Little Chief @ Solly's

I live for those serendipitous moments where the perfect song plays during the perfect moment. Back in November, while commuting down to rural Virginia for work, I streamed one playlist during that twice-weekly, four-hour commute. I first heard North Carolina by Little Chief the minute as I exited I-95 to I-295. At this junction, the choices were Durham or Rocky Mount. Either way, the Tar Heel state was within reach.

North Carolina and I have this strange relationship, comprised of mostly heartbreak, failed relationships and a blissful weekend at a beach. Two and a half years ago, in the fall of 2012, when my east coast move was full of naivety and new opportunities, Little Chief's North Carolina could be my mantra: "take me to North Carolina, where my baby lives. I won't be there by tomorrow but heaven knows I'm on my way." At the present moment, North Carolina is simply another state on the east coast, one I've visited a handful of times. However, when I listen to the harmonies given on this track, I want the state to mean more to me.

After streaming Little Chief's debut LP, Lion's Den, over and over again since March, I was anticipating their tour and hoping for a date in DC. With any luck, they stopped in DC for a show at Solly's Tavern last Friday. I wear my love for Solly's on my sleeve. The last show I caught there was Charlie Patton's War. Considering they're now opening for PUSA, I always feel that Solly's attracts bands we can all believe in.

The band introduced themselves to the crowd - consisting of a girl taking photos in the corner and the group I had brought. As with the album, Mountain Song was the opening choice. With over two-minutes of instrumental build up and a bang of an ending, I've always thought this was a fantastic choice to hook people on Lion's Den early.

Over the course of the evening, Little Chief did a pretty comprehensive span of their album, including Gold In The Morning, Lion's Den, Shiloh, North Carolina and Brothers. While sitting and listening to Shiloh in person, I realized just how reflective and at-peace I feel when that song streams. Brothers is the song I can't stop playing now and I never figured the last track on an album would be so catchy. In addition to the Lion's Den material, the band covered The Head and The Heart's Rivers and Roads and absolutely did the song justice.

By the end of the show, the crowd at least doubled and every single friend I brought with me to the show loved the band. If you have a chance to catch Little Chief on tour, I highly recommend. I couldn't think of a better way to enjoy a laid-back Friday night.

You can listen to and buy Lion's Den on bandcamp. Currently, the album is also available on Noisetrade as a free download.

Charlie Patton's War @ Solly's

Much too long ago, one of my favorite local bars, Solly's Tavern, hosted Charlie Patton's War for a little show in their upstairs bar. It was a Tuesday evening and I had found out about that show the day of, via twitter. I have tons and tons of bands come across my radar on twitter and it's almost impossible to check them all out. There was something about this band's tweet, the show being at a neighborhood bar of mine and their band name that struck me. I decided, at the very least, to listen to a song or two off of their bandcamp site.

While blues isn't my normal forte, I was almost immediately jamming to their music while cranking out my projects at work. I had nothing on my schedule for the evening, no need to work late that night and I wanted to see this band play. I hit up my friends on our facebook thread - "anyone want to check out this awesome blues band at Solly's tonight?" My friend Erin happily obliged.

We loved this band and had a great evening. I don't think you can go wrong with a $3 cover, blues music, PBRs and whiskey sours. Before the show, we had a brief conversation with their drummer and lead singer, Aaron Frazer and one of his friends who had come out to see them play. Erin and I learned that the band was from Bloomington, Indiana, still in college and their main goal was to get their name out there. I told them that I saw Solly's retweet the band earlier in the day and that I decided to come out after listening to their album on bandcamp. I think Aaron was excited that people, other than friends and family, had decided to attend. Erin mentioned this blog, I assured them it was small and silly, but also said I'd talk about the show. Any press is good press, right?

It was a weeknight, therefore, we stayed for only the first of two, hour-long sets. During this set, the band covered a wide variety of their debut album. The highlights Git Gone, Fatties, Say Ya Mine and Friscoe Ride were all played and the energy in the room was high throughout all of them. Solly's was loud and it was deceptively easy to get lost in the music. Is this what blues is all about? I think so.

In addition to their own songs, they played an exceptional cover of Alabama Shakes' Hold On. I was floored. With Boys & Girls, Alabama Shakes essentially set a precedent for what modern day blues-style music should live up to. As much as I love the original version of Hold On, Charlie Patton's War did a fantastic job delivering a piece that exceeded that precedent. The same thought can apply to their cover of J.D. McPherson's North Side Gal, another personal highlight of mine that evening.

The ability for modern artists to find inspiration in and honor retro music is a trend I don't want to end any time soon. Charlie Patton's War joins the likes of Alabama Shakes, J.D. McPherson, Pickwick, Fitz & the Tantrums, Elin Ruth, Radiation City and others in proving that there's room to improve even in classic rock and pop.

Listen to Charlie Patton's War on bandcamp or Spotify. I especially dig this "basement demo version" of Say Ya Mine: