Ray Mason Band, The Bamboo Steamers ~ 2020 January 31 ~ Luthier's Co-Op ~ Easthampton, MA
The Ray Mason Band: Ray Mason, vocals and Silvertone guitar; Tom Shea, lead guitar, vocals; Frank Marsh, drums, vocals; Stephen Desaulniers, bass, vocals. The Bamboo Steamers: Charlie Simonich, keyboards, vocals; Don Singleman, vocals, guitar; Dan Richards, bass, vocals; Jerry O'Hare, guitars, vocal; Frank Marsh, drums, vocals.
Set List (Ray Mason Band)
Summer Kind of Thing - Water Off of a Duck - Big Hug - Didn't Want to Have to Do It {Lovin' Spoonful} - Reverb & a Zip Code - I'm Only Human - instrumental - Treatment I Don't Need - When She Walks By - Monkey In a Convent - Happy Birthday {to Frank Marsh, Tom Shea, and Frank's wife Suzanne, all of whom have birthdays in the next couple of days} - My Lips Are Lonely - We Don't Get Along Anymore - Hopeful Rain - Always Stay - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere {Neil Young} - Step Back Melody - Evil On Your Mind
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Videos
Scroll down past the videos for review.
The Bamboo Steamers
The Bamboo Steamers
Ray Mason Band, Summer Kind of Thing
Ray Mason Band, My Lips Are Lonely
Ray Mason Band, Hopeful Rain
Review
Although the Ray Mason Band, well established Pioneer Valley favorites, were the closing act tonight, it was really a co-headlining bill with The Bamboo Steamers, who were celebrating the release of their brand new EP, Six Minutes To Everything.
I'd never heard the Bamboo Steamers before, and I was surprised at how much they rocked. I think I was expecting something more mellow, but mellow they were not. Straight ahead rock 'n' roll with prominent contributions from keyboards as well as guitar, bass, and drums. The lead singer, Don Singleman, is as engaging a frontman as you'll ever want to see. Many of the songs started with him telling stories about the songs or the band members, as the musicians jammed behind him leading into the song. Their hour long set was thoroughly enjoyable -- I think I've got a new fave!
Ray Mason and his three bandmates, who include drummer Frank Marsh, also a member of the Bamboo Steamers, finished the night with an 18 song set drawn from all phases of Ray's long career, as well as two crowd pleasing covers from the Big Book of Rock 'n' Roll, one from the Lovin' Spoonful and one from Neil Young. These four guys have been a band for a really long time, and even though they don't play together all that much these days, their set was absolutely seamless from start to finish.
The opening act tonight was a duo called Simple Friend, Brandi and Frank, who also perform together in a western Mass. based band called King Radio. She plays guitar and keyboards, he plays guitar, they both play percussion. They sang and played a nice variety of introspective ballads and a few more uptempo Americana style tunes.
Luthier's Co-Op is a guitar store on a main street of the funky, hip town of Easthampton, a suburb to the south of Northampton. Guitars and other instruments adorn the walls in every direction. The stage is big enough for a five piece band. Seating is very limited, and most of the substantial crowd wound up standing around and to the side of the existing seats. I was very impressed with the sound; you can't always hear Ray's Silvertone that clearly at every venue when he's with the band, but tonight the trebly pitch of his signature instrument came through plain as day.
Although not serving food, there are about a half dozen restaurants within a block of the venue. Concert Going Partner and I had a great dinner at an Italian place, Nini's, right next door. At first it might seem that parking might be an issue, but we readily found a spot on Chapel Street, right around the corner from the venue. This is a very hip place to hear a concert and highly recommended. For a donation into a tip jar you get a night of great music in an appreciative and unpretentious atmosphere.
More Ray Mason
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