Daphne Lee Martin
The fifth annual New England Music Awards was a tedious affair. The sounds system at Blue Ocean Music Hall was terrible, often dropping singers or instruments out of the mix or having them too low. The hosts were boring as hell, unless you don’t mind a pseudo-island Rastafarian with dreadlocks lecturing you on how you need to enjoy your life. Yeah, it got that bad.
However, in between the ridiculous hosts, who bought a full page advertisement in NEMA’s evening program, and despite the numerous, annoying glitches in the sound work, the artists who performed at last Saturday night’s fiasco showed the audience and the world through live streaming(when we could hear them correctly) exactly what New England’s music scene has to offer.
I arrived in time to catch New Hampshire band Hunter doing their ethereal pop vocals surrounded by acoustic piano, guitar, violins, and several other instruments. It’s amazing how strong, unique, and beautiful Hunter Stamas’s voice rang out over such a cavalcade of melody and rhythm. For the her second number, Stamas sang without a background vocalist and was especially notable for how she could carry a tremendous vocal melody line. She sang like a force of nature who had complete control over her inexhaustible pipes. Hunter was awarded New Act Of The Year.
Next up, As The Sparrow featured a trumpet and violin among the usual rock instruments and wove a fresh sound all their own. What they were playing just couldn’t be pigeonholed into any one category of rock or R&B or roots. Their two set performance was received by an audience clearly excited about what they were playing.
Gretchen & The Pickpockets
One of this reviewer’s favorite New England bands is also one of his favorite bands ever, New Hampshire’s Gretchen & The Pickpockets. This group paid out their driving, belty, R&B, blending soul and funk into a rock edge and turning it all into a smart sound all of their own. Down tempo, Gretchen and her pickpockets were even more engaging. This group of University New Hampshire graduates knew how to build tension and drama in a song. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this band signed to a label within the next year or two. They could easily fill the void left by Amy Whinehouse’s death and whatever happened to Duffy.
Another treat from New Hampshire was Anna Madsen, a kind of prog rocker vocalist who launched her amazing voice with steady propulsion over a thunderous sea coming from her rhythm section. Voice and guitar soared over all with a persistently high quality of tone, timbre, color. Her guitarist played a hypnotic melody that complimented her otherworldly vocals quite well. It would be even more a treat to see this singer perform in a much longer set, based on this brief insight into her vocal powers.
One this reviewer’s favorite singer-songwriters-composers-arrangers-performers, Daphne Lee Martin, was a striking symbol of energy and art when she performed two songs from her latest CD. Hailing from New London, Connecticut, Ms. Martin, who functions on the level of Glen Miller, Duke Ellington, and other revered arrangers and composers, offered up her original “I Would Take A Bullet For You,” accompanying herself on electric piano to this song which she based on a Bonnie Parker poem. She and her band mates played a light but engaging groove while her piano and Isaac Young’s synthesizer offered up a lush beauty of a song. Martin’s voice had its usual balance of sweetness and purity, an instrument that could fit into any song structure. Martin and company went into their second number “Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Den” with funky aplomb, with jazzy keyboards, soulful grooves, and even a rapper. It was one of those numbers that made you feel like dancing, a calling, a mission. Ms. Martin picked up the Songwriter Of The Year award.
Country Act winner Annie Brobst singing Bowie
Speaking of Connecticut artists, Frank Viele went up to the stage to sing his gritty, feisty roots rock songs. Viele, who has a big show coming up this Saturday night at the Spot Underground in Providence, Rhode Island, let his emotion laden vocals and music pour forth with an amazing flow of energy and power. Viele’s husky vocal was like an unstoppable force of nature as he expressed a tidal wave of emotion at the microphone. And boy, can he strum an acoustic guitar like nobody’s business, slapping out chords while his band mates cranked out some of the most fierce and melodic roots rock around. Viele scoffed out two awards: Male Performer Of The Year and Album Of The Year.
The grand finale of the musical portion of the show was a multi artists tribute to the recently departed mega star and hugely influential artist, David Bowie. And it was a tremendous treat to see what happened when so many fine talents were up on stage all at once. The huge cast of performers took the audience through their respectful renditions of “Space Oddity,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Changes,” “Modern Love,” “Heroes,” and “Under Pressure.” This year’s NEMA nominees did justice to Bowie’s legacy while more than making up for that God awful, sucks beyond redemption Lady Gaga mess at the Grammy’s last winter.
Yes, the artists who performed last Saturday night were able to get through the numerous technical glitches caused by the Blue Ocean Music Hall sound system. Next year, NEMA officials should regain control of the soundboard, please, for the love of God. Also, stay away from Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury, Massachusetts. BOMH may be a good place to see a show but it’s a terrible location for an awards ceremony. Its dark, cramped seating made it difficult to socialize, which defeated the purpose of an award ceremony’s convention atmosphere in which attendees can catch up with long time associates while making some new ones. NEMA might also want to hire a stage manager. There was too much “dead air” as artists took too long to break down and set up their gear.
Secondly, NEMA needs to recapture the entertainment quality of their previous shows. Hosted by comedians, the previous NEMAs were actually fun, enjoyable, and worth being there. This year, NEMA had the three owners of Evolvement Radio hosting the show. There was nothing entertaining about those three. Two didn’t say much of consequence and one, Michael Bernier, who also fronts jam band FreeVolt, was annoying as hell. Instead of talking to the audience, he talked at us, imploring us with his pseudo-island philosophy about enjoying one’s life. I would never let Bernier have a microphone unless he was using it to front his band because I don’t need his long winded self-empowerment speeches. It was just weird. I’d be afraid to meet him for an interview because instead of answering my questions he might pull out a microphone and shout something about my need to enjoy my life. I’m not exaggerating. Bernier has no concept or clue that people don’t like being talked at instead of talked to.
Finally, guys, really, cut out the phony baloney. Evolvement Radio got to host the show because they took out a full page advertisement in your evening program. Don’t bother trying to deny it, it’s obvious. The three are also on the front cover of the program. It may be a clever business strategy to get the host to pay your organization to host your event rather than pay a host to entertain. However, it wreaks of favoritism and patronage and we don’t need a whiff of dishonestly coming from an awards organization that purports to be above board. It was also odd that Boston vocalist with huge star potential Ruby Rose Fox, who was awarded Female Vocalist Of The Year, wasn’t asked to perform, since she was the best known quantity in the venue. It makes one think that NEMA officials wanted favored artists to perform.
One bad year should not kill an awards organization, especially one that clearly means to do things rightly. Yet, organizers clearly lost their footing this year. Lets hope they take a clear look at the mess they just presented with 20/20 hindsight in the clear light of day and try not to be so damn boring next year.
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