{"id":183,"date":"2014-12-12T19:00:37","date_gmt":"2014-12-12T19:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=183"},"modified":"2015-10-05T15:20:26","modified_gmt":"2015-10-05T15:20:26","slug":"birds-of-chicago-sugarland-house-concerts-sugarland-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2014\/12\/12\/birds-of-chicago-sugarland-house-concerts-sugarland-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Birds of Chicago – Sugarland House Concerts – Sugarland TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Eddie Ferranti <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"The Folk Alliance International has been a productive source of discovering new talent for Rose and myself over the last few years.\u00a0 Being able to catch acts who rarely get to head south to Texas are a joy to cover and one of those hit the Sugarland House Concerts recently called Birds of Chicago.<\/span><\/p>\n

The husband -wife duo of JT Nero and Allison Russell met in 2011 while she was in another band we loved, Po’ Girl, when they collaborated on JT’s “Mounntains\/Forests” album and they’ve been together ever since.\u00a0 This cool hippy couple travel non-stop all over the place-up to 10 months a year- playing their toe tapping soulful Americana sound with their soon to be one year old child, Ida Maeve,\u00a0in tow!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AR is from Montreal,QC and JT from Chicago.\u00a0 Following their critically acclaimed self titled\u00a0debut in 2013\u00a0,\u00a0 they decided to release a “Live From Space” CD in early 2014\u00a0that showcases what they do best, which is a little bit of everything.\u00a0 Russell can dazzle on banjo,\u00a0ukulele, guitar and big time on clarinet pairng with Nero’s consistent guitar work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sugar and spice vocal mix is quite enjoyable especially in the intimate setting this night.\u00a0 The vocals spill out with a mix of crusty country\u00a0and silky smooth that comes at you\u00a0in a spiritual and moving pop rock sound that is hard to pigeon hole into a category. The duo has a playful banter and look so at ease with one another as they face off on stage which translates beautifully to the audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image\"“Sadness”, Seahorses” and “On the Avenue” came out of the gate demonstrating how all three (there was a backing\u00a0player on bass\/electric guitar\u00a0whom I failed to get a name) could really play.\u00a0 A\u00a0“loosey goosey boogie\u00a0harmonizing”\u00a0time was off and running to the delight of the packed house in attendance.\u00a0 They tossed in a waltz tune “Galaxy Ballroom” and then AR killed it on clarinet on “Love is Real”.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I cannot stress enough how the trade offs of clarinet and vocals works big time\u00a0in the Americana sound of BOC.\u00a0 \u00a0Their tunes are chocked full of love, hope and strong references to their adopted city of Chicago.\u00a0 Other highlights from the\u00a0two 45 minute set gig were “Old Calcutta”, \u00a0“Real Midnight”, “Shake Me” done acapella by Russell, “Cannonball” demonstrating stunning harmonies\u00a0and “Until It’s Gone” where AR shifted into her bag of tricks and turned ‘Aretha Franklin like’ on us!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

BOC evokes a very pleasant 70’s easy rock feel that goes down like a cold beer on a summer evening\u00a0relaxing on the back porch.\u00a0 Soul, jazz and folk never sounded so good coming from folks who are so\u00a0tremendously humble and easy to approach.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JT told me to look him up the next time we visit Chicago for pointers on the best happenings around town!\u00a0 You can bet we will and hopefully catch them “somewhere” down the road, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as the venue, Nancy Brand and Company have it goin’ on.\u00a0 This was our 4th visit and she has really got the sound system working nicely and the beef and veggie\u00a0lasagna with salad rocks!\u00a0 \u00a0Plus folks bring plenty of high quality desserts of all shapes and sizes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0BYOB and plenty of wine can be had also.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drop her a line @ nancyjbrand@yahoo.com<\/span><\/u><\/a> to get on her mailing list……God Bless your HOLIDAZE!!!\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Eddie Ferranti The Folk Alliance International has been a productive source of discovering new talent for Rose and myself over the last few years.\u00a0 Being able to catch acts who rarely get to head south to Texas are a joy to cover and one of those hit the Sugarland House Concerts recently called… <\/p>\n

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