Christmasville, USA

Toby Weiss at the Focal Point

‘Tis the season for venal gubernatorial corruption, union hating and baiting, throwing shoes at lame ducks, and the collapse of international financial institutions. We’re talking a winter wonderland of glad tidings and merry gentlemen resting on the downy folds of the not-so-golden parachutes of their unemployment checks--if they’re lucky.

Christmas this year is a bitch. OK, so it is every year, but especially this year, when most everyone I know is looking at their checking accounts to see if they’re afloat, or at least bopping above Icelandic levels.

So, I’m glad Rough Shop continued its St. Louis tradition of a holiday show and KDHX benefit at the Focal Point (year five now if you’re keeping score), with lots of guests, standing room only, crazy cool vintage holiday lights and a giant glowing Santa hovering over the stage like Stalin (or so it appeared to Rough Shopper Anne Tkach). The band (which features KDHX’s John Wendland, Andy Ploof, Spencer Marquart and Tkach) plays holiday songs as they should be played: With humor but never irony, with joy but never facile sentiment, with swing but never shtick.

Once upon a time, Steve Pick and I toyed with the idea of writing a book about the 500 (or was it 1000?) best Christmas songs. Such are the idle of dreams of music critics. If we had made it to the introduction we would have had to acknowledge just how miserable most seasonal music is—Aretha, this year I’m looking your way—how purely puerile product it can be, how predictable, how mindless and soulless.

And then we could get on to celebrating the great stuff, because there’s a lot to celebrate.

Some of the best Christmas songs ever, from a breadth of genres, familiar and rare, got an airing at the Focal Point on Friday night, most all backed up by the not-exactly-over-rehearsed-but-still-into-the-groove Rough Shop: Kevin Butterfield (of the Linemen) steamed the windows with George Jones’s “Lonely Christmas Call” and the deathless “Pretty Paper” by Willie. Toby Weiss (of the Remodels) sang “Silver Bells” and “Sleigh Ride,” two hoary numbers, but with a kind of stoic and sexy rock presence, elf cap and all, that made the songs sound new again. Kate Eddens (formerly of the Julia Sets) sang the glorious “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve,” (home to the most beautifully bittersweet question in all of holiday music: “Will I be with you, or will I be among the missing?”), a song owned by Ella Fitzgerald, but Eddens made her own unimpeachable, pitch perfect, delicately-phrased claim. Later she was joined by the Love Experts’ Steve Carosello on a not wholly smooth but charming “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” while Carosello belted out a fairly obscure Dolly Parton song “Once Upon a Christmas” and then joined Anne Tkach on a brooding John Wendland original “This Silent Night.”

Chris Grabau (of Magnolia Summer) charged through a rare Stevie Wonder song, “Someday At Christmas,” while Rough Shop drummer Spencer Marquart crooned a little-known Nick Lowe tune: “Freezing.” Further highlights included Wendland wailing Paul Kelly’s “Making Gravy,” fiddler Colin Blair dueting with Andy Ploof on two instrumentals, former Rough Shop drummer Sean Anglin swinging up the Irving Berlin tinsel on “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and keyboardist JP taking on and relishing one of the mightiest holiday records ever: Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

And did I mention Adam Reichmann? The singer and songwriter has been utterly MIA since the demise of Nadine some four years ago, and it was terrific to hear him again, in a virtual Nadine reunion with Anne Tkach on bass and Todd Schnitzer sitting in on drums. Adam completely reworked “Silent Night,” with a dramatic repeating bridge, and transformed a Thin Lizzy rocker (the name of which escapes me) by adding his own swaggering Christmas lyrics to it. The night ended with the inevitable group-hug-as-the-train-derails singalong of “Happy Christmas (War Is Over),” but that’s OK. Christmas is a bitch but it can still make you feel really, really good.

Adam Reichmann and Rough Shop performing “Merry Christmas to You.” Video by Marie Arsenault.

  • email
  • Digg
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • del.icio.us
  • Technorati
  • StumbleUpon
  • NewsVine
  • Propeller
  • MisterWong
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Posted by Roy Kasten | December 14, 2008 | Concerts, Local | 1 Comment 

Comments

One Response to “Christmasville, USA”

  1. Spencer Marquart on December 15th, 2008 12:51 pm

    Spot-on recap, Mr. Kasten.

    Maplewood was “Christmasville, USA” that night. Thanks to all the wonderful folks who came out to join in the festivities and donate some money to KDHX. Too bad they didn’t film the thing?

    Thanks!
    Spencer

Leave a Reply