It was high time to visit that saloon outpost in the heart of
Rochester, Wednesday night, for Minneapolis-based gunslingers The
Cactus Blossoms. The Bossa Nova Bradley Brothers were
in stride when I got to Abilene Bar and Lounge, and I arrived to hear the
closer, a nifty rendition of the Sergio Mendes classic “Mas, Que Nada.” It’s
not every day that you get to listen to live samba or bossa
nova so the quartet was a pleasant surprise.
It was either Jack Torrey or Page Burkum
— one of The Cactus Blossoms duo, anyway — who downed a shot of firewater before
he strapped on his guitar and set fire to the stage. Both Torrey and Page are
brothers, guitarists, and frontmen of the
country-influenced band. Much of the buzz surrounding the pair has to do with
their vocal harmonies that have drawn comparisons to Phil and Don Everly. At Abilene, The Cactus Blossoms performed a solid
90-minute set that pulled from a vintage-sounding songbook of mostly originals.
The quartet was vaguely reminiscent of Chris Isaak but drifted toward a
traditional direction, and The Cactus Blossoms partied like it was 1959. The
audience definitely liked what it heard and I hope the band will be back before
too long.
Avant-garde artist Kaki King brought her
solo tour, “The Neck is a Bridge to the Body,” to a sold-out Little Theatre on
Thursday night. If you describe King as a cross between Rodrigo y Gabriela
and Big Science-era Laurie Anderson you would not be wrong. King wore white
sunglasses and was decked in all white from head to toe when she walked onto
the stage. Her guitar was already waiting, mounted on a stand. King’s fingers
danced along the neck playing it like a keyboard and at times, a drum. The
visual component of the concert consisted of videos projected on and around the
stationary guitar. King did not speak or sing during the entire performance but
let her guitar do the talking with instrumentals that moved fluidly from one
genre to the next. When it was over she picked up a microphone and began to
discuss her music, which added a human touch to all of the lights and sounds.
Local favorites Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow
People played the Record Archive’s backroom lounge for an early
concert on Friday. The quintet performed a short but powerful set and
proved why it is on the cusp of something big. The band was tight. The Tomorrow People
provided a steady hand for Ponder who brought her strong voice and mixed in
stories behind the songs. Her message akin to that of performers including
Michael Franti — or even the late Joe Strummer seemed
to resonate with the crowd. What stoked me the most was the quality of the
songwriting; a few of the tunes like “Working” connected with me instantly.
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 1, 2016.
