My Love.
The Pernice Brothers took the stage around 11:15 with the flawless There
Goes the Sun, the first track off their new album — also practically
flawless — Discover a Lovelier You. Pernice and his laid-back band
of brothers — James Walbourne, Peyton Pinkerton, Patrick Berkery
and Thom Monahan — delivered a lush set of short pop songs, with
harmonies reminiscent of decades past.
All in all, the group played less than an hour and opted to skip the encore
for which several fans were chanting. But, considering the material the
band fit in that precious 50 minutes and that all the proceeds from the
merchandise table went to the Red Cross, who really had room to complain?
During Saddest Quo, Pernice sang, "All the acolytes are choking/But
my faith in life's unbroken/Want to leave this room better than I found
it." Even if he wasn't singing about Respectable's, that little club
was all the better for hosting Pernice and his music in South Florida.
If only more people could have been there to hear it.
 Aimee Mann at The Carefree Theatre photo by Steven Rullman |
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LOEB
TRIUMPHS DESPITE AMP MISHAP
By
Charles Passy, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 24, 2003
WEST
PALM BEACH -- As Lisa Loeb was launching into one of her final numbers
Saturday night at Respectable Street, lightning shook the club and blew
out her amp. Another artist might have taken that as a sign to call it
a day.
Not Loeb.
She forged ahead, singing the last couple of songs in the truest acoustic sense. It didn't matter that half the crowd could barely hear her without the benefit of a working sound system. Her pluckiness still won them over.
In a way, the anecdote serves as a perfect metaphor for describing the folk-pop artist's career. Loeb was launched into the Top 40 stratosphere on the unexpected basis of a song -- Stay -- that appeared on the soundtrack to the Gen X romantic comedy, Reality Bites.
She hung around for a couple more years, then seemingly vanished into the same black hole that other artists of the singer-songwriter Lilith Fair school have found themselves.
Which is a shame, especially if you consider that Loeb, wearing her signature cat-eyed specs, filled Respectable Street to its near capacity.
True, her confessional style has its disadvantages: Let's just say it would be nice if she dropped the personal pronoun once in a while. But she's an engaging tunesmith who usually recognizes the difference between sentiment and sentimentality and whose melodies have an undeniable catchiness. Plus, she's grown into a real performer.
The latter aspect was apparent throughout her 90-minute set. Loeb did her expected hits, but she was good at easing the crowd's way into newer material, including a trio of fine songs -- Did That, The Way It Really Is and You Don't Know Me -- from her latest album, Hello Lisa.
Moreover, Loeb showed some muscle as a guitarist, giving snap to songs that could have dissipated in a cloud of poetic pretension. And who could resist her impromptu rendition of the Leo Sayer hit, You Make Me Feel Like Dancing?
Loeb had a strong opener in Remember the Ocean, a local folk-pop ensemble fronted by Kristin Larkin that's sounding more confident and polished with each gig. Less successful was Nashville singer-songwriter Will Hoge, who came off like just another whiny balladeer.
charles_passy@pbpost.com