What do you get when you cross some James Taylor and Dave Matthews? No, not James Matthews or Dave Taylor. You get a crazy wonderful hybrid of both mixed with other influences named Reed Waddle. When he first took the stage at Anthology's ( I know, I know...) in San Diego, CA my wife and I both had our fingers crossed that he was going to be good. Good was an understatement! From the first strum of his guitar and the sound of his voice Reed had us hooked! His songs tell stories of love, wanting and travels far from home and you can hear the mix of southern country and the New York Indie Rock scene.
Along with the occasional bit of Dylan-esk phrasing and a Sting-like timbre I knew I needed to have his album as I was positive that I could listen to it from front to back. Mid way through the performance I found myself trying to sing along with him but there were two problems, I didn't know the words....and I can't sing. Oh but I wanted to sing so badly, I guess it has something to do with the fact that his music has that familiarity that makes you sing along like you've known it for years Every syllable rings true and through to my soul. Reed has the ability to write songs that make you feel like you lived the experiences he is singing about.
There is something very knowing about Reed Waddle's music, and as corny as this may sound....get ready....I know Reed's Lady Antebellum genre is going to propel him into greatness...it's true...corny sounding but true. Here is a video I shot during the performance. I would have shot others but I was so captured by him that I couldn't get the phone out to catch others. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and help support him and his music by visiting his site and buying the new album entitled Creatures of the Heart!
By the way I bought Reed's album and I LOVE IT! If you are reading this please contact me as I would love to do an album review and interview with you!!! Contact info is above.
Next on the mic was the main event Javier Colon or "Javier" for those of us that knew him before The Voice (pssst I knew about him before and have been wanting to see him perform since his first album). For those of you that didn't know about him prior to his breakthrough performances on The Voice here he is at Anthology's singing his first single from the "Javier" album named "Crazy"...
Let me tell you he did NOT disappoint! His voice still sounded as silky smooth as I remembered. Every roll was perfectly placed and when he was silent you could hear it clear across the room. As the crowd went wild with every song from the neo/soul crooner, you could see that he was genuinely thankful for the experience. It is almost as if he doesn't know how wonderful he is. Which is very cool because there is nothing I hate more than when an artist lets everything go to his/her head and treats the audience as if they don't deserve to be in the same room with them let alone be witness to their personal talent....sorry having some flashbacks of bad concerts....won't happen again.
I find it funny and very rare that I am at a loss for words, but Javier's performance at times left me completely speechless and at other times I couldn't say enough (almost to the point of getting shushed by people around me). At one point during a performance of Bonnie Raitt's " I Can't Make You Love Me" (which he stated was the first time he played that out for an audience), I found myself on the verge of tears. Even though It may have been just a cover to some of the people in the room, you could almost feel the pain and heartache being drawn from his soul. Almost as if he not only wrote the hauntingly beautiful song, but....it's like he lived it. His pain became mine and I had to drink my soda to keep a tear from falling...absolutely amazing.
He almost got me a second time (I'm sensitive, so what? You wanna make something of it?) with his audition song from The Voice. He sang "Time after Time" made famous by the 80's pop star Cyndi Lauper. Now when someone does a song that everyone knows and is part of a generation's timeline, they damn well better be able to take it to another level. Well "another level" doesn't even begin to describe how far he took this song. Javier or the newly coined "Javier Colon" won himself not only The Voice with this song as the starter, but a whole new group of fans.
Normally here I would make some kind of comparison between Javier and some number of artists and how he is the "second coming" of each of them. Unfortunately and VERY fortunately, I cannot. Javier Colon has managed to do what most artist dream of. He has brought something completely new to the table. As my wife put it, He is able to go to...say the Five Spot (known for some of the dopest R&B ever hosting then "new" people like Jill Scott and Jaguar Wright) in Philly (RIP) and perform some soul delivering greatness, then turn around and go to a coffee shop like Lestat's in San Diego (PLEASE, PLEASE COME TO LESTAT'S) and be an instant hit with the indie/singer/songwriter crowd. You can't manufacture that kind of talent, no matter how many TV "Talent Shows". The rest of the world just managed to be lucky enough that Javier decided he was going to be on one.
Well just like any amazing performer, one MAJOR thing is needed. What is that thing? I'm glad you asked. It's an equally AMAZING band. I won't dare just call them a back up band as they seem to be more of a family than mere band-mates. They each bring some great musical talent to the show and after seeing them....let's just say that they all have their own distinct personalities. VERY distinct! If you have had the pleasure of seeing them then you know who I am talking about. For those of you that don't, I am talking about the insane but lovable Chris "Big Sexy" Loftlin on the bass. This guy was crazy talented for two major reasons. Reason 1 he is just an awesome jazz/funk/rhythm bassist that will make your head bob like crazy. Reason 2 the simple fact that he is able to keep his amazing timing with all the crazy dancing and jumping around that he does. To further my point....
The video might be silent, but he had this kind of energy in slow songs as well so it was universal.
Insane, but AWESOME!!
Next we have Matt Cusson on background vocals (don't get it twisted, he can hold his own too) and the keys. His voice was like butter on the mic and you can just call me Paula Deen because butter is my best friend! Javier keeps himself with some great vocal talent and they just vibe off of each other so well. Its almost hard to believe that Matt isn't on a solo rise to fame himself. Oh wait.... he is! I highly recommend that you look him up on YouTube and listen to him rip it up and down the keys and sing like he's trying to steal your girl right out from under you! I heard him do a rendition of D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" and yeah...just yeah...no words. Matt helped fill in with the soul of a young (and Caucasian) Brian McKnight. Keep an eye out for him!
Keeping the guys in check like a metronome in an apple cap is Trever Somerville . He had my attention immediately when he came out with a little high-school marching band style snare drum, complete with a swagger that you'd expect to see in Drumline. I've always admired drummers because they have so much going on and Trever was no exception. Watching how quickly his hands moved and how clean the cadence sounded was a shining example of how much left and right brain activity you need to master the skins. Seeing how comfortable Trever looked behind the drums reminded me of ?uestlove from The Roots. I know I keep saying that these guys have a "jazzy" sound to them but I could see him walking into a smokey late night club and playing along side with Buddy Rich or even Dizzy. Best part was everything he played seemed to really come from his heart.
Last but certainly not least we have the calm, cool, and extra smooth Ian Mchugh on the guitar (my drug of choice). Listening to the bluesy cry of his guitar really drew me in. Being a guitar player myself naturally I catch myself watching.... well.... other guitar players. Ian was the one bringing the "rock" to this R&B ensemble. His solos were very well executed and you can tell he was really in them because his eyes would close and his whole posture would change and twitch (sounds funny but if you play guitar then you know its something you can't control) and you could feel the warmth of each note as it left the strings. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that I didn't get the chance to tell Ian how much I enjoyed hearing him jam out with the rest of the band. Well maybe now I did....
Here is Ian along with Matt, Trever, Chris....and oh yeah that Javier Colon guy I told you about performing "Use Me" by Bill Withers...
Well in case you couldn't tell I had a blast at the show and will gladly go out of my way to see them all again, and just in case Javier and the crew (including Reed) ever come back to San Diego hit me up for some great pre-show grub on me...well not on me cause that would just be awkward...
Here are a couple of other covers that Javier and the band played that evening.
Till next time.
Editor & Chief of The Penguin Gazette,
Rudy
