Read this Live Review if you’d like to find out about one of the liveliest music events on Tuesday nights in New Hampshire. Paul Costley and Nate Comp have been hosting their Tuesday night open mic and acoustic jam at The Wild Rover in Manchester, New Hampshire for several months. Each week, percussionist-harmonica player Costley and bassist-guitarist Nate Comp feature a particularly good local artist on lead vocals. Last night, the Upper Valley’s Brooks Hubbard joined and lead the trio on several choice cover songs and on some of Hubbard’s originals.
Hubbard’s vocals were smart, sweet, flowing with natural grace over Comp’s loping bass lines and Costley’s adept percussive smacks on his congas. The evening began with Hubbard leading this trio with a medley of very familiar covers, including Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Call Me The Breeze.” Hubbard’s original, “I Wish I Was A Kid” had a wistful, reflective quality. He put heart and soul into it while his support musicians put a lot of knobby bass notes and tasteful percussion beneath him. Hubbard’s sustained his vocal notes beautifully and pulled his listeners into his nostalgic ruminations.
Hubbard’s honey smooth vocal worked well on Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark.” With the sparse accompaniment, acoustic guitar, light percussion, mild bass underpinnings, there was plenty of space for Hubbard to fill with his voice, and he did, shining brightly at the microphone, making it another cover Hubbard breathed new life into. “Ticket To Ride” got a touch of elegance from Nate Comp’s more sophisticated bass lines. Hubbard’s acoustic guitar work, too, sounded really nice, especially over those low end runs.
Costley requested another Hubbard song, and the young singer put tremendous emotion into his delivery. If you closed your eyes, you could imagine him singing at a much larger venue because he sang with that kind of first class appeal one might associate with established names. “Press Play,” another Hubbard original, and the title track to his latest album, had a playful, almost jaunty rhythm. And again, Hubbard nailed the perfect feeling and mood. He doesn’t just play and sing songs. He finesses them in a way few other local artists do.
Hubbard handily sang The Beatles classic “Something.” There was an earnest charm in his voice that channeled the original vocal from the album without sinking into imitation. Yet, it wouldn’t have been as good if weren’t for the Nate Comp bass lines that put an understated but lively presence in the music. Hubbard also went into Tom Petty’s “American Girl” with a touch of peppiness that that song needs for its lift. Hubbard also had fun with “Rock Me Mama Like A Wagon Wheel,” which went over big with the women in the crowd. Costley added a thick, sprightly harmonica line as a nice touch, and, at the same time, a patron named Dale, seated beside me, commented how each week this open mic acoustic jam has an intimate family living room sing along vibe.
Hubbard, Comp, and Costley rocked things up a bit with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” turning it into something part rock and part acoustic sing along. Comp showed he can rock right out without aggressive drums and electric guitars surrounding him.
After Hubbard stepped down, Laconia’s Paul Karinja took to the microphone with his acoustic guitar, charming the crowd with some hits from the late 1960s and early 1970s. He wowed with his rendition of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” filling it with his warm, hippie, groovy lead vocal. A Costley harmonica line was the right touch here. Karinga went into a traditional number, “I Know You, Rider,” that was popularized by a Grateful Dead arrangement. Karinga pushed the song forward with his mighty forceful voice, filling it with more of his warm hippie vibe as he went along. Karinga closed his set with Dobie Gray’s one hit wonder classic “Drift Away,” expressing, almost artistically, the swaying grooves and upbeat message of the song.
A female vocalist, who only goes by her first name, Kaylea, handled all of the high notes to Linda Perry’s “What’s Going On” before tackling the Janis Joplin version of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me And Bobby Magee.” Kaylea was appropriately aggressive channeling Joplin, showing she’d be a good front person for a rangy, high energy band that plays a variety of solid rock music. She is also in between bands right now, so she’s available for hire.
Local Manchester singer Demetri Papanicolau worked wonders with Alice In Chains’ “Rooster.” His rangy vocal hit the highs and lows while also conveying the emotion of the song. He captured all of the subtle nuances in the vocal melody. Papanicolau’s voice also came in handy when he and the players performed U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” The musicians kept the U2 classic strident and full, like a whole band was playing behind the singer. But, it was that mid to high range Papanicolau vocal melody that made it shine, full of emotion.
Other artists to showcase their talents last night included Paul Rainone, a local singer-songwriter with an engaging voice, watchable stage presence, and some very interesting original music. Guitarist-vocalist Brad Bosse turned in a good performance as well while bassist Jeff Furlotte held down the low end well while Comp made a switch to acoustic guitar. Comp did some fingerboard gymnastics, playing some notes and chords that might have broken a weaker player’s hands and fingers. Guitarist Seamus Caron injected his own special melodies and rhythms into the jam’s version of songs too. Trudy-anne Mothersilk sang too, while this reviewer had to leave to pick someone up at a bus station, and her set was shamefully missed. Yet, people were still talking about her set several minutes later, so she must have done well.
Costley and Comp have put together one of the liveliest open mics and jams in their southern New Hampshire area. More impressive, they bring talented people and supportive fans out to the Wild Rover on a Tuesday night. There is something special going on here, folks. The Wild Rover’s Tuesday night program should be something my local readers check out.
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