All The Dynamics: Misty at the Ark, Schwervon at Café Ollie
Sounds for Today:
Schwervon (scroll further below)
Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful (immediately following)
Agenda:
4 / 6 – Misty Lyn & The Big Beautiful @ The Ark (with Chris Dupont)
4 / 1 – Schwervon @ Café Ollie (with The Deadbeat Beat and Wicker Chairs)
Now then:
The Ark fosters folk disciples.
It’s where Misty Lyn Bergeron first came in contact with this supremely supportive musical community.
Indeed, I don’t think Misty Lyn’s alone when she regards the Ark as more of a “home” than a venue. This is where great musicians, (yes, often in the “folk” grain) are grown; lessons on songwriting and on stage manner are learned here. Classy but cozy, it often encourages you (i.e., the songwriter) to bring your best to the table. It strikes an understated elegance that sets most song slingers to sit up on their stools a little straighter, as though the godfathers of folk were standing in the background.
Or maybe it’s more like a school? A place to bond with your fellow pupils whilst learning and loving the lineage of great folk music (particularly born from this area).
This is where Misty Lyn Bergeron (lead singer/songwriter of rock-tinged folk outfit The Big Beautiful) first got on stage and sang her own songs in front of people. Through the ten years that followed that fateful night, (referred to here, in a recent iSPY cover story), Misty and her musical allies (including rhythmic rollers Jim Roll-bass, Matt Jones-drums, strings sweetener Carol Grey-violin, and subtle shredder Ryan Gimpert-guitar) have played the hallowed Ark four times.
They return Saturday, April 6th –joined by Chris Dupont.
“(The Ark)’s where I met some of my closest friends and even a couple of my bandmates,” said Bergeron, who produced/released her 2nd full length album False Honey last November. “It’s where I go when I want to remember why I fight this battle with my self about whether to get on stage or not get on stage.”
The Ypsi-set songstress went from singing open mic nights as a “newbie” here and, in just four years time, found herself on stage with musical legends at the Hill Auditorium in front of thousands, performing at the Folk Fest. “I don’t know, man! It’s just simply my favorite room to play in and the best place to hear my band play. Period.”
At the Ark, says Misty: “You get to hear every instrument. The melodies, the harmonies. The lyrics. And what a blast it is, when you can hear everything! You know, before, I would doubt whether or not I was good enough, worthy enough, to play there. Now, with the two records out and having so much new material and the band just having fun, on stage, I can relax and now I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
The Big Beautiful will perform songs from False Honey on April 6 (like the one streaming at the top of this post). Also featured: “the NEW new stuff.”
“One is slow and reminds me a bit of the material on (debut album) For The Dead. The other’s pretty raucous and fun. There’s others we’ve played but haven’t recorded yet. It’s going to be a fantastic time.”
BUT WAIT…
That’s next weekend.
This weekend, however, we have some guests from out of town, hunkering down in Depot Town (nearing the end of a fairly long National tour that took them through SXSW), here on April Fool’s Day to rail harmonious, heavy-ish, fuzz-bristled indie-rock: Schwervon!
Tight three minute pop songs that buff off scuffed skateboard wheels with syrupy spray of surfy guitars. Schwervon. What a charmingly half-nostalgically-90’s-rock-ringing band name. They’ve been here before, though; having already established friendlies in our indie-underground community, playing shows for local song-makers and music-proponents like Shelley Sallant, Fred Thomas, and one-Jim Cherewick. Stream it above.
Now, Jim’s got a couple bands he plays with –one being the exceptional and steadily-rising post-punk outfit Congress. However, his newer-ish band (with drummer R. Michael Stinson), Wicker Chairs, will help open things up, along with Detroit-based punk-tinged surf-poppers Dead Beatbeat.
More live music in Café Ollie and Spring on the horizon. Cheers.