I had the opportunity to play two wonderful shows this week, both with Amanda Jo Williams.

The first was held at a place called the Echo Country Outpost, which co-owner Chris insists is “not a venue”! What it is, is, is a funky little store on Echo Park Blvd (corner of Duane, out past Chango a ways) that I couldn’t tell exactly what they sell but I am certain it is cool, whatever it is.

For the occasion (perhaps the first show held there? perhaps it will be a monthly event from here out?) a stage existed at the back of the main room, on which played first a group (in this instance a duo tho sometimes they are larger) called Verb The Adjective Noun. Originally from Boston, temporarily not living in their bus, they were very tight and propulsive, not just for a duo but all around. One of them played guitar and sang, and the other played guitar, banjo and lap steel with equal and impressive facility. Good vocal harmonies. Rootsy without spilling either too far into tradition or too far into singer-songwriter ickiness.

The headliners, Abilene of whom I believe set up the show, were called Sundays Soundtrack. They had a wonderful upright bassist and two wonderful women and they were vibey and moody and harmonistic and bouyant and I enjoyed them a lot.

We played in between.

So, a little show in a little store, but there were at least 60 people in there which made it FULL, and I don’t think I’d ever met more than a half dozen of them before. We had a rough set, new bass player (he did a fine job, but it was his first show with us) and tuning issues for me and Amanda, but the people really dug it, they laughed with us not at us and by the end we had a wonderful energy going, the best energy I’ve felt in a room yet at a Los Angeles show. Score one for Echo Country!

…

OK, and then last night we played at the Echo Curio, which is very possibly my favorite in-town venue to play at. It’s run by the awesome Grant-and-Justin dynamic duo, there’s an amazing stream of art that passes across the walls and a room full of weird records for cheap, we played at the top of a bill of ridiculously talented women (which was a new and wonderful context to hear Amanda’s music in) and once again a room full of 60 total strangers and a few good friends just dug us to death, kept us going for an extra tune or so past what Amanda had intended to play. Let me tell you, we felt GOOD. And the new bass, upright Jef Hogan (with one ‘f’), really makes it.

Also on the bill last night were Fort King (who I didn’t get to hear cos I was eating a burrito next door, but they were very nice) … Beliss, a duo of sisters (I am told) whose vocal harmonies are unusual and beautiful and who feature lush acoustic guitar voicings and electric-upright bass-playing to die for. Or at least to swoon about … and Ora Cogan, who might be a cosmic parallel to Elizabeth Cotton or Karen Dalton, who sings like no one else I’ve heard (beautifully, swoopingly, in a round and full voice) and who coaxes lovely rich tones from an electric hollowbody Gibson tuned in an array of unusual manners.

Solid week.

Tune in later for the weather!