Radio Stranger - Doverlaff House Concerts, Portland OR - April 8, 2018

[Portland, OR] I was wary after the first artist but this band won me over. It hit me midway through the show that their name is sort of stupid – what self-respecting musician isn’t a stranger to the radio? Anyway. They’re a coherent amalgam of jazz rock, country rock—they’re sincere, hopeful, spiritual, playful. There was Eagles (Eagles all day, every day, forever), heartland rock (Bob Seger), 80s soft rock synth pop (Sade-maybe just BrightShardsOfGlass injecting her in my mind, Feist). Kelly, sassy Kelly, is the lead singer who also plays acoustic guitar sometimes or maracas. She kept dropping into an accent that made me think she might be southern – but then she’d pull out the Bronx – she’s just theatrical, as a lead lady ought to be. Really lovely curls. Towards the end, she did this terrible song about how you can have it all & I got pissed – sure, white lady, you can—of note, the UC system has banned terms related to meritocracy, pulling one’s self up by thy bootstraps, etc—hilarious. Micro-aggressions weary me but this is a sensitivity I can actually get behind. Woody. Oh Woody. A real heartwarmer. He had nothing to sell him as a rocker… or as a ladies man… in his no-rim glasses—a wispy voice that couldn’t stand up next to Kelly’s full-throat. But his perpetual genuine joy was totally infectious. And he made me a believer that high quality acoustic rhythm guitar can sound amazing. He and Kelly had great synergy (they’re the songwriters for the band) but by the end I was sort of convinced that everything good about the band’s sound originated in his sensibilities. Her solo was a sad-sorry folk song—his was this gothic country number. “Rockabye” was also a standout. But maybe Jeff, the quieter lead electric guitarist, who reminded me so much of somebody I still can’t place, was really the key member. He played these rich sonorous notes—totally unfolk-like—brought to mind the Hawaiian tones western swing guitarists pull from their lap steel guitars. He also had a whammy bar---although he told me during the break that that’s not what they call it in this context (I forget what they do…). He still got all excited about its shimmery wavery effects that he’s now got to have on all his guitars. Me too. He’s just essential for the band’s sound. They did have some over-the-top love songs and I got to wondering whether love songs ought to be banned, as a micro-aggression, as our society shifts into a more-practical less-marrying society.