Corinna Smith, AEG fiddler
Adam Ezra Group’s annual Boston Hahbah Boat Cruise was a bit soggy in the middle but snappy and fun at both the beginning and the end of the event. Having decided to remain on the top deck of the Provincetown II for the cruise meant that the band and its loyal audience of fan cap and fan shirt wearing followers had to endure some falling rain during the ride. After fiddle player Corinna Smith, drummer Alex Martin, and new bass player Poche Ponce left the stage, Ezra remained out there, and I do mean out there, with his acoustic guitar and microphone.
That kind of pluck marked the day. The fans and the band like each other and their events far too much to let a little rain, or a lot of rain, ruin their day or dampen their spirits. The packed upper deck were treated to AEG gems like “The Basement Song,” with its up tempo delivery of today’s contemporary issues and “The Toast,” which found Ezra’s handsome, sandpapery timbre pouring over the rhythm section’s perfect throb. Ezra’s gritty banjo notes and Smith’s fiddle glide over a snappy “Life Of A Thief,” with its “hey, hey” chorus helped keep the event in a rock and roll mood.
Fiddler Corinna Smith bowed an assertive but merry line out of her axe during her bands’ interpretation of “Ophelia,” by The Band. A multi instrumentalist, Smith pressed some intriguing notes out of an accordion shortly afterwards. “Let Your Hair Down,” off of last year’s Hurricane Wind album, benefited from a contrast between a sweet fiddle melody and the grittier banjo as well as Ezra’s rugged timbre.
Josh Gold, keyboardist, reporting for duty
Guest musician Kali Stoddard came up to do some rapping and earned his stripes. “Kill Like This” never sounded so rhythmically snappy. Occasional band member Josh Gold lent his sensitive electric piano play to one of Ezra’s better known local hits, “Miss Hallelujah.” Gold’s keyboard coolness eased the crowd into “Hippie Girl,” his texture of melodic tuft became a heavy, knobby bass line that eventually sounded like fiery guitars over that familiar thumping groove.
“All I Am,” which Ezra co-wrote with the famous John Oates for last year’s album was another moment of acoustic instrument coolness. Ezra’s touching acoustic guitar work, supporting his quieter approach, likely pulled in everyone whose attention was previously on the overcast skies and the occasional rain drops.
In stark contrast, Ezra’s ominous “14 Days” wafted over the boat with its integrity intact. Ezra’s darker inflections in the song about shattered faith carried well in the misty, boat that time forgot atmosphere shortly before the rain began to fall in serious amounts. Melancholy harmonies, eerie keyboard tones, and a haunting fiddle line filled out this song’s feeling of menace. They played with the drive of rescuers throwing people off of a sinking ship.
Bass player, Poche Ponce
AEG’s take on Charlie Daniels Band “Devil Went Down To Georgia,” renamed “Devil Went Up To Boston,” featured Ezra’s engaging Boston accent on the wittily rewritten lyrics and his rugged vocal delivery. Yet, the song’s true star was fiddler Corinna Smith and her reinvention of the main melody line. Smith has become somewhat of a focal point for AEZ since joining several years ago. She plays up front, standing in front of the rhythm section and alongside Ezra who she equals in height and sings harmony with. She’s also a self-appointed spokesperson for the women in the music industry who feel they are being noticed, and often harassed, for things other than their music. During “Devil” she made her fiddle whistle the melody in the gentle portions then stirred up the pot when her speedier line reflected the local boy’s showdown with Beelzebub.
At one point in the show, Ezra introduced his drummer Alex Martin as “that sexy, sexy man” before Martin brought a hefty, revolving thump to “Devil Side.” Martin then got things going off with bossy rolls and snappy percussive work. The drummer boy juggled several lines at once, hefty and slow on the bottom, speedier things atop.
With a throbbing bass line and a bouncy grit from the banjo, AEG went into one of Hurricane Wind’s rocking numbers, “Steal Your Daughter.” Despite the weather, Ezra and company managed to build this up until the chorus was gripping, punchy, and filled with a sense of honky tonk action. It was a good soundtrack for the scene as the Provincetown II was heading back into dock.
Back stage; drummer Alex Martin, singer-songwriter Adam Ezra
It eventually became difficult for this reviewer to take notes as rain and ink don’t mix. Somewhere, in the middle of the weather distractions, was the AEG’s song “You Speak Girl,” also from last year’s album, “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty and AEG’s biggest hit, “Takin’ Off,” that contains that memorably beautiful line “you’re a ragtop angle, you’re amazing grace.”
The band closed out with The Beatles’ “Let It Be,” a fitting tune to finish a day during which nobody on board had had complete control over. Neither the band nor the audience was fazed much by the briefly inclement weather, and it was another fun Adam Ezra Group event. The band’s next big event is the The Ramble on Salisbury Beach, in Salisbury, Massachusetts, in August. It’s a fundraiser for homeless veterans.
