I couldn't believe Lee's text message when I read it Monday night. "Heartless bastards and langhorne slim at sticky fingerz." I had been back in town since about 1:30 that afternoon when my plane landed at Little Rock National, but, unlike the rest of us, Lee had carpooled back from Austin City Limits and hadn't even left Austin when we took off for the airport. So you'll understand the surprised tone to my responses in the ensuing conversation:
"Are you going?"
"Yep. getting ready to head down now"
"How long have you been back??"
"530. Got a run in, relaxed, ready to go"
"You're a real trooper"
After some more electronic to-ing and fro-ing, Lee talked me into heading down to Stickyz, "just til 10:30 or so." That would give me enough time, hopefully, to hear Langhorne Slim's full set, although I'd probably miss all or most of Heartless Bastards. That was a decent compromise in order to make it back into the office Tuesday morning at a decent hour after being off work for two days. Besides, it was Langhorne Slim that I really wanted to hear. I had listened to a few of his tracks prior to ACL (see previous blog post) and was looking forward to hearing him at the festival, but we just didn't make it on time that day. How cool was it that I was now going to get to hear him after all, and in my own hometown, on a Monday night, no less? Well let me tell you something -- it turned out to be pretty damn cool indeed.
LS took to the stage in front of a decent Monday night crowd and expressed mild concern that most everyone was seated, predicting that such a state of affairs wouldn't last for long. He then wasted no time turning his prophecy into the foregone conclusion that it was by drawing the crowd to its feet with one masterful performance after another in a truly brilliant set. This folk singer-songwriter has something about him that sets him apart from the others. Part of it is the lyrics, part of it is the music, and part of it is the stage presence and delivery. He looks, sounds and acts just like what you think a folk singer should look like - part Woody Guthrie, part Bob Dylan. But it doesn't seem to be mimickry. It feels, at least, like it's genuine. Like LS on stage is truly LS. He isn't, of course. LS is really Sean Scolnick, originally from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and now based in Brooklyn, New York. He and his band the War Eagles have been making something of a name for themselves on the festival circuit. It's a lean act - besides Scolnick on vocals and acoustic guitar, there's Paul Defiglia on bass and Malachi DeLorenzo on drums. What the band lacks in numbers they make up on style, determination, and sheer ability. And LS's lyrics are thoughful, inventive and concise, never indulgent or contrived...
just dont know what it is
i just dont know what it is
to be free
to hold and have somebody lean on me
can blame it on your teachers
you can blame it on the weather
can blame it on how your mother and your father didn't stick together
someday darlin its got to make sense in your head
can't make up your mind till you wake up and make your bed
and
i just don't know what it is
i just don't know what it is
to be free
to hold and have somebody lean on me
(lyrics from Restless)
10:30 came all too soon. I stuck around until about 10:45, not in time to hear any of Heartless Bastards, but enough time to enjoy all of Langhorne Slim's show and pick up a CD that I'm sure will become a favorite. If LS and the War Eagles come back through Little Rock anytime soon, you really need to make it a point to hear these guys live. In the meantime, check out this clip on YouTube of their appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, performing, fittingly enough, Restless.
-Richie Graham
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