Nine Lives of Long Island Talent Showcased

It’s been done nine times in nine years now, so what’s your excuse for missing it?

Excuse for missing the Port Washington Celebration of Long Island Talent music talent, that is.

Instead of last year’s Island hurricane warnings, the weather forecast was a thumbs-up calm afternoon -- perfect listening weather. What you missed on October 27 this year were three shoreline-topping acts chosen by @WFUV’s John Platt, host of the station’s Sunday Breakfast program.

Praise the Gently Burning Sky

Southold based Robert Bruey (@Rbruey) is originally from Maine, so he was prepared for a little teasing from John Platt about Great Frozen North.  But it was all warmth when Bruey, backed by a drummer and female vocalist,  drew tunes from his album “Silver Burning Sky” and a satchel of what he told the audience was “roots country music.” His was a mix of accessible melody and steady, insistent finger-picking.

 “I’m a fan of different tunings,” Bruey said. In his second song, “Go” (“. . . To home where you should be”), he demonstrated this with a styling from the James Taylor school, but with a darker voice -- not unlike Damien Rice, whom Bruey counts as an influence. Going further down that alternate tunings path, he employed -- count them -- two capos on “Go.”  

His third song was also about northern Maine -- “in a way,” the songwriter said. In “Fracture of a Sign,” performed without wife Dana’s backing vocal, he wrote of things “no longer disguised,” of things “that have a hold.”  Then Dana, also a capable singer, returned for “Whirlwind,” a song structured around a conventionally strummed theme. It was a gentle whirlwind. No hurricane here. 

Bruey closed his set with a tune similar to “Whirlwind”  in which he recalled his grandmother’s Irish lasagna. It was a one-of-a-kind song about a vigilante in an old Western seen on his grandmother’s cable TV. 

In an unpretentious yet confident way, Bruey delivered heartfelt songs, the best of which showcased the accessible but inventive harmonies of his fingerpicking style. 

Bruey’s drummer, Chris Marshak (@cmdrums24)) drummer also directs a monthly Soulful Sundown at the Universalist at Shelter Rock. Marshak has also appeared at the Rockwood Music Hall, often highlighted at The Living Room’s “On Your Radar,” also hosted by Platt.

‘More than Good Enough’

Next up was a soulful Claudia Jacobs, supported by a second guitarist and keyboards.

 Featuring a richly textured voice, Jacobs began with the lyric, “I’m just a little bit broken and a little bit undone, but I’m not hurting anyone.” She sang this with a soul singer’s edginess, but pulling off this fully mainstream folk sentiment. The song included short keyboard phrases that were reminiscent of Big Brother & the Holding Company.

By the time Jacobs sang the catchy “How Good is Good Enough” (penned for her Dad and appearing on next year’s CD), the audience had seized upon her unique folk-soul mix and fully embraced it. Claudia gave a shout-out to Martin Guitars, which “did a great job on my guitar when it had a neck problem,” and by then the sympathy was freely flowing. 

Jacobs slowed down for the dramatic “Between The Lines,” which appears on her latest CD, and survived a broken guitar strap without missing a lyric.  Next up was "Take Me as I Am,”  and then the trio closed with a Ray Davies exhortative cover, “Looney Balloon.” “Looney,” which appears on her current album, revealed that Davies has a serious treehugging side that is thinly veiled in his mashup of folk and circus. Jacobs deserves credit for rediscovering this less well known tune while trolling the archives of a Long Island record producer. 

The performance included a number of delightful Hammond B3 organ riffs – brief, tasteful ones, with smooth handoffs to guitar solos.

Jacobs, born and raised in Northport, now resides in Stonybrook. She cited influences from Gilbert & Sullivan, Oscar Brand, Steven Stills, David Bromberg, Frank Zappa (“a connection because he had a low voice like mine”), the Decemberists, Susan Werner, and Joni Mitchell.  Her music experiences began early, she said, “when my father embarrassed me in temple by singing loud.” 

Jacobs has a genre-creating voice (think Adele) which has come into its own. She is the sort of singer whose  adoption of a well-known song is likely to produce something unexpected. 

Jacobs was supported by Greg Galluccio (@GregGalluccio) on guitar, and Dr. Dan Weymouth on keys.

Snarky & Sweet = Spice

When Bruey closed his set, he primed the audience for the closing act. “I’ve heard them rehearsing, and you’re going to love the Folk Goddesses.” That is, Martha Trachtenberg (The Buffalo Gals, Return to the Dream), Hillary Foxsong (Gathering Time) and Judith Zweiman (Sea Chanties Strike the Bell, Smithsonian Fast Folk Music Magazine). Their stated role model: the Andrew Sisters. Yep, three part har-mo-ny, with a difference. “We are snarky, and our take on love songs tends to be . . . you know,” explained Martha. 

The Goddesses performed a tribute to the late Richard Meyer (http://youtu.be/PhG9rs_v4uY) with a rousing version of his “Jive Town,” showcasing  a vaunted three-part harmony and backed by two of the women on guitar. “You’ll be red hot when the others cool,”  they sang. The next song, Martha's "I Want to Break Your Heart", was just as ruthless with instrospection. “We’re sharing one roof / You’re living behind your own wall. / Take a look; you’re just like me / I want to break your heart / To see what’s inside.”  

Then the Goddesses John Henry’d their way to an obligatory folk genre, the “Train Song,” led by Hillary. “I better write my train song / I hear that whistle blowin’ /So did everybody else / I got to find a train song / I can write myself /  It’s there in the folk song contract in section 49.”  She refers of course to the solemn folk obligation to create sing-along choruses. 

The train song featured what might be the Goddesses’ signature hummable country blues / rockabilly-like glissando glides.

The Goddesses then delivered a witty travelogue , “Go to Hell,” featuring the teleological question, “What’s wrong with pride, lust and greed?” They then shifted into Irish gig gear to sing about “The Burning Time,” in which “a maid accused of theft and sorcery” becomes a victim of “the evil wrought in God’s most holy name.” 

The Goddesses closed with a near-rock song whose lyric that might have come from Kiss: “Love’s on the prowl with nothing to lose / If it did it to me, it can do it to you.” (Though there is more than a hint of humor in “Love will put its foot out just to watch you fall”).

You’ll be falling for the sweet harmonies from this trio. Comparisons with Long Island compatriots Red Molly may be inevitable, but the Folk Goddesses have discovered a unique recipe. Taking a little spice from each of their separate kitchens, they’ve mixed snarky with sweet and got special.

If you missed the show, several of the performers will also be at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance ( NERFA @NERFAlliance) this year, held November 7-10. Otherwise, stay tuned to news from the Port Washington Library, whose Jessica Ley, Coordinator of Program Planning masterminds this annual affair.

Read more Mark Underwood (Darkviolin) reviews at Starwhisperer.com.