2020/7/25 Marckomitoville: First Weekend Review
In the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s goodness, my sights firmly set on the announcement of the third installment of Marckomitoville, I finally stole some time to set to writing. After half a day spent working on a companion piece, Marckomitoville: Confessions of an Amateur Concert Promoter, at the four page mark and not even halfway through, it finally dawned on me that this review was mutually exclusive of that essay and so I set that aside. Timeliness is critical in this business, but that explains the delay.
Sacrificing the level of detail that will be found in my confessions, suffice it to say that I spent countless hours in the last 45 days thinking of little else than throwing the perfect party. With so many factors to consider, safety and civic responsibility first and foremost, there was a lot to contemplate, but pulling it off safely was always the primary concern. My wife and I layed out beach towels in the yard to figure out how many socially distant areas we could accommodate. Then we tallied our seating, considered parties we’ve thrown in the past, and arrived at a number of guests that we figured would work within the confines of our space and a global pandemic with an airborne virus. No easy task, to be sure, and not to discount our superlative effort, but it was all just guess work.
I’m not looking for credit or validation for my effort, but I would like to impart that it was truly a labor of love, and an absolute joy to plan and execute. The fire within was raging and I felt more alive during every single part of the process than at any other point since this whole thing started. I was working for love and for passion and it was a fucking delight. Have you ever worked seven hours on a Sunday night and enjoyed every second of it? I guess for some people their paycheck meets their true passion, but for the rest of us that’s not a reality. Let’s briefly review all the hats I wore: concert promoter, booking manager, marketing manager, COVID-19 compliance officer, property manager (okay, it’s my house, but still), caterer, graphic artist (got a lot of help here and others get credit for the art, but I had a vision and some awesome friends really delivered on that), bookkeeper, merchandiser, bar back, landscaper, pool boy, and I’m probably forgetting a few.
Did I need to make concert posters and T-shirts? Probably not, but this kind of felt like a once (or thrice) in a lifetime event, and I wanted to have fun with it. So there it is, and here we are. Finally, the day arrived and, with the exception of a few stickers and a banner that never arrived, every single detail was categorically perfect. Even the weather cooperated, so much so, in fact, that the ten-day forecast never showed any chance of rain — I’d pay good money for that peace of mind two more times.
Let’s get to it. The crowd started trickling in at noon and laying claim to their socially distant space. Just to set the scene, picture the stage set up on a raised paver patio in front of the house, pool deck serving as a dance floor in front of that, with the pool and grass area behind, my rear lawn adorned with pop-up tents, blankets, canopies and lawn chairs in a scene reminiscent of your favorite festival lawn — it was really quite the sight! The pool and surrounding areas were a scene of socially distant joy as well, a giant unicorn as the centerpiece spreading rainbowed arcs of love.
Summerfeet
By 3:15, the first set from Summerfeet was underway, the shoeless foursome (full disclosure: the drummer wore shoes) turning my dreams into reality as the first notes of “Dire Wolf” hit the air. Essentially yacht rock radio for hippies, this is the perfect summer band: Dennis Bolger on guitar and lead vocals; Todd Nocera, playing keys on a red Nord; Joe Colgan, lead guitar; and Miles East, keeping time on the cajón and hi-hat. They’ve got the ultimate summer vibe, with a setlist and vocals at least as sultry as the 90-degree sunsoaked heat. Songs that make you want to dance and cry in turn, “Angel From Montgomery” (John Prine) evoked a tear while “Ooh La La” (The Faces) had us all singing along with big shit-eating grins.
I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to turn my kids on to good music for the entirety of their lives — I’d always choose Jerry Garcia’s Not for Kids Only over Kidz Bop — so this was my eldest son’s first real concert (Shawn Mendes notwithstanding). As such, I called out from the pool, “You got something to turn a twelve year old onto music?” Without breaking stride, Dennis replied, “Sure, this next one. I’ll teach you a lesson about the world little one. It’s called ‘Cold Little Heart,’” as Summerfeet proceeded to do great justice to this favorite by Michael Kiwanuka.
Every track seemed to hit the right spot, a masterful setlist for a July afternoon, but none better than the longest title in the Pearl Jam catalog, “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.” This was it for me, the ultimate moment in a day chock full of them. COVID giveth and COVID taketh away, and just as it presented me with the opportunity to make Marckomitoville happen, it took away a run of seven ticketed Pearl Jam shows over two weeks back in April. That one hurt. But this one, having my great friend Dennis channel his best Eddie Vedder for a live audience in my backyard, this was everything. I’ll let the video speak for itself. The rest of the 90-minute, 14-song set was equally perfect, and finished with a gorgeous “Sweet Nuthin’” (Velvet Underground).
Also worth noting, as much as sharing live tunes with dear friends was the order of the day, I had a ton of fun curating the music for pre- and post-shows. It’s just not something you get to do everyday and I loved that these were my favorite tracks cranking during setbreak.
The second set kicked off with a classic that made me feel like I was in the backseat of my dad’s car listening to 106.7 on the radio in 1984, “Summer Breeze,” a Summerfeet first. Listening again as I type, I love the little flourishes that Joe Colgan added with his guitar, staccato notes not in the Seals and Croft original. While Summerfeet is a cover band, it’s the little things like this that make these Summerfeet tunes. Or maybe it’s Todd Nocera’s inherent ability to let you feel his love with every note, or the funk that drips from his red Nord as Summerfeet covers tracks like the Meters’ “Just Kissed My Baby”. Perhaps it’s the unique sound of the percussion that Miles East brings with his cajón. Don’t let that little box fool you, this newest member of Summerfeet brings it hard when it’s needed most. Bravo, sir, you took that “Cassidy” to some pretty serious heights! And then there’s Dennis … girls want to marry him (at least his wife Debbie did, lol) and guys want to be his best friend. He’s hard not to love and wooed us all with his gravelly voice and mysterious eyes behind green-mirrored lenses.
What more could you ask for? A mandolin player, perhaps? I’d love to pretend that I channeled my inner Peter Shapiro to make this next collaboration happen, but I didn’t know until Escaper’s Will Hanza let it slip just before he took the stage. A few moments into “Atlantic City” Dennis barked “Take it, Will” as Hanza delighted the crowd with the power of the mandolin, his first such performance in over a year, he would later admit. Also worth noting, there were zero rehearsals for this collab, just a bunch of talented dudes giving their all for their friends — wow! Hanza would stick around for beautiful versions of “Ripple” and “Midnight Moonlight” before Summerfeet closed the set with a song worthy of its own paragraph and in need of a little background.
My wife and I have been married for fifteen years (yes, she of #mywifesasaint). I’m an energy guy. Emotional, too, as I wear my heart on my sleeve, but if you had to put me in a bucket, there it is. Our wedding song was “Everlasting Love”, the U2 version, and I threw her around the dance floor as we jumped and screamed and celebrated our love with our friends. I’ll never forget that moment, though tender it was not. What was tender, however, was the mother-son dance later that evening to Billy Joel’s “She’s Always a Woman”. I’ve never lived that down. Part of the same story, Diana (that’s the wife), usually stays home when I go see music, but I dragged her to the Avett Brothers a few years back and we shared a moment to “I and Love and You”, which has since become our song. Back to the present day and Summerfeet’s set closer, Diana and I had the dance that has been fifteen years in the making. To say I cried would be the understatement of the year. Rather, I openly wept as I was finally able to give her that dance, in full view of so many people I love, on a day when I turned a passionate dream into a full reality. It. Was. Everything. I love my wife so much. She has supported me in every endeavor since we’ve met, not least of all this one, which was always about my dreams and passions, not hers, to be clear … though it is Diana Komito’s Marckomitoville, after all. I and love and you, babe.
Escaper
Even though day had not yet turned to night, Marckomitoville had reached the halfway point. The yin to Summerfeet’s yang, Escaper was the perfect complement to the double bill (kudos to whoever thought that up, lol). The vibe shifted instantly as they took the stage for what was basically an album release show on a night when they would delight the crowd with five of six tracks off their latest effort, Apotheosis, released June 19. This four-piece psychedelic funk fusion outfit from Brooklyn is a band on the rise, musician’s musicians, as evidenced both by the ease with which guitarist Will Hanza joined Summerfeet, and the coolness with which they hung out all day on the lawn, enjoying the opening band and awaiting their turn on stage.
Keeping in mind the fact that I know exactly how good Escaper is (I am the one who hired them), they completely blew my expectations out of the water and played the best show I’ve ever seen of theirs (albeit with a little bit of personal bias since it was my backyard). Apotheosis increases the range of this band and puts their musicianship on full display. Will Hanza is the perfect centerpiece for this band, with A+ guitar skills and a scarf game to match, he has musical chops and the it factor — it’s no wonder he’s a highly sought after collaborator with an impressive list of musicians on the jam scene and beyond.
Phil Kadet, whose three keyboard setup also included a pair of red Nords, offered amazing vocals as well, especially on “China Cat Sunflower”, heretofore uncharted territory for the band and a genre (the Grateful Dead is its own genre, right?) that he had jokingly resisted at a prior Covid-safe gig. As the story goes, on the way to that same gig, it came on in the car and Will suggested they learn it for future shows, that Jay would especially crush the bass lines. So they did and he did and Escpaper debuted “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” in my backyard, knowing that this was just the crowd to do it for. Um, yep, nailed it … thanks for that!
This all provides a nice segue to Jay Giacomazzo, my new favorite bassist. The bass is my spirit animal, and Jay, along with rhythm partner Ricky Petraglia on drums, tossed me around like a rag doll all night. This dynamic duo grabbed my hips and never let go, cajoling me to get close enough to listen straight from the bass amp and contributing the lion’s share of the heavy lifting that was my step count. Back to the “China Rider”, which broke up an otherwise all original first set, it was Jay who funked it up and owned it (as Hanza portended), as Escaper put its own twist on the Grateful Dead classic.
Night had officially fallen on the second set and the lights we found in my brother-in-law’s basement made it seem as if we had some kind of experience throwing backyard gigs. {Actually, we waited about five minutes too long to flip the lights around and illuminate the house but pobody’s nerfect.} So with tiki torches bracketing the stage and a light show behind them, the second set featured a trio of covers perfectly suited to Escaper’s style: Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”, Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence”, and Pink Floyd’s “Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun.” In respect of local noise ordinances, a perfect show had reached its end at the hard-stop time of 9:45.
After a long and amazing day, my yard was completely empty and spotless by 11:00, the house stereo had been turned off, silence had been restored, and I was in bed and showered at 11:33.
To my wife, sister, brother-in-law, Summerfeet, Escaper, and everyone who shared in the day, whether in person or otherwise …
Thank you, thank you, thank you
I and Love and You.
41,645 steps on the day — a festival indeed! — (16,000 of those extrapolated as I forgot to put my watch on until 6:30 pm). If you’ll recall, I am, in fact, a high school math teacher, so that extrapolation is completely within the bounds of my expertise unlike, say, concert promotion or writing music reviews … bwahaha.
Summerfeet Setlist …
Set One: Dire Wolf, Angel From Montgomery, Ooh La La, Cold Little Heart, Bird Song, Any Major Dude Will Tell You, Folsom Prison Blues, Boys of Summer, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter In A Small Town, Friend of the Devil, Hey Hey What Can I Do, Bertha, Ophelia, Sweet Nuthin’
Set Two: Summer Breeze, Ain’t Wastin’ Time, Sharing the Night Together, Let It Bleed, Just Kissed My Baby, Willin’, Cassidy, Atlantic City #, Ripple #, Midnight Moonlight #, I and Love and You
# with Will Hanza of Escaper on mandolin.
Escaper Setlist:
Set One: Vista, China Cat* > Rider*, Hot Sauce > Open Sky, Superhead, New Untitled Pool Party Song (“What you want to see, want to feel”), Random Excess
Set Two: Warp Speed > Wicked Game* > Dub jam, No Strings, Res Magna, Rare Form, Enjoy the Silence*, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun*
* covers
(Feel free to head to my FB page to check out the archived live streams. My page is private, but those videos are not.)
All the good pics (look for the watermark)are thanks to Jamie Huenefeld (@livemusicbykillhawave), one more great person I’ve met along the way, and my sister, Erica Boilen.
Amazing day! Great job all around.
Can’t wait for “math teacher” to become your side gig.