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Freedy Johnston and the Blacks
Review by Danny Alexander
Though both have roots in Appalachian folk balladry, it is hard to imagine
a greater study in contrasts than March 22nd's Zone Monday sets by Freedy
Johnston and the Blacks. The good news about the show's polarity is that
both acts made their cases in uniquely powerful ways.
Johnston's set featured the Kansas-born songwriter on solo acoustic and
occasional electric guitar. A certain poignancy came straight out of the
way Johnston's arresting, high, lonesome vocals fought the crowd noise in
the bar. He pushed this tension to its limits by, Alejandro Escovedo-like,
coming down off the stage, micless, standing on a chair and singing a
stirring cover of "Wichita Lineman." The filled bar grew silent to hear
every whispery note.
Though Johnson admittedly, "lost his cool," chastising the crowd a couple
of times for making too much noise for him to fight with his voice and
guitar, the vast majority of the audience--the entirety of the room away
from the bar--was very attentive and appreciative of his performances,
cheering and quietly singing along with his haunting originals as well as
swelling with appreciation over covers of the Embarrassment's "Wellsville,"
Marshall Crenshaw's "Someday, Someway" and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's
"The Look of Love," a tribute to the original singer Dusty Springfield who
died earlier this month.
The Black's gutbucket country rock had no problem shouting down the house.
Drummer James Emmenegger pummeled his set like Jon Bonham, while bassist
Gina Black thumped and bowed her stand-up with an intensity that went
beyond electric, throwing the bass down on its side in an ongoing battle of
sweaty urgency. Though lead singer Danny Black generally sang the band's
most accessible material, particularly wonderful was the
appropriately-titled, "Tortured Holiday," Gina Black's vocals were as
thrilling as her bass work. On "Take Me Now," her plaintive alto delivered
a ghostly prayer, while on "Horrorshow," she belted a hard rock refrain
that would set Axl Rose to clearing his throat. When the band shifted into
such high gear, charismatic backing vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nora O'Connor
seemed most at ease, blossoming into the moment with the sway of a metal
guitarist. Such moments suggested the Blacks have even bigger sounds to
make, a thought almost incomprehensible by the end of the set Monday night.
--Danny Alexander
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