Pipes's Picks: Best of 2017

When driving home from school one recent grey December day Gracie (my daughter- age 9) stated,  "Daddy, you've listened to a lot of sad country songs this year."  She was incredibly on point.  2017 was a year where I gravitated as a fan and listener toward acts that offered more introspective songwriting.  Reading over my picks this year, there is a common theme of reflection and hope that permeates each of the releases on this list.  Hope you enjoy my top 13 album favs of '17 and let me know what some of your favorite music of the year has been.

1. Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett: Lotta Sea Lice
Incredibly clever wordplay and a natural chemistry between two phenomenally gifted songwriters made this one the tops of '17.  Lyrically this album is a blast, and the tenderness between the two "intercontinental friends" comes across both on the record and when I had the pleasure of seeing the songs performed live.  From the quirky juxtapositions on "Blue Cheese" to the laid back trading off of lines and licks on "Over Everything," and everything else in between, Vile and Barnett hit a home run with their debut dual release.

2. Hiss Golden Messenger:  Hallelujah Anyhow
MC Taylor's poetically poignant lyrics have made him one of my favs of recent years.  His soulfully catchy tunes showcase a sense of hope in a time of uncertainty.  Backed by a stellar band which features Eau Claire native Phil Cook, Hiss Golden Messenger has honed their craft both in terms of lyrics and music. This record, Hallelujah Anyhow,  in particular swung for the fences on finding the beauty and joy in simple things around you.  Stand out tracks including "Lost in the Darkness," "Jenny of the Roses," and "Caledonia, My Love" power Taylor's finest work to date.

3. Joseph Huber: The Suffering Stage
Some of the finest music of the year was made right here in our fair city of Milwaukee.  Released in April, Joseph Huber's The Suffering Stage was perhaps my most listened to record of the year, and one that continues to grow on me after each subsequent listen.  It has captivated me as a listener in a way no other record by a local musician has since Field Report's masterful Marigolden dropped in 2015.  Heartfelt, humble, soulful and unapologeticly earnest, Huber tackles the current state of affairs in a way that makes his songs feel like they're being sung by an old friend around a campfire.  Stand outs include the toe tapping, "Playground/Battlefield," the epic wandering "The Suffering Stage," and the yearningly reflective "Souls Without Maps."

4. Strand of Oaks: Hard Love
Timothy Showalter created another stellar heart-felt, reflective, and utterly enjoyable rock 'n roll record on  Hard Love.  The follow up to 2014's outstanding album, HEAL, Hard Love delivers a collection of nine tracks that take the listener on a roller coaster of a ride.  The Strand of Oaks experience is a face melting juggernaut that I had the pleasure of seeing twice live.  Stand out tracks include, "Radio Kids," "Everything," "On A Hill," and what would be my bullpen intro song if I was a relief pitcher for the Brewers in 2017, the rocking "Rest of It."

5. Father John Misty: Pure Comedy
J. Tillman is at his finest on his third release as Father John Misty.  The bombastic "AM Gold" sound reigns supreme on Pure Comedy, perhaps his most ambitious release to date.  "Ballad of a Dying Man," is a new classic FJM anthem.  Tillman varies his songwriting on this record alternating between more shorter form songs as well as some stellar longer numbers like "Leaving LA" which clocks in at over 11 minutes.

6.  Spoon: Hot Thoughts
Spoon has established themselves as one the most consistent rock acts in the past two decades.  "Hot Thoughts" shows Spoon as a constant innovator of a band pushing their sound forward with a plethora of electronic effects and ideas.  "Do You Have To Talk Me Into It," the anthem title track, "Hot Thoughts," and the slacker swagger of "Can I Sit Next To You," cement Hot Thoughts as a stellar Spoon record even given their stellar catalogue

7. Ryan Adams: Prisoner
Ryan Adams's latest release may be his most personal and reflective to date.  A pioneer in ushering in the era of "alt-country" in the late 90's and early 2000's. Adams delivers a masterpiece break-up album on Prisoner.    With tracks like "Do You Still Love Me," "Prisoner," and "Doomsday," Adams solidifies himself as a Jedi Master of writing personally poignant tunes.

8.  The National: Sleep Well Beast
The National are America's voice for melancholy jams with Matt Beringer's superior vocals offering up the tales and imagery of the disenfranchised proletariat.  The National's connection with Justin Vernon and the Eaux Claires festival collaborations is evident in the ways that the band has expanded their sound.  "Day I Die," "The System Only Speaks in Sudden Darkness," and "Nobody Else Where Be There," punctuate the spirit of the record. 

9.  The War On Drugs: A Deeper Understanding
Adam Granduciel delivers another stellar compilation of tracks on A Deeper Understanding.  The follow-up to the outstanding 2014 Lost In A Dream.  The 60+ minute record delivers some sweeping soundscapes including, "Up All Night," "Pain," and album stand out "Clean Living."

10.  Turnpike Troubadours:  A Long Way From Your Heart
"Red Dirt" music went mainstream with Turnpike Troubadours best release to date.  Evan Felker and company released a gem which translates to listeners with some of their best narrative song writing to date.  Felker's raw emotion brings listeners into the intimate surroundings of his songs like "The Housefire," "A TornadoWarning" and "Sunday Morning Paper."

11. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit: The Nashville Sound
Isbell, his wife Amanda Shires, and the 400 unit deliver a balance of reflective ballads and ruckus rockers on The Nashville Sound.  Highlights include "Hope The High Road," the beautiful "If We Were Vampires," and "Last of My Kind."

12. Valerie June: The Order of Time
Valerie June has had an amazing musical journey in recent years, going from playing small clubs to much larger venues.  June is about as earnest and honest a songwriter as they come, and also one of the more hopeful beacons.  A singer with an amazing vocal range, June tackles everything from blues to gospel to Americana on The Order of Time which features tracks like the goose bump inducing "Astral Plane," and the "get down and boogie" track, "Shakedown."

13. Chicano Batman: Freedom is Free
Innovating retro sounds of funk and soul with a new modern twist, Los Angeles's Chicano Batman delivered a unique commentary on the times with this year's Freedom is Free.  Powered by slinky tracks like "Friendship (Is A Small Port in The Storm)," "Angel Child," and the title track, "Freedom is Free," Chicano Batman knows how to deliver some quality soulful funk.

Buffalo Gospel with Nickel and Rose, Anodyne Coffee 12/22/17

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Buffalo Gospel shows at Anodyne Coffee have become a thing of legend and lore in this city.  Just as you can count on Lexus trying to get you to buy a new car with a red bow around it this time of year, you can count on Ryan Necci and the boys to always bring their A+ game whenever they play.

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

Their recent show at Anodyne was no exception, and showcased how 2018 will undoubtedly be a huge year for the band.  Heartfelt.  Earnest.  Powerful.  Soulful.  These are words that come to mind when thinking about Milwaukee Americana outfit, Buffalo Gospel.  The audience knew that they were in for a treat with Necci starting the show solo on stage performing the classic Buffalo Gospel track "Mule" from 2013's We Can Be Horses.  From there each member of the band came on stage to join Necci as the song built to a climax with most of the room hanging on every word as Necci belted out the refrain, "you never know when a little love is all you need when a little love is all you've got."  Necci's vocals are incredibly powerful and his range and performance remains a cornerstone of Buffalo Gospel's unique sound.  

photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch

The quintet, which features the phenomenal Nick Lang on percussion, Kevin Rowe on upright bass and vocals,  Michael Rossetto on guitar and banjo and newest member Andrew Koenig on electric and acoustic guitar were rock solid as the band played a healthy mix of older material as well as tracks from the band's forthcoming record, On the First Bell, set to be released this coming May.    The group was noticeably more guitar heavy which made the honky tonk "Hard Labor Side of Gettin' On," come to life live.  Newer numbers like "Homeless" and "When Lonesome Comes Calling," were especially well received, as well as reworkings of classic cuts, "Hill Outside My Home" and "If I Was the Last Man."

However, what was perhaps the most memorable part of the evening was the encore, an unplugged stripped down rendition of "The Northern," and "Letters To Georgia" with Necci and company performing in the middle of the crowd with fans circled around them.  This was a goose bump inducing moment that left the crowd leaving Anodyne happy and yearning for more music.  We expect big things in 2018 from Buffalo Gospel.

Opening for Buffalo Gospel was the duo Nickel and Rose, who performed with the exceptional Ernest Brusabardis IV on fiddle.  Nickel and Rose's sound had a deep jazzy and bluesy feel which provided for a unique take on songs performed by guitarist Carl Nichols and upright bass player Johanna Rose. Performing a set that featured a heavy amount of material from their stellar 2017 release Oh My Sweet Love, Nickel and Rose did a great job of engaging the crowd before Buffalo Gospel took the stage.

Setlist (courtesy of Ryan Necci)

Mule
18 Wheeler
High Time to Hang Fire
Hard Labor Side of Gettin' On
Homeless
When Lonesome Comes Calling
Old I Do of Mine
Hill Outside My Home
Hoarse as a Crow
If I Was the Last Man
Guitars, Cadillacs*
The Western (the Devil is Me)
Lonestar
Son of a Gun

The Northern
Letters to Georgia

Buffalo Gospel Gear Up For Another Classic Show at Anodyne

Buffalo Gospel is a band whose sound cannot be reined in or confined.  At times it's raw and rowdy- with tracks that make you want to kick up your boots and stomp on the dance floor.  Other times it's painful and yearning with tunes that make your heart ache.  And at all times, Buffalo Gospel is at its core, a soulful band with the unique ability to blend lead vocalist Ryan Necci's deep wail with nuanced music on a wide array of classic Americana instruments including upright bass, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos.  Rooted in Ryan Necci's introspective lyrics that put his listeners into the souls of his characters, Buffalo Gospel delivers powerful music that rivals any Americana act out there in terms of poise, professionalism, and outright masterful songwriting.

Recently, we had a chance to catch up with Buffalo Gospel vocalist Ryan Necci as the band prepares for another fantastic performance at Anodyne Coffee Roasters in Walker's Point this Friday evening, December 22nd.

MKE Rocks: With 2017 coming to a close, what have been some of your highlights of the year as a band?

Necci: The best part of my year, musically, has been (as it always is) making music with the folks in this band. They’re incredibly talented and professional. They’re open to ideas. They’re patient with my weird non-music-theory-knowing music theory. There aren’t words to describe how lucky I feel to get to create with them. We’ve played more shows this year than any other year and I’ve really found a love for performing that I thought I had lost. I had played a lot shows in old bands and grown burnt out on traveling and grinding through performances. I’m definitely an introvert so it doesn’t come naturally to me but the support we’ve been getting from audiences has been pretty fantastic. We are making the music we want to and things on stage are clicking. It’s just really fun again. 

MKE Rocks: Americana and roots music has become increasingly popular both on a local, regional and national level?  Can you please comment on how the rise in popularity of Americana has influenced your band at all or your shows? 

Necci: Just the fact that people are getting passionate about songwriting again is wonderful. I would be making this music even if nobody wanted to hear it but the fact that they do is really a blessing. We’ve always operated with the simple belief that if we write songs that we think are good, others are probably going to dig them too. 

MKE Rocks: You have a new track out that is getting considerable buzz online, "The Hard Labor Side of Getting On."  This one's a foot stomper live.  Can you comment about how you chose to record this song and also the unique video that you created, pairing the song with Ub Iwerks‘ “Puppy Love” cartoon from 1932?  

Necci:  We recorded this one at Brian Joseph’s studio in Eau Claire, WI during the sessions for our new full length record. We basically played it two or three times live as a full band until we had a take we believed in. Then we brought our friends Shauncey Ali (fiddle) and Haley Rydell (vocals) in to add some color to it. It was a pretty simple, live process which is how we like to operate, if possible. 

As far as the video goes, it kind of felt like an old song to me, already. New, fresh video didn’t really seem to fit the vibe so I started looking for public domain footage. I stumbled across that cartoon and it really didn’t need too much editing. It seemed to line up pretty well and the story worked with the story in the song. We trimmed a few things here and there to make everything work really well from a timing sense but it was a pretty quick process. 

MKE Rocks: As a songwriter, what is your approach to crafting your songs-- are you lyrics first or music first?  Can you comment please on the process of Buffalo Gospel's songwriting.

Necci: It’s always been a cathartic process… almost like therapy to me. I collect ideas constantly on my phone and in a small notebook. These can be anything from a word that somebody says, a phrase I hear, something I read on a billboard, a line from a movie — really anything that resonates with me. Then when I sit down to write, which I try and do on a pretty regular basis, even if I’m not necessarily inspired, I’ll pull those ideas out and start fitting things together, trimming, reworking and building off them until something viable starts to take shape. From there it’s rounds and rounds of editing, usually, until I’ve got something I feel good about. I’m definitely my worst critic so if something makes it on stage, it’s definitely gone through the ringer a few times and I feel pretty good about it. There have been a few times where I’ll sit down with blank page and write something, start to finish, in like 15 minutes but that’s pretty rare for me. I can’t explain it when that happens but I won’t complain when it does.

Once I’ve got a skeleton of a song — lyrics and a general melody and structure — I’ll take that to the guys and we’ll work together to add muscle and flesh to it. They’re all classically trained musicians so I put a lot of faith and trust in them when it comes to finishing a song. It’s fun to sit back and watch people like that work together when they have relatively free reign to create. We all enjoy working together a great deal and rehearsals / writing sessions are actually really fun. 

MKE Rocks:  Buffalo Gospel shows at Anodyne have gained an epic reputation for outstanding performances.  Could you comment about what it's like to headline Anodyne... I have often stated that there is no venue in town that smells better than Anodyne, and on place to hear music and get a great cup of coffee too.

Necci: Well, that’s very kind of you to say. I can’t speak to how others feel about them but I will say there does seem to be something special about that stage for us. There’s always a little extra energy / passion that we can tap into. I’m not sure why. They’ve always treated us very well at Anodyne and made us very comfortable. That could have something to do with it. We just feel free to create up there. It’s also usually a very good crowd that has come out to listen as opposed to a bar where you might end up being background music. I know that I thrive off of audience energy and if they’re into it, I’m going to get more into it. It’s really a symbiotic relationship. Whether it’s 30 or 300, people really have a tremendous power to make or break a show and Anodyne crowds have been very kind to us in the past. 

MKE Rocks: Throughout the recent years Buffalo Gospel has had the pleasure of having a lot of amazing musicians from the area join the band at live shows.  Who will fans have the pleasure of seeing when they come out for the show on the 22nd? 

Necci: First and foremost, we'll have the incomparable Nickel & Rose starting the evening out. We're all big fans of theirs and are thrilled to share the stage with them. Buffalo Gospel will be  Nick Lang on percussion, Kevin Rowe on upright bass and vocals, Michael Rossetto on guitar and banjo and Andrew Koenig on electric and acoustic guitar. I will be there, too.

MKE Rocks: What lies ahead for Buffalo Gospel in 2018?  I know many folks, myself included, can't wait to hear the new record due out in May.  It's also awesome to see you playing the Blue Ox Festival in Eaux Claire, which has quickly become one of the premier Americana festivals in the nation.

Necci:  First and foremost, we’re really excited to finally put this record out. It's called 'On the First Bell,' and it’ll be out 5/4. We’ve had some personnel changes and some personal life things come up that have caused us to delay the release a bit but the songs and album still feel fresh and we all care about it a great deal. It’ll be really great to finally share it. 

Beyond that, we’re looking to play as much as possible next year. We’ve got a few festivals booked for the Spring/Summer and are working on a bunch more. We are also planning to hit a lot of spots in WI, MN, IA, IL and MI in the spring. 

Fans can expect to hear some new tracks from the forthcoming record, On The First Bell, as well as BG classics from their stellar previous releases.  Shine your boots and see you at Anodyne this Friday for what is sure to be a banger of a show by Buffalo Gospel and Nickel and Rose.