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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | jchasin@nyc.rr.com |
| Subject | Re: Rouse & Strays Don't Sleep (Hubbard) |
| Date | Mon, 17 Apr 2006 12:14:02 -0400 |
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----- Original Message -----
From: Stewart Mason <craigtorso@verizon.net>
> I assume that's "The Man Who Doesn't Know How To Smile," which is
> probably my favorite song on the new album. Which I'm absolutely
> adoring, by the way: I think it might be his most consistently
> strong
> effort so far.
It is; or at least it was when I saw them in NYC. And after, she
(thew assumed girlfriend) was the one at the merch table, selling the
CDs.
The new Rouse is certainly his softest, mildest one yet, and I think
its real purty. Live I thought it sounded exquisite, but on some of
the numbers I found the instrumentation to be too sparse for the live
setting; not dynamic enough. The basic band was a trio, and most
songs Rouse played acoustic guitar. There was a string quartet (I
thought high schoolers) on a bunch at the beginning and at the end.
But in the middle, some songs has just Rouse on acoustic, which he
would refrain from playing for stretches sometimes while singing, plus
bass and drum, and the drummer had a light touch. It all sounded
exquisite, but very minimalist, and at times I found myself thinking
that the music would work better as a soundboard recording in my
living room than as a concert. Town Hall is a nice seated venue,
practically a Broadway theater; I don't know how it would have gone
over in a standing rock club venue, but I would suspect not as well.
One friend and Audities member asked me later what I thought of the
show. I said "I thought it was a little--" and then struggled for the
right word, and he cut in and asked, "boring?" Not my word, but it
was his.
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