{"id":576,"date":"2013-04-10T20:00:05","date_gmt":"2013-04-10T20:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=576"},"modified":"2015-10-08T20:37:36","modified_gmt":"2015-10-08T20:37:36","slug":"moors-mccumber-with-brian-kalinec-jp-hops-house-katy-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/10\/moors-mccumber-with-brian-kalinec-jp-hops-house-katy-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Moors & McCumber with Brian Kalinec – JP Hops House – Katy, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by James Killen <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apr 10, 2013 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"Wednesday night was wet and unseasonably cold for a Houston evening in April. It was what Mom used to call a \u201csoup night\u201d and Wednesday is what JP Hops House calls \u201cHard Times Soup Night\u201d. Some great cooks bring up pots of their favorite soups, the five piece house band, The Hard Times Troubadours, serve up covers of the likes of John Prine, James McMurtry and Merle Haggard and the pub patrons settle in for a pint or two of their favorite draught.<\/p>\n

Before I move too far past the soup, they were all great, but I want to give a big shout out to Pam Kalinec for the beef cabbage soup. The Troubadours deserve a nod for diversity in addition to just good music. There aren\u2019t many bands out there covering Peter Case songs or numbers like Elvis Costello\u2019s \u201cA Good Year for the Roses\u201d.<\/p>\n

The centerpiece for the evening, though, was a song swap between Hops House regular, Brian Kalinec and the folk duet of James Moors and Kort McCumber. I\u2019ve said several times in my reviews how much I enjoy a good song swap and this evening was one of the best.<\/p>\n

The three men lined up behind the mikes and in front of one of the largest piles of stringed instruments that I believe that I\u2019ve ever seen. There were mandolins, banjos, fiddles, guitars, bouzoukis, and ukuleles, most of which flowed through the hands of Kort McCumber at one point or another in the evening.<\/p>\n

From the first few bars of the first number, listening to the rare harmonization of Moors and McCumbers\u2019 voices, I was afraid that they might be ganging up on Brian. Kalinec pitched right in, though, with some poignant lead guitar licks for a formula to make this one of the most inclusive song swap evenings that I have had the pleasure to observe.<\/p>\n

Moors and McCumber have voices that fit together like tongue and groove joints for rarely experienced harmonies. Both of them are great pickers, but Kort McCumber took us on a journey, starting with his amazing mandolin work, rolling through a turn with the bouzouki on \u201cShaking Off These Blues\u201d, a fiddle accompaniment to Brian\u2019s \u201cUntil Our Well Runs Dry\u201d, leading into the banjo work for the civil war piece, \u201cAs Quick as I Can\u201d. James Moors sang a smooth lead and played guitar on \u201cNothing But Blue\u201d, while Kort accompanied on banjo and harmonica. Brian showed off one of his newer tunes, \u201cJust the Sunlight and You\u201d while Kort accompanied on mandolin.<\/p>\n

I had to chuckle at Moors and McCumbers\u2019 subdued Jackson Five dance moves on their social statement tune, \u201cSomething\u2019s Gotta Give\u201d. M&M ranged a little further into an Irish folk tune called \u201cLeaving for Cobh\u201d with Moors on the bouzouki and McCumber on fiddle. Brian took a tune that he co-wrote with Connie Mims, called \u201cA Little Paint\u201d out for spin, while James Moors picked up the ukulele. Moors hung on to the ukulele taking it to the brink of \u201cSpanish Classical ukulele\u201d over the next three tunes.<\/p>\n

The evening\u2019s swaps continued with Brian\u2019s much acclaimed composition, \u201cFence\u201d and M&M\u2019s \u201cWelcome to Duluth\u201d and ending up with the rustic ode, \u201cSawyer Hamlin\u201d from Moors and McCumbers\u2019 latest CD. The evening was truly an enjoyable music experience. With a crowd of about 50, it\u2019s a shame that no more folks showed up to share it.<\/p>\n

Moors and McCumbers take the vocal duet thing back to the days of Simon and Garfunkle or Crosby and Nash. Their recordings are great but the live experience is where it\u2019s at. Check them out when you get the chance.<\/p>\n

If you live on the far west side of town, and you are looking for an entertaining evening, and you like soup, I think that I have just the place for you. See you at the Hops House soon.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by James Killen Apr 10, 2013 at 08:00 PM Wednesday night was wet and unseasonably cold for a Houston evening in April. It was what Mom used to call a \u201csoup night\u201d and Wednesday is what JP Hops House calls \u201cHard Times Soup Night\u201d. Some great cooks bring up pots of their favorite soups,… <\/p>\n

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