Parsonsfield ~ 2018 June 21 ~ Payomet Performing Arts Center ~ North Truro, MA
Band Personnel (in alphabetical order): Antonio Alcorn (vocals, mandolin, resonator mandolin, banjo); Chris Freeman (vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo, pump organ, pocket piano, harmonica); Harrison Whale Goodale (vocals, upright bass, electric bass, cello, saw, xylophone); Erik Hischmann (vocals, full rock drum kit, xylophone, percussion, upright bass, tape effects); Max Shakun (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric bass guitar, pump organ, accordion, pocket piano, melodica) ... this band plays so many instruments, forgive me if I missed any
Set List
Light of the City - Stronger - Ties That Bind Us - Country Pocket - Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me {Mississippi John Hurt} - Footsteps In My Ear - Go Find Yourself - Santa Monica {Everclear} - Empty Rocking Chair - Water Through a Mill - Ghosts Next Door - Barbed Wire - Everyone Dies - Across Your Mind - Strolling Down the Highway - Weeds or Wildflowers - Kick Out the Windows ... encore ... Take Me Back
Scroll to below videos for review of the show.
Videos
Country Pocket
Strolling Down the Highway
Kick Out the Windows
Review
The New England-based band Parsonsfield is at the forefront of the new wave in folk/indie/acoustic music. They're folk, but they have a rock drummer and an electric guitar. They're bluegrass, but they play ballads and songs with thoughtful lyrics. They perform covers, but they make them entirely their own. They are evolving at the speed of light into some of the best songwriters around. When asked to describe the songwriting process in the band, every one of these musicians offers that it is a collaborative process among all five of them. One will bring in an idea, a lyric, a musical phrase, and together they go from there to a finished song.
The first thing a newcomer to the band notices is the number of instruments on stage. Counting the drum kit as one instrument (it's too complicated for me to break it down into the number of individual components), it's usually about twenty. Their trademark is the saw, played with a bow by the guy who is usually the bass player, Harrison Goodale. Harrison, whose nickname is Whale, adorned his electric bass with a toy narwhal. And then there are five voices, since they all sing. Chris is the main lead singer, and Max (of the new summer haircut) also chimes in on many songs with an angelic voice. Antonio, on the authentically folk instruments at stage right, adds in the lower harmony. They liberally trade instruments among themselves. When Whale is on cello, Max picks up the bass; when he's on the saw, Erik joins in on the upright; the accordion and acoustic guitars go freely between Max and Chris; the little electronic box (technically called a "pocket piano") stays on the pump organ and gets a workout from whoever's there at the moment.
The 18 song set was drawn mostly from the band's recent five song EP, We, and their recent full length album, Blooming Through the Black. The final song before the encore, "Kick Out the Windows," may be this band's best song to date, a song about living life with joy, based loosely on a lyric from poet Dylan Thomas. Both the bass drum and a stage decoration feature the artwork from We, a clever weathervane with the W and E showing.
The Payomet tent is a surprisingly good concert venue. The sound, considering it's a tent, is superb. I enjoyed listening to all the little nuances this band puts into their songs, since i could really hear everything. And there was enough light for decent pictures; take a look at the photo gallery up and to the right. Although this is a pretty good set of photos, still pictures really can't capture the energy and enthusiasm these five talented guys bring to their performing.
The show was opened by local singer/songwriter Jordan Renzi. Quite a few of the concert goers were familiar with her, and gave her a gratifying amount of applause.
Before the show, Concert Going Partner and I took a walk up and around the neighborhood. Payomet is located off the beaten track in the vicinity of an old, spooky, abandoned military base. It was even spookier than usual because a heavy fog had rolled in off the Atlantic Ocean, which is just a few hundred yards from the venue. We crossed paths with three of the band members, so of course I got my picture taken with them, and here we are.
More Parsonsfield
Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Parsonsfield.
Click for 2018 Concert Page with links to all 2018 concerts ... Click for Main Concert Page with links to all years