Montpelier Vice

It's been awhile since I wrote about Montpelier. In fact, it doesn't look like I even finished the essay I started about Big Tree, the wonderful band that I saw at the Langdon Street Cafe last spring. (And rather than going there now, let me just say this: if they are in your town, go see them. The live performance is mesmerising.)

In a similar vein to Big Tree tonight was the "Indie Folk" band Rusty Belle, from Amherst, Massachusetts. OK, so these guys were right up there, too. "Indie Folk" doesn't really capture the sound of this band, which moves from folk to blues to country to rock to eclectic, Tom Waits-sounds. Rusty Belle is another vibrant live act, and seemed to have a pretty good following established in Montpelier. All of the the band members are mulit-instrumentalists, which leads to such oddities as the fact that three different band members sat behind the drum kit at various times, as well as the fact that the primary drummer also appears to be Rusty Belle's best guitar player. All band members are fine singers, highlighted by frontwoman Rita Rockit, who's stylings are at times reminiscent of Janis Joplin.

Rusty Belle rocks

Terrific live music is always appreciated, but the revelation of this trip was the Three Penny Tap Room. Open since May 1, this is a first-class beer bar with a rotating menu of brews on tap (leaning heavily toward Belgians this week), along with top shelf bottled offerings, wine and liquor. Thursday nights are know as "Cask Night," in which a new cask of exotic beer is openend and enjoyed. Tonight's offering was the sublime Harveistoun Ola Dubh Special 12 Reserve from Scotland. According to my new friend (and proprietor/bartender) Scott, only three casks came into the US, one of which landed in Montpelier. (Another may have found it's way to Portland's Novare Res, but I haven't confirmed that.)

So what's so special about Special 12? Well, this is a lovely stout that has been finished in casks in which Scotch was aged for 12 years. The result is a low-carbonation chocolaty/oaky tasting brew that definitely drinks as much like a liquor as it does a beer. In fact, the Three Penny served it in 8-oz snifters. This is definitely a sipping beer. At 8% alcohol, that's just as well.

Stout finished in Scotch barrels. Is this even a good idea? Why, yes it is.

This epitomizes the Three Penny's niche. It's a place for Beerophiles. The bartenders (particularly Scott) are extremely enthusiastic about beer, and really love the product that they have brought in to share with their customers. It's not a cheap night out, however, with beers listed on the blackboard at prices ranging between $5 and $18. (Though I have it on good authority that you can get a PBR there for only three bucks.) But given the ultra-high alcohol levels in the brews offered, this is merely incentive to keep the consumption to a reasonable level. You can have a tab of $25 before you even think you're started (something else I have on good authority.)

Three Penny Taproom

Montpelier's night life is stronger than ever, with terrific music nightly at the Langdon Street, and the new Three Penny Tap Room. If you are in town, check it out!

Meet the Robinsons

Well, here's another trip to Vermont, and another chance to see some live music at the Langdon Street Cafe. Montpelier's cooperatively-owned hangout is just 225 steps from the front door of the Capitol Plaza Hotel, so it's terrifically convenient to pop over and have a brew or too without the need to get behind the wheel. Add in the first signs of spring - temperatures in the 50's even after sundown - and an intrepid traveller can find himself in a right proper mood to see a band.

Tonight's experience was a step up from last month, where I saw over-enthusiastic bluesman Blue Fox at the same venue. Gracing the stage tonight were Dana and Susan Robinson. The husband-and-wife duo bill their act as "new old time music." This means that they play traditional Americana and English folk music. I believe the "new" part refers to the fact that much of the music is penned by Dana Robinson. Dana plays guitar, fiddle and mandolin, while Susan accompanies him on banjo and guitar. Unfortunately, Susan arrived with a bum hand, so she was only able to play on about half of the numbers, however she contribute sweet harmonies throughout the show, and provided lead vocals to a couple of traditional English ballads.

Despite giving the spotlight over to his wife on occasion, however, Dana is the focal point of this act. He had released four solo albums before forming an act with Susan, and the original songs are all his. He sings with a pleasing tenor reminiscent of Cat Stevens, and plays a crisp, percussive finger-style guitar. On some tunes he picks up the fiddle or mandolin while Susan plays guitar. And while he loves the traditional old country music that fits his wife's voice so well, Dana is clearly most influenced by Woody Guthrie. The show featured a cover of Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty", as well as an original titled "What Would Woody Do?" (The answer: "Write about it, talk about it, sing about it too.") Robinson's songs evoke the same folksy America that Guthrie wrote about more than half a century ago.

Whenever I see live music, I like to watch the guitar player and try to pick up some tips. Alas, Dana Robinson plays a fast finger-picking style that I won't be attempting for awhile, and it was difficult for me to really follow along with everything he was doing. Fortunately, Susan plays a more basic rhythm guitar. Her playing featured mostly basic open chords that were enhanced by hammer-ons and pull-offs and some fairly simple walkdowns (or walkups) on the chord changes. If you are not a guitar player, I'm sure this doesn't mean a lot to you. If you're a novice like me, who has only recently begun working these effects into his guitar playing, it's fun to watch. It shows how it really doesn't take a lot of flying fingers to turn a simple song into something with enough motion in the melody to make it sound fairly complex. This is not to say that Susan only plays simple melodies - she's a fine musician who (if I'm reading the bio correctly) has only been playing guitar for a few years. However, much of what she plays gives hope to a hack like myself.

But enough about me. Although I had never heard of the Robinsons before this week, I was excited to see that they were bringing this style of music to the Langdon Street Cafe while I am in town. They move next into Maine, where they are playing house concerts in Bangor and Blue Hill, and then a show in Massachusetts before heading back to their home in North Carolina. Dana Robinson is a former Vermont resident, and I gather that the couple comes to the northeast regularly. Their next trip to town will be to play at the Northwoods Stewardship Center in East Charleston, VT, in July. I say it's well worth the effort to see them play live.

Waiting for the Flood

I'm in Montpelier again, for a week this time, and things are a little different. People are waiting for a major flood. Not just on alert for it - they are actually waiting for a flood to happen. The situation is very similar to the circumstances that led to the great flood of 1992. Downtown Montpelier is situated at the convergence of the Winooski River and its tributary, the North Branch. The problem is that the Winooski is frozen solid East (upstream) of the North Branch. The current concern is that, given the proper circumstances (warm temperatures and rain), the upstream ice will break up and lodge at the river bend just downstream of the North Branch. A pileup of ice will effectively block the North Branch from properly draining into the Winooski and, voila, back it up into the streets and basements of Montpelier. This map shows the flood zone from 1992. It's actually a pretty small geographical area. However, it does encompass basically the entire Montpelier business district. Importantly, it includes both my workplace and my hotel. I am lucky enough to be on the third floor of both buildings, but my rental car would be lost in a major flood.

The residents of the city are on alert, but they are keeping a good sense of humor about the whole thing. Businesses have decorated their storefronts with sandbags and plywood in a sort of community-art project. The Capitol Grounds Coffee Shop has gone a step further by lining its exterior walls with coffee sacks filled with sand. Many a storefront features pre-flood or Noah's Ark sale signs. I have several cool pictures that I would like to post, but alas, the interface between camera and computer is back in Maine.

Life goes on as well. This is a big week for Montpelier, as the annual Green Mountain Film Festival is in progress. This ten-day festival features 38 films, both new and old, drama and documentary, but primarily independant. The thread is good filmmaking and a good story. Many films are followed by discussions led by filmmakers, critics, historians and social groups. It's an impressive lineup, one worthy of keeping an eye on in future years as well.

While I hope to get to a film or two before I get flooded out, I have yet to do so. Tonight I stopped by the Langdon Street Cafe to listen to some music. I managed to catch the final few minutes of a student film about young musicians, and a nice five-song set by said musicians. Unfortunately, I did not catch the name of the young duo. They played mostly original music, and the themes presented in their songs reflected this limited worldview. The best song was a cover of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl."

The main attraction for the evening was a gentleman by the name of Blue Fox. Blue plays acoustic Delta blues on steel resonator and slide guitars. Blue has a terrific voice and is an accomplished guitarist, but he wasn't really getting it done for me tonight. I thought he was trying to overstep his bounds as a guitar player, bringing out a bag of tricks on almost every song. While technically impressive, Blue struggled to integrate his solos into the rhythm of the music, making them sound forced rather than natural. As a novice player whose next solo will be his first, I feel odd criticizing Blue Fox's performance. But as I said, his style wasn't working for me on most songs. When Blue stuck to the basics and wove the song's melody into the rhythm, his playing really shone.

I appreciate that Montpelier continues to have much to offer, despite being a very small city that practically rolls up the sidewalks at 8 p.m. I have my eye on a film festival movie for tomorrow evening, and if things work out, I hope to report back on that very soon. I also look forward to posting some pictures over the weekend. Hopefully they will be whimsical sandbag decorations, and not the "devastating flood footage" variety.

Montpelier has the Blues

It's been awhile since I wrote about my travels in this space. I've been to Portland, Oregon in recent months, and I've had several trips to Vermont. Most have been whirlwinds and I haven't found the time to write about them, unfortunately. However, tonight I was back in Montpelier and ready to soak up the culture. As I've noted in this space before, Montpelier is a pretty small town that shutters most of its windows at 5:00 pm. That's the case during the winter months, anyway. This was my first bonafide summer trip to Montpelier, and as the sun is up longer, so are more people out and about.

Because my actual work-related plans changed at the last minute, I decided to check out the calendar for the Langdon Street Cafe. The Langdon Street is the local communist (I mean "cooperative") foods/arts project in the heart of Montpelier. I've been told that the music and beer are good, and the people watching is unsurpassed in Montpelier. And so it was that I found myself making my first venture there, despite the fact that the place is two short blocks from my hotel.

Montpelier's Langdon St. Cafe, on Langdon St. in Montpelier

New at the Langdon Street is the Wednesday night blues happy hour, featuring Dave Keller and Jan Shultz. This is a gig that Keller started just this month, and thus far seems to be attracting a small but enthusiastic crowd. Keller's main band is a six-piece R&B outfit, but the event at the Langdon Street was a blues jam featuring four musicians (Keller on guitar, Schultz on bass, Nick Kirshnit on trumpet, and presumably Brett Hoffman on drums). I think this is the "Blues Trio" plus the trumpeter. I didn't recognize the songs (Robert Cray, Junier Wells, etc.), but I did recognize the groove, a funky blues punctuated by occasional guitar and trumpet solos. The set was appropriately loose, almost to the point of being sloppy (in a good way), with Keller announcing songs and instructing the rest of the band as to which chords to play. We were told that this was Kirshnit's first time appearing with the trio but he proved to be a consummate professional, stepping in with seamless solos as soon as Keller gave him a nod. We were even treated to a tune sung by the bartender, who had requested the opportunity to show off her vocal talents with the rest of the band, and who sounded like she had been performing with the rest of the musicians for quite some time.

I always enjoy watching musicians perform live, and a jam session always carries a spirit of freedom that effervesces through the music. These guys were performing for the love of music (and whatever meager donations were dropped in the bucket at the front of the stage), and the lack of structure to the show lent it a refreshing air of sincerity. The Langdon Street Cafe proved to be a worthwhile venue to sit back, enjoy some Wolaver's Orgainic Ales and listen to some back-to-the-roots blues. Yet another hidden treasure from Montpelier.

Alexander Rocks the House

Literally.

I'm here in Montpelier on another Vermont junket. I arrived a night early to avoid driving in an ice storm, and my last-minute change in itinerary led me to a different hotel - Betsy's Bed and Breakfast. While lacking in some of the privacy afforded by the Capitol Plaza, not to mention proximity to the office, the B&B experience offers a charm of its own. For example, all of the rooms are unique and warm, in contrast to the cookie-cutter rooms of the Capitol Plaza and the chain hotels. And of course there is the hearty breakfast, which this morning featured orange pancakes and a side of bacon, along with assorted muffins and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Breakfast also featured conversation with other guests, most of whom were partaking in a writing residency at Vermont College, just up the hill.

Today also brought an opportunity that is almost certainly "Uniquely Vermont" - a rock concert in the House Chambers of the State Capital building. The event was Farmer's Night, and on hand was Alexander's Goodtime Band. The band is fronted by guitarist Peter Alexander (no, not that Pete Alexander) and the rythyms are laid down by bassist Ben Butterworth, but the star attraction is former Phish drummer Jon Fishman. Liberal politics brought Alexander and Fishman together, as both were involved in directing the New England Coalition, a safe energy (aka anti-nuke) group based in Brattleboro, VT.

And it was the setting of (mostly) liberal politics that housed the event, with the ornate ceiling overhead, oversized chandelier hanging down and aging desks that the House members use to keep their notes straight. The scene was the somewhat surreal mixture of humanity that simply defines everyday life in Montpelier - elderly legislators in their business attire seated next to aging hippies seated next to Generation Y Phish-heads, and everybody with a smile on his or her face. The lighting was inappropriate, but the acoustics were surprisingly sound. Alas, there was no hint of the herb that is often associated with Phish, though I am certain that marijuana has found its way into the Vermont Statehouse on more than one occasion in the past.

Living up to the band's name, Alexander and crew played good time music, a toe-tapping blues/folk/pop combo that got many audience members into their dancing shoes. The trio played mostly originals that varied from the political ("There's a thin line between right and wrong/ Especially when one side is very strong"), to the romantic (an ode to the coast of Maine), to various songs exploring love, love lost, and sex. The handful of covers were well chosen, ranging from "Man of Constant Sorrow" (from O Brother, Where Art Thou), to a rocking blues version of Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", to a stirring version of Hendrix's "Little Wing".

Alexander's Goodtime Band filled the room with music in true power-trio form. Alexander is an accomplished 12-string player, if falling a bit short of "virtuoso" status, and passionate vocalist in the style of Jimmy Buffet or Willie Nelson, Butterworth kept the groove on both four string and eight-string (if I saw this correctly) basses, and Fishman is a drummer of some renown. Alexander kept the mood loose with his between-song banter and salutations to the many people in the room who he has met through his political dealings. The highlight, and perfect summation of the mood, was when Fishman's daughter (who is maybe four years old) yelled "daddy!" and ran up to the drum set to "touch fingers" with her father while Alexander was telling a story between songs. Daughter later returned to stand in front of the drum kit and point at daddy during a solo. Priceless.

Farmer's Night is a regular gig at the state house in Montpelier, and it's free to the public. According to sources, "Every Winter, the Vermont Legislature hosts the Vermont Farmers Night Series in the House Chamber of the Vermont State House. Before the Interstate was constructed, many Legislators lived in Montpelier when the Legislature was in session. They organized Farmers Night to entertain themselves. The Series is free and features a variety of music, poetry, lectures, historic displays and even wildlife!" Most of the music appears to be of the jazz or brass band variety, rather than rock and roll, but it's an interesting part of Montpelier culture that I look forward to exploring again in the future.