Megafaun played the Iota Club & Cafe in Arlington, Virginia, last night and, if I could set aside my so-called objectivity for a bit, it was awesome.
Got there nice & early because it’s right across the river from my office and too far to go home first. So I had dinner in the area and rolled into the venue right as the band arrived. I had tweeted my request to tape earlier in the day and gotten an affirmative response so I checked in with the band and chatted with the club owner (whom I had heard was sorta tough on tapers but I found him to be very nice) and secured permission and prime position to setup. As the band loaded in and setup, I secured my mics to a pole about 6 feet from the stage, dead center, and about 7 feet high. I taped soundcheck then hung out and met the band. We chatted about a lot of different things including the Gayngs album (on which they all play and in support of which two of the band members will be touring in the fall. Gotta see that!) and an upcoming project for UNC involving Alan Lomax’s field recordings…
The opener was Sam Quinn who is one of the founders of Everybodyfields. He played a short set of great songs with another guitar player (Nick Phaneuf). The set was really enjoyable with Phaneuf providing excellent harmony vocals and lead guitar to Quinn’s strong voice and acoustic guitar. I made sure to pick up his cd and you should check out the songs on his site… “Suite Motown” was a standout.
Before Megafaun could take the stage, another taper arrived and, after comparing gear and, considering the venue restriction on mic stands, we decided to setup his pair of Crowley & Tripp ribbon mics on their Blumlein bar and run them into my deck. This switch took all of the time we had before the band started but we were rolling as the first strains of a drone began to build onstage.
Megafaun delivered a great set blending electric and acoustic instruments, excellent songs, a little bit of spacey jamming, and terrific vocals. “Kaufman’s Ballad” opened and segued neatly into “The Process”. Two new tunes; “Volunteers” (written and sung by bassist, Brad Cook) and “Carolina Days” were played from their upcoming (Sept. 14) ‘mini-lp’, Heretofore. Both are really great and bode well for the new record. After “Volunteers” they played “The Fade” with Phil Cook on the electric. That song has become one of my favorites of late. A new favorite, however, surfaced in the form of “Drains”. This was long, jammed out, and really fun.
“Impressions Of The Past” had me riveted. Its long instrumental passages wend their way through a wild course before landing on the lyrics. That, of course, is something that I can really get into. They then stepped down off the stage and played “The Longest Day” unplugged. Drummer Joe Westerlund broke out the accordion for that one. Afterwards, they moved back to the stage for a nicely stretched out “Where We Belong” which resolved with the band returning to the floor and, again un-amplified, they played “Tides” to finish out the set.
What can I say? I cannot impartially write about how Megafaun takes folk music and stretches it to where few folk bands have dared to go for 40 years. Nope. I can’t say that without it being chock-full of fan boy bias. I can say this:
Go see this band.
Sam Quinn Homepage | Nick Phaneuf Homepage
Setlist:
Megafaun 2010-06-08
Kaufman's Ballad > The Process, Volunteers, The Fade, Drains, Carolina Days,
Impressions Of The Past, The Longest Day*, Where We Belong > Tides*
*Played in front of the stage