File this recommendation under “You should’ve been there,” but Wayne Floyd really brought the house down at his show on Friday night, the closer of a bill that already felt like a really fun house party. Solo singer-songwriter Christian Carvajal opened, and Sam Anderson brought a band with him. Both sets showcased the rapport those dudes have with their audiences. Anderson’s backing band was crewed by several area wizards: Kris Luther on bass, Jordan Richardson (Son of Stan) on drums, and Andrew Skates on guitar, so the performance was kind of like watching a really good game of pickup basketball if in between baskets the players busted out the intro to The Offspring’s “Come Out and Play.”
That band was also Floyd’s band, joined by Nolan Robertson (Dead Vinyl, The Hendersons) on keys, and together, they put on a show that will forever be seared into my brain — Floyd, tuxedo-clad and backed by a band practically crackling with live-jam electricity, got to be loud. He showboated. He and the musicians around him looked like they were having a blast. This is not to say that Floyd doesn’t get to be a dynamic performer during his solo sets, because he obviously has a good time. I guess the difference is along the lines of the difference between seeing an F/A-18 soar over your head at the air show and seeing one blast off the deck of the Carl Vinson.
That’s probably the case with most singer-songwriters, and, actually, at the end of the show, I thought it made me feel like I had watched The Hold Steady and how I would probably enjoy watching Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn do a gig that’s just him and a guitar. I don’t know the next time Floyd is playing with a full band, but his next solo show is Wednesday night at MASS, the centerpiece of his regular Weird and Wild Waynesdays showcase, which also features one-man rock-duo Thee Road Soda (Todd Klepacki, who plays guitar and a kickdrum at the same time) and Chago Morales, who was once in Same Brain and knows the name of probably every song ever recorded with a Jazzmaster. The show is free and usually gets going around 9, so pop in for a drink and whatever wacky shit Floyd and company get up to. — Steve Steward
Reunited, and It Feels So Good
What should also be on your live music agenda this week: buying tickets to the Flickerstick show at House of Blues on Jun 25, as well as to the Orbans show at MASS on Feb 5. If you’ll forgive me the dip into nostalgia, these bands take me back to vivid eras of my life from way back when, and while you kind of had to be there, and none of us can ever go back, I think it will be cool to be reminded of why both of these bands should’ve been a lot bigger. Flickerstick tickets go on sale Jan 14, and the Orbans show is on sale now. — S.S.
Contact HearSay at Anthony@FWWeekly.com.
