Sound of Music Before Death

It was a first. A woman named Shari Ann left me a message today saying that she had an urgent message for me about the bible. 

I'm presuming she was calling to tell me about the end of the world, but I'll never know since I deleted the message. If I thought there was a hell, I'd be going straight there, I'm quite sure.

My second first of the day was a visit to the new Sound of Music Studio over on Foushee Street for a show. I'd seen bands at the old Broad Street studio, so I was eager to see the new space.

I was even more eager to hear the three bands on the bill: LA's Ferraby Lionheart, DC's Vandaveer and RVA's Low Branches, the only one of the three I'd heard previously. Knowing how amazing they are and that they'd chosen the bill, I knew to expect great things.

The intimate space with its two-floor ceilings and professional equipment provided a cozy and high-tech setting for the show. A grand piano and a couple of lamps softened the serious equipment vibe.

The room was a mix of people I knew and didn't, including some of RVA's best musicians (including one in a "Listen Local" t-shirt). A photographer and videographer did the heavy lifting while I just sat back and enjoyed.

With no fanfare, Ferraby Lionheart took his place and began. His low-key demeanor belied a sure voice and sincere, accessible lyrics.

He told of driving from LA to Texas with a friend and waking to see daybreak in the desert with cacti along the sides of the road, resulting in the song "Under the Texas Sky" and the line "I miss you like the honey jug misses the bear." Come on, you know that feeling, admit it.

His last album "Jack of Hearts" was recorded in Nashville and he played several songs from it including the prophetic "Pocketknife," with the lyrics:

There's nothing stirring in the night
There's no one here but you and I
What will we do with all our time?
I think we made it to the end of the world


At one point, he moved to the piano, saying, "I was figuring I could fiddle around on this thing. It's so big and pretty!" And the songs he played on it were just as big and pretty.


A friend had told me that she had listened to his new CD non-stop the past two weeks and by the end of his set, I could see why. His take on vintage folk pop was a knockout.


After an unusually short break, Vandaveer took the stage, which means that the tall and dark Mark Charles Heidinger and the blond and curvy Rose (wearing a particularly notable pair of cute lace-up wedge espadrilles) began their set.


With Dylan-like phrasing and Tom Waits-like songwriting and Rose's incredible harmonizing, Vandaveer's sound could probably best be called modern folk pop with a heavy does of storytelling in each song.


The audience knew that the show was being recorded, so they put on their listening room behavior, causing Heidinger to note, "It's like a library in here. Somebody should cough or crack their knuckles." A friend leaned over and said, "Yea, a really awesome library." True that.


The songs ran the gamut from light to dark, happy to sad but always heartfelt and well written. With Rose's impressive lungs and his engaging folk troubadour voice, the crowd was mesmerized.


"Like my tie?" he asked, fingering it proudly. "It's local." Apparently on his way to the thrift store, a guy leaning against a bar sized him up and asked if he was in a band. "Yes, I'm a musician," he admitted. The questioner made  a sound of disgust.


"So I had to buy a tie to look less..." Heidinger said, trailing away. He looked very un-Richmond like, but very suitably musician-like. We'll say that he looked completely believable when singing, "Peace and love and harmony and  all the things that lovers need."


Low Branches closed the show with the elegance of their hushed music, tonight augmented by the oh-so-talented Josh Quarles on cello. The addition of his strings added a beautiful depth of sound to the duo's striking arrangements.


Christina's voice is undeniably unique, the kind that has the audience holding its breath to hear her finish singing  a word or phrase. 


Matt, who has recently gone from shaggy bearded longhair to a very attractive haircut and face scrape, anchors everything with his guitar and slide playing, drums and backing vocals. I just had to keep staring at him because he looks so different now.

When the show ended, as always to the shy Christina's relief, the audience applauded their approval and many stuck around to let the musicians know how much they'd enjoyed the show. It was practically a musical love fest right there on Foushee Street.


Whew. I'm just glad I got in a really stellar show before Judgement Day arrives.


It may be the end of the world as we know it, but frankly my dear, I feel fine.