As the great Joni Mitchell once wrote in her hit single “Big Yellow Taxi,”, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” (Joni Mitchell “Big Yellow Taxi,” Ladies of the Canyon, ©1970).
The past eighteen or so months living in a general void of live music has taken its toll on musicians, venues, and the hospitality industry for sure. It also has taken its toll on the fans, and in so many ways, the lack of music has been a punch to the gut of our collective human souls.
There is something purely magical about a live performance and the relationship between the artist and the audience… an energy so palpable that it cannot truly be recreated in any other setting. Sure, streaming shows served their purpose of keeping people connected with artists and provided a reprieve in Netflix binge watching. However, without a live audience there isn’t that same communal feeling or energy. Music is best when it is shared live and with an audience. Period. Live music unites us as diverse people in our great city, not unlike how this summer the entirety of Milwaukee seemed to be “Fearing the Deer,” and supporting our World Champion Milwaukee Bucks.
“It feels amazing to be back out there making music together and in front of an in-person audience!” Sarah Vos, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Milwaukee folk-Americana band Dead Horses exclaimed in a recent interview with MKERocks, “I believe that the audience and the space literally change what is happening musically, and I really missed that. It's fun to re-approach the performance and the songs after having over a year off from touring as everything feels so fresh.”
Vos and her band Dead Horses, which features longtime bandmate bassist Daniel Wolff, went from playing over 100 shows a year to hardly any during the COVID pandemic. Vos continued, “Not being able to tour provided a space from the go-go-go attitude we've had throughout much of our time together as a band. New and fresh perspective and inspiration is so necessary in art, and these challenging times have presented just that.”
“I feel so refreshed and focused after the time off,” Vos added with a grin, “It's fascinating that the pandemic and the times that have come with it are affecting all of us together- regardless of our beliefs or any divisiveness about it. This is something that the whole world has been going through together. Personally, I took a fair amount of time off from writing much music. The time really refreshed me in a way that has helped me take a turn in my songwriting which is super exciting!”
Dead Horses have played a few shows this summer with more tour dates being added this fall, as the band begins to emerge from the thralls of the pandemic and get back on the road. Dead Horses have performed primarily at smaller festivals this summer, including their headlining performance at “SnoFest '' in Two Rivers, Wisconsin this past July alongside Adam Gruel of Horseshoes and Handgrenades, and Ryan Necci and the Buffalo Gospel. Speaking of Adam Gruel, he and Vos collaborated on a project during the quarantine where both songwriters crafted a series of duet performances. Vos guested on Gruel’s set, sharing some of these new tunes at the SnoFest gig. In addition, Dead Horses has a series of theater shows coming up this fall as well as a run opening for virtuoso mandolinist, Sierra Hull.
Like Vos, Milwaukee’s Joseph Huber went from a robust touring schedule to almost a complete shut-down as well. Prior to the pandemic, Huber had a long run of shows scheduled in support of his 2019 record Moondog. Sadly, most of those did not happen. MKE Rocks caught up with Huber before his recent show at the Cooperage earlier this month opening for country crooner Dale Watson. “Probably the best part of ‘getting back out there’ is remembering that music isn't just content that you create in some hidden behind-scenes-scenario and click out into the world from your computer. I had been working on a record and became so exhausted and jaded with the technical tinkering that the music seemed to no longer be a route to feeling freedom or joy. The first show back was nerve-racking like it hadn't been in years (while also being fun), but then every show following that just felt natural and great. People were ready to dance; ready to smile; ready to let loose--and we were too. It's the little or big surprises that come with every live performance that make you surprise yourself or be taken by surprise by others. We try to keep our live performances pretty informal, loose and fun. It's pretty much every show that someone takes a picture of us and I can look at us and see us smiling or laughing about something that I can't even remember, but...it happened. We were lost in the moment. It wasn't ‘just playing the songs,’ --it's the other surprises and moments that the songs allow to happen both for you and the audience.”
Huber continued, “Since being back at it a bit, everyone is just ready to have fun and there's been no pulling teeth. In terms of songwriting, I assume everyone thinks ‘Oh, you had so much downtime and inspiration from topsy-turvy world events that you were probably inspired to write so many songs!’ I guess I'd say that I wrote "a few" but really it was a difficult time in the moment as it was happening, and it didn't seem like it was my time or turn to write songs. I wrote poetry instead and worked in my shop to keep my hands busy. But music was zapped out of me for a second. That never lasts. It always comes flowing back into you, but I'll admit 2020 was a less-than-music year for me.”
Huber, alongside longtime bandmate Eston Bennett and Kenny Leiser on fiddle and guitar, blew the roof off of the Cooperage with a high-energy set of songs spanning his career. From the sound of things, the smiles on the audience’s faces and the pure joy emanating from the band, Joseph Huber sounds as grand as ever.
When asked about what the future holds for Joseph Huber, the prolific songwriter replied, “One thing I’ve definitely learned over the past year plus is let whatever comes your way speak, and let ideas that pop into your head have a fair shake and experiment with them, because they may make sense later way on down the road even if they don't make sense now.”
With the long absence of live music, I think we all, as fans and artists, realize that without tunes there was a piece of our collective souls that was missing. Let's do whatever we can to make sure that live music doesn't go away again. Music is a blessing, plain and simple.
To The Muse of Live Music by William Piper
(recited as the introduction for Ryan Necci and the Buffalo Gospel @ Piper Patio, 7/10/21)
There is something extraordinarily palpable about live music.
Something primal,
tangible,
boisterous
Bold.
Something simultaneously whole ……………….and h o l y….
Something so powerful it has the ability to make us pound our feet passionately on the pavement, clap our hands until they are red and raw,
and high-five joyful strangers with exuberance and reckless abandon
rejoicing in offkey unison
belting out a catchy refrain.
You see, there is something unique about live music,
Something that forces you to live in the moment….
To rejoice in the PRESENT…..that is the present……
and to put aside worries, anxieties, petty-problems, misunderstandings and the tick tock clock of everyday life, if even for just a second…..
for maybe a moment….
perhaps if you are truly blessed and lucky
you
may
lose
yourself
for a while………….
perhaps tonight on this hill outside our home….
perhaps by sending your love on an 18 wheeler….
perhaps in a letter to Georgia…
perhaps….
just perhaps……
We can rejoice and celebrate together as one people clapping to one universal beat and in doing so we can escape the monotony and rigor of everyday life.
You see, live music is powerful… it’s big… it’s bold… it’s unabashed and raw and honest and RIGHT THERE.
And that, that, my friends is the blessing and gift of it all… to be here, right here and right now, together, enjoying the beautiful muse that we call music.
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