Michigan Wednesdays (part 1)

this was a very special show to me (all reviews are subjective, i said it before i'll say it again)--poised on the new moon it turns out this was a pivotal night in the life of Trey--not to get too bogged down (hate for the blog to become bogged) in my own personal stuff, i do want to mention i am involved in a constant struggle to maintain my own mental equilibrium--and it is a struggle--and all these shows but especially this one on the new moon--they heal me--or allow space for me to heal myself--praise Lady Jah--but to the heart of the matter--Zephinias (who's name i can never quite remember how to spell) started off with a short but incredibly beautiful set--if you haven't checked this cat out you really can't believe how talented he is--sometimes when he plays i swear the world stops and spins in the other direction--well at this show Z. was helped out on the, was it last 2 or just last song, by a buddy (of Sound and Vision) on steel drum--i think that's what the instrument is called--looks like a giant steel bowl but the interior is flattened to produce various notes--it sounds both tropical and otherworldly at the same time--it fit in perfectly with Z.'s usual style--you just can't be immersed in sound that pretty and not stand to benefit--even if just by osmosis--next Mr. Cody Swanson rocked our faces off with a eclectic electric set complete with looping and playing over himself--one piece in particular reminded me very much of funkadelic's maggot brain (and in my scene you don't get any higher praise than that)--then came the kids from Michigan--last wednesday and next feature (from what i hear) brilliant solo artists from Michigan--Hezikiah Jones, who has a very straight forward folk delivery, kinda like your cool uncle whispering a funny joke during church--like he was speaking directly into your ear--and such funny, poignant, and self effacing songs--everyone is in a band (might be more than i can stand), i'm making cupcakes for the army--1 more point about Mr. Jones' work (ok 2--how about 2 acoustic, very talented musicians play our house in 1 night, 1 named Zephinias, the other Hezikiah--I'm not sure what it means just that it gives spell check hell) as great as his performance was, his CD demonstrates this is just the tip of the iceberg--that CD (wish i could remember the name) is unbelievable--of course now as usual, the library clock runs down--the headliner Chris Bathgate, who said a tad chagrinly at the start of his set that this was the first gig they had done where someone else had done looping--tore it up--creating a rhythm and then layers of rhythms--songs of lament bathed in almost white notes--like a ghost whispering on a beach--but it makes me happy--the world is ours to hate or appreciate--want to end this blog with a big thank you to all our friends and supporters, the house itself but especially the traveling musicians (talking to you guys is the next best thing to being on the road)--until we are all one even when we are all alone--keep rocking