Uncommon Ground was again a great experience. So many folks who weren’t able to make my February show were there, and with my brother Scott (a.k.a. The Monologue Bombs) and I trading songs during the second set, it was a family AND a friendly affair. Thanks to everyone who came out to make it such a memorable night.
Scott and Amy and I got there at about 9:00, and Scott and I immediately repaired to the basement to go over a Johnny Cash song (“I Still Miss Someone”) with the other fellow playing that night, Nathan Blake Lynn. VERY cool of Nathan to agree to a collaboration at such short notice, and (as we were to learn during his set) just a week before his wedding!
At 10:00 Nathan went on with a full corduroy suit and fine leather boots. He played as well as he dressed, mixing his often-humorous original bluegrass-tinged numbers with choice covers of Tom T. Hall and Roger Miller. He’s a great picker with an appealing, low-register voice, and he told good jokes and stories, too. Been listening to his CDs regularly since the show, and I guess he lives in Chicago now, so we might share a stage again some time. Stay tuned…
At 11:00 it was time for Scott and I, and we did it like this:
Randall Lloyd Comes Home / The Next Thing You Know / (Scott’s New Song About Someone Named Sarah) / The Creak of the Landline / Dickinson Ave. / I Still Miss Someone / Jason’s Song / Floaters and Empties / Juneteenth / The O.M. / Hella Jean / He’d Be a Diamond (The Bevis Frond) / World Gone Wide / The Condensation / Big Sister (I Never Had) / Johnny Without June / Prisoners (John Denver)
“Landline” is a new song of mine, and Scott did superb backups. Ditto on the set highlight “Johnny Without June,” a video of which you can check out above (hopefully). I was also glad my experiment of speeding up “Big Sister” pretty much worked. I’ll be experimenting more with older songs in the future…
Of Scott’s stuff, I had tremendous fun playing and singing on “Floaters and Empties,” especially since the last time we played that song together, it was at Uncommon Ground, and I screwed it up. So it was good to correct that. Also, Scott’s “World Gone Wide,” which he did by himself, is now officially my favorite Monologue Bombs song. Just really pretty, with unexpected yet soft-dissolving chords on the piano. Our Bevis Frond cover went well, and Scott’s idea (more of a tradition of his, actually) to close with that John Denver song was awesome. He handed out percussion instruments to the crowd, and everyone kept rhythm throughout. Crazy fun!
Back at home, we drank whiskey and played Missile Command and Pong on the old Atari Flashback. Scott found some crazy radio station playing scratchy old records like “Rocket 88,” and we talked and laughed and killed aliens. What a perfect wind-down! With the daylight savings in effect, I didn’t technically hit the sack until 4:30, but it was well worth it.
p.s. My new guitar performed wonderfully, too.
