Stew Review
 by Leeming

    Well, here it is.  My first review since being asked to become the "featured reviewer" here at musicstew.com.  I got word of this opportunity Saturday morning in an email from John (co-owner of the site) and I was all hyped up to get started.  So, I scoured the Star Time to look for a gig that was within reasonable driving distance for me and fit within my work schedule,
and I settled on Brasco at the Wreck Room on Saturday, November 6.

The evening opened with a short six or seven song set by local singer/guitarist Brad Thompson.  Now, since it has been about 8 or 10 years since I have been able to really follow the local music scene, this guy was an unknown commodity to me.  However, I found myself really enjoying what he was doing.  His guitar playing ran the entire length of the fret
board and also included many pops and taps to the hollow body to accentuate what he was playing.  His facial expressions were also worth watching, as they exuded the energy he was pouring forth in his music.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Thompson play, and I will be looking for another opportunity to do it again.  I am still kicking myself for not buying on of his CDs he had on hand...

Brasco took the stage at about 11:30 and I was surprised at the size of this band.  Besides the drummer and bass player, they also had three guitar players.  OK, so one was an acoustic guitar (played by the singer), but that guitar was just as important to the songs as the rhythm and lead guitars (which seemed to be interchangeable).  But, that is also what held me back from really enjoying the music.  It seemed that there was a constant battle as to who could drown out who, and that led to no one standing out.  Too bad.  I could see the things the players were doing, but could not hear them.

The singer, when I could hear him, seemed to have a Neal Young quality to his voice.  And, to me, that is a good thing.  In the few songs that started out subdued, I could hear the singer clearly and liked what I heard.  It's just that I could rarely hear him.  With that said, I would really like to hear this band do an "unplugged" set somewhere.  It was clear that there are
some talented musicians in this band, and it would be nice to hear them all, rather than just the loudest one at the time.  Of course, all this might have been prevented by a better sound man, or maybe even a different venue.  But, I liked this place.  It reminded me of the places I would frequent back in the heydays of my youth.

All in all, Brad Thompson, taking advantage of no competing amps, played a very interesting thirty minute set and will get another look from me (if only for my own enjoyment).  Brasco will also get another look, because I don't think I saw them on their best night.  Once again, the band members were clearly talented, but the sum of the parts on this night just left me
confused.  Check one, two...

John