Musicians jam at Boiler Room

By Megan Finnerty
Features Editor

The Boiler Room packs ‘em in to bump and grind on Friday and Saturday nights, but when the next musical revolution shows up to thrill this small, often small-minded town, so few come.

What a loss.

Mason Jennings sang, grooved and folked out Sunday night at the Boiler Room courtesy of Friends of Bob, a local live music cooperative.

"It was a really great show," said Nate Hribar, a sophomore in the Schools of Engineering. "I’m really into that whole singer-songwriter thing. It was great to hear someone who played really awesome music with meaningful lyrics."

Jennings sang in support of his second independent release, "Birds Flying Away."

For his first appearance in Indiana, Jennings, who is from Minneapolis, was pleased with the estimated 100—person turnout, joking that he expected to be playing Willie Nelson covers to 10 people in a truck stop.

Among the bricked shadows of the venue’s second-story stage, Jennings, drummer Edgar Oliveira and bassist Robert Skoro dipped and bobbed through a set of jazz-infused folk songs about love, civil rights and sex.

The audience, mostly composed of the over-35 set and handfuls of students, nodded their heads and bobbed their bodies in time to Jennings' fast-moving tunes, breaking into shouts and waves of applause the moment each song ended.

"You guys are such an attentive audience, man," Jennings said with a smile.

Audience members stood rapt as Jennings' voice trembled over some words with an unplaceable accent — not Southern, but close, not Midwestern, but similar.

He stretched out words like caramels in his mouth and what he said was just as sweet.

"So glad I found you/God is around you/ and all that’s about you," he sang.

The bundled-up listeners filling the narrow room hushed each time Jennings' confident, mellow voice rang out, making the usually rowdy bar feel intimate.

Skoro and Jennings delivered unexpected harmonies out of the low-fi, acoustic songs.

Their voices blended over the smoke and conversation, aching and insistent, like sirens calling for the break-down jam session which followed.

The Schramms, led by Dave Schramm, former guitarist for Yo La Tengo's first album "Ride the Tiger," followed Jennings with their own folksy, roots-rock sound.

The five middle-aged men sound similar to other alt-country notables like Wilco, the Jayhawks, Son Volt and Freedy Johnston, some of whom Schramm has played with.

Their sound ranges from acoustic guitar country riffs and barn dance toetappers to singer/songwriter tunes, all capped off by Schramm's raspy Bob Dylan meets Tom Petty whiny and lingering vocals.

The Schramms played in support of their fifth album, "100 Questions."

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Musicians jam at Boiler Room

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Features editor:
Megan Finnerty

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