Micah Blue Smaldone / Tongue Oven / Timothy Horgan @ The Toadstool

January 15th, 2011.  Three artists. Three twelve-string acoustic guitars. One small makeshift stage. A handful of locals gathered after hours on the floor amidst the bookshelves of The Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough (NH - USA). The vibe and volume of these shows has changed a bit since moving into the bookshop from the previously vacant space next door, but they are still intimate and warm.

Opener Timothy Horgan of Keene, NH sat awkwardly on the wooden chair as he performed his beautiful finger-picked instrumentals. The small crowd breathed his music in silence as he set the mood for the remainder of the evening. I found his pieces refreshing and energizing; an honest and straight-forward expression without need for lyrics. A great example would be Speed And Comfort, which you can hear on Tim's myspace page.

Tongue Oven, out of Pioneer Valley, followed suit – a single man playing mostly instrumentals on twelve-string acoustic, though normally seen as a banjo/guitar, violin, cello three-piece. Tonight Mr. Oven, lacking his more sophisticated fretless stringed partners, played many pieces featuring slide guitar and harmonica. His well received set built on the energy of Mr. Horgan's but added a few shots of bluegrass sass. He wrapped things up with an interesting and purposefully out-of-tune ditty, which he also sang.

Micah Blue Smaldone came down from Portland, ME and took the stage last with his trusty and worn twelve-string Guild. Continuing the impromptu theme of the evening he opened with a short instrumental. He then proceeded into a nearly non-stop recital of several songs from The Red River, beginning with Pale Light. Between songs Micah filled what would have been praise and applause with strumming and finger-picking, leaving the audience zero time to send him the thanks they wanted. Finally taking a breather, Micah received his much deserved applause, after which he played a few more songs. Besides the aforementioned Pale Light, in the barrage where A Derelict, Bastard Of Time, The Clearing, and A Drink. I failed to recognize a couple of songs, either covers or tunes from Some Sweet Day or Hither & Thither, his previous records which I have not had the pleasure of attaining. He ended his set with a fantastic cover of The Congos' Fisherman, which he seems to often incorporate into his performances.

The Red River

I first heard Micah during last year's The Thing In The Spring festival, and instantly fell in love with his songs. His latest offering, The Red River is a truly magnificent record; full of feeling and a haunting vibe, it leaves you craving more after its only seven songs have permeated your speakers. Don't get me wrong, though short the album isn't lacking one bit. In fact it leaves me in a mood where no other record seems fit to follow and I often end up just playing it again. Micah's shows usually include just his voice, a twelve-string Guild which he finger picks, and a couple of microphones, but The Red River features an array of guests including cello, bass, electric guitar, horns, percussion, and additional voice. It may seem over the top for such a stripped-down style, but the additional instrumentation is light and focused on augmenting his original songs. It just works, and works beautifully; fans of the record may not even notice the lack of accompaniment during his live performances. Tonight I was able to pester Micah a bit after the show to inquire about any forthcoming recordings and I am happy to report we should see a split 7” with Big Blood sometime this spring...just in time for Peterborough's annual music festival; hopefully we'll see him again in 2011.