Local musician to pay tribute to The Band at live show

Stoughton’s Jonny Bass spends most of his time as a musician playing in a variety of original and cover bands, or teaching aspiring musicians. But this Thursday, Bass (aka Jon Saval) and his coterie of musical friends will be playing music they have loved and enjoyed for years – major influences in fact.

Jonny Bass and Friends are headlining at Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke, with a show that pays tribute to The Band, and especially the legendary "Last Waltz” concert that was the group’s supposed live farewell.  Of course, various formations of The Band continued to perform in later years, although singer and lead guitarist Robbie Robertson never again played with them.

(Soundcheck Studios is located at 150 Corporate Drive in Pembroke, the show begins at 8 p.m. and all tickets are $20.)

“This is music we’ve liked since we were kids,” Bass remarked. “It doesn’t really feel like work, and we can just cut loose and jam out.”

Local musicians slated to participate

The core group that will comprise Jonny Bass and Friends will include the Stoughton musician on bass, naturally, with West Bridgewater’s Billy Thompson on guitar and vocals, Mike Skillings, of Plymouth, on keyboards, Hingham’s Jon Chapman on drums, and Derek Cabral (from the Elovaters), of Stoughton, on percussion. There will also be multiple guests, including singer/songwriter Jay Psaros, of Scituate; Matt Borrello, from the Quality Dogs; and George Howard, from Soul Box.

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“Occasionally we will do ‘album nights,’ where we might do Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon,’ or The Beatles’ 'Sgt. Pepper’ or ‘Abbey Road,’“ Bass explained about his group. “We had done a show based on ‘The Last Waltz,’ but not at the scale of this one we’re doing now. I had reached out over the summer to Soundcheck Studios and asked about a winter date, when everybody would have free time.”

How this group connected with each other could be long history all by itself. Bass met Thompson when both were in the original rock band Paper Moon around 2006. Subsequently Thompson relocated to Austin, Texas, where he established his own studio.  But in that initial time together, Bass and Thompson realized they shared many musical tastes, for bands like Phish, Santana, Radiohead, The Meters and even John Coltrane.

Bass had also played with Duxbury’s Jackson Wetherbee in his pre-Elovaters days and was part of a trio with Wetherbee that had a Thursday residency at The Driftwood in Plymouth from 2011-14. A bit later, Bass and Thompson re-connected with a trio at The Last Shot in Stoughton, serving as house band and hosting an open mic.

“That covered a wide range of music,” Bass said of the Stoughton club dates.  “Then we played Barrelhouse Z (Weymouth) once a month, before the pandemic. After the pandemic ended, we have played the Levitate Backyard in Marshfield when we’re not doing other jobs.”

Show is a tribute to The Band

The Band is, of course, revered both for their singular take on American roots music, and nowadays as the virtual founders of the Americana genre. But they were all superb musicians, and the vast range of their music makes any tribute a herculean task. And for that iconic finale, they also had many guest stars, from all kinds of genres.

“We can’t do the entire ‘Last Waltz’ of course, because it ran over five hours,” Bass noted. “But we’ve had rehearsals this week and we’re planning on doing about 22 songs. We’ve also got to figure out how we will use our guests and what they want to do. Matt Borrello, for example, has done really good versions of Bob Dylan songs. But with this being the 45^th anniversary of ‘The Last Waltz,’ and Robbie Robertson having just passed away this year, it seems appropriate to do this show now. We’re also planning to have a horn section, from the Cape Cod band Funktapuss, join us.”

Bass had no doubts Soundcheck Studios was the venue for such a large-scale event.

“I think Soundcheck is one of the best live music venues in New England,” he said. “With their outdoor shows during the pandemic they were a bright spot for musicians and fans during a tough time – a real service to the community. I have seen a number of shows there, and they have a lot of variety, so you want to support venues like that. I’m also excited that we have The Freight opening for us, a local band I’ve heard a lot about but haven’t heard yet.”

Rodney Crowell shines in Fall River

The sellout crowd of 450 fans at The Narrows Center in Fall River was certainly eager to hear Rodney Crowell, and the titan of Americana music didn’t disappoint last Friday, with a one hour, 45-minute show that included 20 songs. Crowell had been slated to play the venue early last summer, but as he explained, a sciatic nerve problem made it impossible to travel at that time. Friday’s show had Crowell fronting a trio with fiddler Eamon McLoughlin from The Greencards and Grand Ole Opry fame, and Australian guitarist/songwriter Jed Hughes, who also opened with a short set.  If the talent and versatility of his two backing musicians opened a lot of eyes at the Narrows, it was, as always, the virtuosity of Crowell’s songwriting that ultimately left the audience awestruck.  A friend noted she’d found herself unexpectedly crying at one point, having been so moved by the power of his writing. In truth, there were a few moist eyes in the house when Crowell did his 2017 “It Ain’t Over Yet,” or 1990’s “After All This Time.” The set-closing “Wandering Boy,” from his 2001 semi-autobiographical album “The Houston Kid” was one of the most poignant performances we’ve ever heard, even before Hughes brought it home with an acoustic guitar solo that was as emotionally potent as it was melodically heartwarming.

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Crowell’s latest album, “The Chicago Sessions,” was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, and has been nominated for a Grammy, and he did three of the tunes from that disc. “Everything at Once,” co-written with Tweedy, is in the tradition of Crowell’s fast-paced, upbeat commentary songs, where he spits out staccato verses, before rolling into a catchy chorus, and this one notes how modern life comes at us fast and uncompromising. Early in the set, “Earthbound” from about a decade ago, used the same device to state the singer’s rededication to living life to the fullest. “Lucky” from the new album is more a conventional ballad, but one that softly affirms his gratitude. And “Loving You Is The Only Way to Fly” is just another terrific Crowell love song, open hearted and infectiously upbeat.

Examining and interpreting Crowell’s songwriting could fill a couple books, but part of his skill is his deceptively simple use of common words and phrases, so his tunes are instantly resonant with average people. Yet there are skillful rhymes, and many of his songs work as poetry just as well. There are also defining details, and a concise use of description and narrative, and deft melodic sense, but mostly it is that open hearted approach, wearing his heart on his sleeve unashamedly. Crowell’s music reveals his feelings, but also manages to reveal his listeners’ feeling to them too, even if they might not have been aware of them beforehand. Parts of Friday night felt like mass catharsis.

One keepsake moment Friday was when Crowell explained his “It Ain’t Over Yet” was written to recall the unique relationship he had with the late songwriter Guy Clark’s wife, Susan, who had become a second mother/cheerleader/confessor to the young would-be songsmiths who congregated around the Clarks’ kitchen table. Most fans who heard the 2017 song, and especially who saw the video of the duet with his ex-wife Rosanne Cash, would have assumed the song was about their enduring friendship after the divorce. The song works fine either way, a stirring, tearjerking, ode to perseverance and never giving up, but hearing its genesis added a whole new layer of meaning. It was that kind of night Friday at the Narrows, as the quality and impact of Crowell’s work just left folks stunned.

Swinging Steaks sizzle at Narrows Center

Saturday night at the Narrows Center, the South Shore’s beloved Swinging Steaks did a fiery two-hour show, cramming 22 songs of their country-rock (emphasis on ROCK) into a celebratory night, before about 250 fans who probably still don't want to go home. After the deadline for last week's column, The Fallout Shelter in Norwood announced a Swinging Steaks show for Jan. 11.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Johnny Bass and Friends will play the music of The Band on Thursday