Show Review: 11/12/05: Wailin' Elroys, Billy Matheny, Latvian Radio

Everyone in this town knows we have shows. Good shows and bad shows. Shows that run late and shows that end early. Shows that start on time, and shows that never start at all. Loud shows and quiet shows. Out of town bands, and in town bands. Shows that are packed and shows that are empty. We’ve got it all, and see enough of them, and you can get jaded to the point of thinking you know what kind of show equals what kind of night. Sometimes you end up wrong.

This Saturday’s Wailin Elroys / Billy Matheny / Latvian Radio show at 123 Pleasant Street was the worst kind of show: it was fantastic and there was no one there. It could be wrong to compare it to the Billy’s 21^st Birthday Bash from a few months prior (also with Matheny and the Elroys) but this show brought my ears hours of music that I wished could be shared with more people.

The show was opened by Latvian Radio, a once and awhile group fronted by former Morgantown resident Patric Westoo and flanked by venerated pillars of Morgantown Matheny, Monday, and Porterfield. Westoo’s tunes walked that fine line between indie pop and alt country each had their moments, and all of them were highly accessible to those who (like myself) had no idea what to expect. Though only a once and awhile project, it was hard to tell. Save for one slightly botched ending, the tunes were tight and compact, Westoo’s vocals delivered with gusto, Porterfield’s solos driven and concise, and the Matheny and Monday rhythm section pushing everything along at just the right pace.

Matheny and his new band consisting of Adrian Larry, Haley Slagle, and Woody O’Hara (of American Sound Syndicate) are beginning to gel in all the right ways. Haley Slagle’s vocals are absolutely to die for and she adds so much to Matheny’s tunes that I don’t even know where to begin. “Reckless”, a slow and torchy Slagle-sung number opened the show and I’m still trying to get my mind around it. Every once and awhile you hear a song at a bar that is so good all you want to do is go home and put it in the CD player on repeat. This is one of those songs. As the last notes of “Reckless” hung in the air the band crashed into “One Story Town” and we were off. The rest of their set passed in a blur of twangy guitars, screaming vocals, and Matheny’s high energy stage persona. This kid never ceases to amaze. Most of the tunes from his self-titled EP made their appearance, but it’s the new songs which truly impress and make this reviewer salivate at the thought of a full length release from one of Morgantown’s brightest talents.

The Wailin’ Elroys were up next, and closed out the show. This Athens, Ohio trio does country the way country should be. The Elroys are not the tight jeans and big hat wearing country music of radio and video. They are the dusty, twangy, liquor and heartbreak filled music that the term ‘country music’ still evokes for me, but for few others. I stumbled randomly into their last Morgantown performance and found myself blown away by Bram Riddlebarger’s tunes and Johnny Borchard’s smoking steel guitar. I was sure that this town would take to the Elroy’s and they could build a loyal following here. I don’t think I was wrong, but it seems that the sparse crowd at Saturday’s show was a step in the wrong direction. The band was hot, and they didn’t let the lack of attention stop them from ripping through their set, consisting primarily of tracks from their Rhythm Bomb released Route 33. Their sound is classic, Riddlebarger with a vocal style that begs for a yodel here and there, and Borchard’s mellifluous licks melts your ears and breaks your heart. This band deserves your attention. Hopefully when they return to Morgantown, more of you will turn out for it.