The Ray Mason Band ~ 2009 December 04 ~ Sally O'Brien's, Somerville, MA
Band personnel: Ray Mason (lead vocals, Silvertone guitar); Frank Marsh (drums, lead vocal on one song); Tom Shea (lead guitar, backing vocals); Steve Desaulniers (bass, backing vocals)
Setlist
Holes in Your Liver - When She Walks By - Reverb & a Zip Code - You Always Stay - Big Hug - It's Almost Christmas - Christmas Shopping {a short song consisting entirely of the phrase "let's go Christmas shopping" over and over} - English Leather - Water Off of a Duck - Christmas {sung by Frank Marsh} - Harold's Been Feeling Down - I Want To Be a Holiday - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere {Neil Young} - Melody ... encore ... My Lips Are Lonely
Review
Sally O'Brien's is an unpretentious neighborhood pub somewhere out in Somerville, Mass., just outside of Boston. The "stage" is a space in the corner, there are barstools with tables, there is a bar, there are big screen TVs with the current Boston sports. The admission is free, there is pretty good pub food. What more could you ask?
Western Massachusetts' King of the Silvertone, Ray Mason, brought his band to do a Christmas themed show. The band dressed for the occasion; everybody wore red. Steve Desaulniers, the bass player, wore a western shirt with red piping. Good enough.
The Ray Mason Band has been together for quite a few years, and Ray likes to joke that his guys are waiting for the pension plan to kick in. Hopefully they all have day jobs. They are all accomplished musicians. The RMB plays a rootsy type of rock with some quirky elements, mostly originals by Ray, with a few covers thrown in. The drummer, Frank Marsh, got a lead vocal on one of the Christmas songs. They played a song called "English Leather" (one of my favorite RMB songs) which is Ray's tribute to a band he loved many years ago called the Rockin' Ramrods. Not only were they a great band, but they smelled great, 'cause they always wore English Leather cologne. To drive the point home Ray brought along his own bottle of English Leather. Since it was Christmas he also gave away a couple of CDs to members of the audience. 'Twas a nice way to get in the mood for the holidays.
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