Clare & The Reasons

Death, Taxes and Lousy Weather.
It was cold out. And windy. I don't mind the cold or the wind, but it's a terrible combination, especially at night. Complaining about the weather in New York, however ubiquitous, is predictable and pointless.

Trash Compactor.
One of the reasons that I enjoy living in New York (unlike the lousy weather, see previous para) is that it's all so compact. I live about a mile from my office and depending on which route I choose to walk between the two I come within a block of Bowery Ballroom, Tonic (now closed), Mercury Lounge, Pianos, The Cake Shop, Arlene Grocery and The Living Room. If I want to hear music on a given night I'm lousy with choices. And most nights lately I have wanted to hear music. I'm on a roll.

What's in a name?
I was still nearly a mile away from my destination for the night: a Jam Session being put on by an old friend at Kenny's Castaways. I know, right? It sounds terrible but he's an old friend and an amazing bass player. So off I went to traipse through the cold. As I walked past The Mercury Lounge one name on the little sandwich board looked familiar. "Clare & The Reasons". Ugggh! Who came up with that name? Whatever. I remembered something good about the music on their MySpace. They were on in 15 minutes.


Luck Be A Lady
I thought that I'd peek my head in the door. I saw a few familiar faces and I like The Merc so I went it. It's friendly by NY standards and has a decent selection of beer. The sound is typically good to great, most often when the house sound guys are mixing. I don't know where they find these FOH folks, but man... they know their room and they know music!

Hype Machine.
The people I knew in the crowd were all pretty excited about seeing the show. They weren't over the top, or blabbering on like they'd had their fondness for the music validated by Pitchfork or BV or something. There was no "next big thing" vibe, the room wasn't full of industry people (like me)... they were just genuinely excited about what they knew was going to happen next.

The Proof Is In The Pudding.
And happen IT DID! It was that rare, beautiful and transcendent experience you get when you see the right band on the right night in the right room in the right mood. Great songs, amazing singing. Gorgeous string arrangements, inventive parts and on and on. You could hear the influences... LOTS of influences but nothing that came off that stage was derivative or pandering or even calculated. The songs have been called “cinematic love songs for a modern world” and “old fashioned”. Not a bad stab… I couldn’t do any better I suppose but there's way more to the musical story.

Prognostications.
I believe that beginning at SxSW 2008 much is going to be made of Clare & The Reasons. No one is doing what they do.. and what they do is awesome.

LISTEN NOW VIA MYSPACE.