Eric Bachmann- Gotta Have the Sour to Taste the Sweet
February 4, 2008
Eric Bachmann/ Henry Mena
Southpaw
January 30th 2008
I am not sure how I even heard of Saddle Creek singer/songwriter Eric Bachmann, but for whatever reason, I decided to bust out of Bushwick to see his show. He was playing in Brooklyn, I liked what material of his I had heard, and it was only a measly $15.00.
For those of you who haven’t been to Southpaw before, it is a pretty cool Park Slope venue with cans of beer for $4.00 and pints for $5.00. It has plenty of space, a beautiful dimly lit bar, and a locked up and covered pool table. There is even a coat rack for people who wear coats. I was slightly surprised when I found myself surrounded by nicely complected, upwardly mobile twenty-somethings, all of whom had black pea coats. I was almost convinced that I had walked into a secret society’s monthly meeting. It wasn’t until Henry Mena walked on stage that I remembered that I was at a show.
Now I say, if you can avoid seeing Henry Mena I would suggest it. Some of you out there may enjoy poorly crafted sing-songs; if you have ever considered buying a Hootie and the Blowfish record, Henry may be your man. For the rest of us out there, Henry Mena is poison to the ears. This may come off as a little harsh, but his lyrics are like a 6th grader’s Valentine’s Day card. He could be likened to a train wreck. His affected stage presence was so hard to stomach that for a second I was sure I was enduring a poorly played SNL sketch.
He can say one thing for himself however, he is positive, optimistic, and confident. He’ll love you baby, and if you can’t feel his love, well then, he’ll show you to the door, cause there is a lot of love to give in this world and there are others out there who will join him on his sweet, sweet journey. I know it takes a lot of guts to get up on that stage and sing. No one should tear another artist down; we should build each other up. But this guy was just not my cup of tea, and it shouldn’t be yours either. Does that about cover it? Good.
So as the saying goes, “Without the sour the sweet ain’t as sweet.” This was true for that cold January evening. After Mr. Mena’s set, Eric Bachmann took the stage and arranged his gear. He had trouble getting an ancient looking pedal to power on, and I became a little concerned. Dressed in slacks, a coat, and a flat cap, Bachmann invoked the spirit of the labor worker. Down to his thickly dusted boots, he looked as if he had finished a shift at the mill and come directly to Southpaw to articulate to the pea coat clad audience his blue collar woes.
He exquisitely sang beautiful ballads about love and strife without sounding contrived. His lyrics had a Yeats quality that allowed him to be a little obvious, yet entirely genuine. This dynamic gave a measure of depth to his songs. After the show I almost asked him if he knew that Ireland has a voracious appetite for singer/songwriters such as him. Yes Mr. Bachmann, I am suggesting that you move to Ireland in order to skyrocket your career. It was simply great to see someone with that much talent interact with the audience.
He asked for requests and played them even if he barely remembered the lyrics. This aspect did not annoy the audience, rather it demonstrated that Bachmann considered himself one of them, a part of the people for whom he played, not someone above them. When he could not remember them, he would surgically stop the song to recall the words and the begin again as if the music had never been segmented. The ability to express bitter sweet pain leaves no doubt that his music was made for county Cork.
Was it worth the price of admission? No, I don’t think so. Will I buy his record? Yes, his talent is amazing.
6/9
http://www.myspace.com/ericbachmann
I’m pretty sure I’m not on the path to legendary status but “Hootie and the Blowfish“? Really? C’mon, surely you can do better than that. Ah, yes: “…poison to the ears“, “…a train wreck.” Hmmm…are you sure you weren’t at a Fiery Furnaces show? Ha!
Listen, thanks for giving me my first ever negative review. You went so overboard on the hyperbole that it’s quite likely those discovering my music on their own will find it’s not nearly as dreadful as you made it out to be. After all, it’s pretty hard to live up (down?) to that kind of skewering.
Cheers,
-HM
Brooklyn, NY
First, HM thanks for your thoughts. I always with the utmost sincerity appreciate them. As for the music, I am fairly confident that anyone who listens would hear a similarity between you and Hootie. That may not be a bad thing, last time I checked he was a multimillionaire who is actually quite liked in the industry.
I did say this about you:
“He can say one thing for himself however, he is positive, optimistic, and confident.”
These are all crucial qualities and I know you’ll never lose them from reading hacks like myself, however to make the point, Bachmann’s set was not simply over-shadowing, it was eclipsing.
Cheers,
FF
Perhaps it’s the acoustic format that reminds you of Mr. Rucker and co. (Then again, Gary Lucas once remarked my acoustic EP reminded him of Nick Drake, so…
Interestingly, my electric stuff falls under the Cheap Trick/GbV/Posies/Pretenders/Matthew Sweet umbrella. Which, despite the promoter’s green light, I chose not to perform that evening. It was Bachmann’s show and fans, and because he was playing solo I decided to show him some respect by going acoustic and not bringing in my loud, rockin’ 4-piece band. He turned out to be a sweet guy and I sold plenty of merch and made quite a few new fans that night, so I’m glad I stuck w/my initial instinct.
Oh, and by the way, you’re right: I’ve been doing this too long to let a negative review affect me. It did catch me off-guard initially, since, as I stated before, it’s the first of its kind. So I guess you’re also right about something else: “gotta have the sour to taste the sweet.” Ha!
Rock on,
- HM
Brooklyn, NY
Dude,
I am happy we have found common ground.I have articulated the shortcomings I find in your music. Just because I felt that the Southpaw show was drastically overpriced, and poorly assembled, does not mean others didn’t enjoy it. I believe most readers have the smarts to recognize the perspective from which I write. That is not necessarily the same thing as agreement.
As far as hyperbole goes, don’t be so sure I intend to overreach. I mean everything I write. If my distaste prepares some for the worst, and you exceed their expectations great. I in no way am impugning your character, just your music’s. And I am perfectly comfortable with many people, most even, disagreeing with my take on things. I think critics are know nothing shit bags. But I get free music out of the deal. Anyone who disregards my assessment of your current direction is entitled to the joy your music brings. Conversely, those who agree with me are entitled to their annoyance.
But I do wish you the best. Read Yusef Komunyakaa. He will tell you more than Gary Lucas ever will (no disrespect to Gods and Monsters). Music instrumentation was never the problem. I pointed to the lyrics. Seriously Read him.
Mandatory reading for all lyricists. Yusef Komunyakaa.
Frederick
Awwww. It’s so nice that you two have found common ground. You should feed each other grapes and listen to Hootie.
Yes… Lets…