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| From | Stacy Lynn <stacylists@gmail.com> |
| Subject | Mike Viola in NYC |
| Date | Wed, 13 Jul 2005 07:50:11 -0400 |
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Clearly, if you were in NYC last night, there was one place to be, and
that place was the Mike Viola show.
The 11th Street Bar is just a little tiny neighborhood bar. Wood
floors, brick walls, nothing that really makes it stand out. In the
back is a little room with an odd assortment of mismatched chairs and
tables, along with a piano and mic set up.
My husband went back there and sat down. Slowly other people started
arriving, though I think that there were less than 20 people there in
that room, and maybe a hand full of others on the other side of the
invisible wall, more in the bar area, who were there for Mike.
During the show, Mike kept referring to us as friends, and a show as
small as that, everyone there certainly was friends! I love these
small, intimate shows.
Much like his Living Room shows, he would jump back and forth between
Piano and Guitar, would start and stop covers, would just generally
play around.
Setlist (Mark, Scott, anyone else that was there, I'm superbad at
knowing names for songs and in the case of covers, who played them
originally, so please jump in and make corrections whenever necessary,
I made up song titles when I didn't know the name of the song) with
notes about the show interspursed:
Warmed up with Jed Parrish (The Gravel Pit, etc) to some Simon and
Garfunkel songs
On the Piano:
What to do with Michael
Dear Boy - he forgot the words and an audience member had to help him out
All My Love - cover, halfway into it, he commented that it is too "schmaltzy"
On the Guitar:
Lead Us Away
I'm Not Over You - he stopped this one near the end because he was
having trouble remembering the piano part and wanted to "spare us the
bullshit"
Something Electric - he realized mid-song that he forgot his harmonica!
Back on piano:
Love You - a cover, please jog my memory, what was the song and who
sang it originally?
Back on Guitar:
America Tune
Muscle Rain (request)
At this point Jed Parrish joined him for the rest of the set.
Carefree Highway - Gordon Lightfoot cover
Nice to KNow You
Hunker Down
Most Beautiful Girl - Charlie Rich cover
Sounds of Silence
Motel Mood
Switched to Guitar, Jed took piano:
Your Mother Should Know - did this singalong style
Bedford Evermore - I think this was a cover
Pandoras Box - not sure what this is, but it was ... odd. They
finished the song with an imitation of backwards singing!
The Things We Do For Love
Come on Girl - I don't think anyone there had ever heard him do this live!
Sparkle - we thought for a second that this would be karaoke style!
Rocketman
God Only Knows - he couldn't figure out the piano part and it didn't
last all the way through
Truck Stop Sweetheart
- - song from blue thumb that I can't remember the name to. :(
Well, that is a lot of stuff, and certainly enough to write Audities
about, but it doesn't end there.
The whole lot of us, or most of us at least, trucked down to The
Living Room for Freedy Johnson's show there. It was pretty crowded,
but a table eventually opened up in the back so I got to sit down.
Though I have Freedy's CDs, I didn't really keep track of his set list
until he asked Mike to come up on stage!
As Scott put it, it was really interesting and fun seeing Mike be the
side man. :) Mike stuck to the piano for the set, and they played 9
songs together!!! All covers. Here you go:
Don't Worry Baby
Rocket Man - again!
Show Me the Way
Come and Get It
Day After Day
Coming to America
Go Your Own Way
Suspecious Minds
Bus Stop
Afterwards, I spent waay too much time talking with friends there, and
I drank waaay too much beer (one beer is too much for me when I work
the next day!) but, oh, was it worth it. Watching Mike (the musical
genius as Freedy called him) figure out the piano parts to cover
songs, reminding him the words to his own songs... Sure, his shows
could benefit from some additional structure, but then again, this is
just so much fun, I'm not sure I'd want it to! I got to hear some
absolutely great music covered by one of the best songwriters and
singers in the world (imhumbleo of course), I got to hear his own
music that he wrote, including Truck Stop Sweetheart which I like to
imagine is "our" song since he sang it for Rey and I when we first saw
him Arizona (he said it was the most deserty song he had!)... And
between Mike and the rest of my friends there, I just had a great time
talking with all these wonderful people, all brought together by
Mike's music. Awwwwwww. :)
Stacy
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