Ray Mason Band ~ 2011 October 20 ~ Rosebud, Somerville
Band personnel: Ray Mason (lead vocals, Silvertone guitar); Frank Marsh (drums); Tom Shea (lead guitar); Steve Desaulniers (bass, backing vocals)
Set List
Summer Kind of Thing - Monkey in a Convent - I Should Know the Way By Now - Water Off of a Duck - They Don't Make Records Like That Anymore - Reverb & a Zip Code - English Leather - Breathing the Hopeful Rain - Big Hug - Sid Fargus - I'm Only Human - Always Stay - Don't Turn Us Down - It Wasn't Me (by Charlie Chesterman)
Scroll down past the videos for review; photo gallery to the right.
Videos
"Sid Fargus":
"English Leather" ... a song inspired by a band Ray loved in his youth, the Rockin' Ramrods - "it's like hearing music that matters for the very first time" - this is the way I felt about Ray's music the first time I heard it
Review
Regular readers of this website have heard of Ray Mason by now, that unassuming but oh-so-talented singer/songwriter originally from Holyoke, who writes songs about zip codes, being on time for things, heartbreak, losing your job, and all sorts of topics both ordinary and unusual. He's based in western Massachusetts, and his trademark is that he plays a guitar that cost $20 in the Sears Roebuck department store in 1965. This guitar, a Silvertone, shows the signs of having been a working guitar for many decades. Though that's Ray's gimmick, his qualification is that he writes some of the catchiest pop tunes this side of NRBQ. Ray Mason brought his band along with his trusty vintage Silvertone to the Rosebud Cafe in Davis Square, Somerville. The venue is right behind the Rosebud Diner, good place to eat before the show. The venue itself is a bar with a dance floor, two pool tables and a stage. Peter Hoffman, guitarist in Willie Nile's band, was at the show.
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