Harried Potter

I love music, and I'm pretty open to whatever a band is doing, but I have to admit, after hearing a lot of stuff that sounds like other stuff, I am drawn to music that has something different. It doesn't have to be radically differing or jarringly unusual, but some musicians have an ability to synthesize what came before into something distinct.

Enter The Wiyos. I've sung their praises before, and I've been talking up their show this coming Thursday at the Hooker-Dunham Theater to anyone that will listen. For my money, The Wiyos don't sound like anyone else, even though their sound is old-timey, rootsy, bluegrassy, vaudevillian. They've managed to combine these ingredients in a distinct way, and they play with such energy and a thrilling knack for sounding like their teetering on the edge of a cliff, only to pull back at the last minute with shit-eating grins on their faces.

I;ve had their 2007 recording titled "The Wiyos" on my CD player a lot lately, and it's a gem. Tight rhythm, fine musicianship and a set list that channels Bill Monroe and Tin Pan Alley in equal measure, the Wiyos manage to combine a flair for showmanship with a gut-bucket earthiness in a way that is uniquely theirs.

"Midnight Train," "Dying Crapshooters Blues," "Number Nine" and "Caught Us Doing It" are my favorites tracks on that CD; check it out and tell me what yours are.

This sound is already a bit out of date, since they've added a fourth musician, Teddy Weber, to the original trio of Parrish Ellis, Michael Farkas and Joseph "joebass" Dejarnette. They have a new CD in the works, and I suspect those of us in the audience at the Hooker-Dunham Theater in Brattleboro for Thursday's 7:30 p.m. show will hear some new tracks.

All that, and a stage show that I'm told is unbelievably fun. You bet I'm looking forward to it.

Two years ago, when I was given a iPod for Father's Day, I decided to ask friends and readers of the Ovation section of the Brattleboro Reformer to recommend music to put on it. I received many replies from a broad spectrum, everything from Mozart to Metallica - just what I had in mind.

One of the responses came from a dear friend of mine, and she recommended Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem's "Big Old Life," a CD that was just out at the time. She said the whole thing was great. For some reason, I didn't take her advice right off, although I thought about it. At one point, I had a copy of "Big Old Life" in my hands at a record store, when I put it back and went for something else.

Well, I finally got a copy of it, and I can only say the only thing I accomplished by ignoring my friend's advice for two years was to deprive myself of a really beautiful thing.

"Big Old Life" is an absolute gem, a well-conceived, well-executed collection of 12 inspiring songs - half of which are originals by Arbo or her bandmates and the other half traditional tunes and covers of songs by Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan among others.

I have one of Arbo's earlier recordings and I like it well enough, so I had pretty high hopes before I put on the new one, but "Big Old Life" surpassed those expectations. Forged in the aftermath of Arbo's bout with breast cancer, "Big Old Life" reflects that struggle - and the life embraced after it - in powerful and affirming ways. Steeped in that experience, Arbo's music does not dwell on the morose, but soars above it. "Big Old Life" is a spiritual testament to living life meaningfully and beautifully. There are a lot of albums out there that do that; "Big Old Life" does it better than most.

It took all of five notes for "Big Old Life" to bring me to the edge my seat. Opening with the Sean Staples' song "Joy Comes Back," the fifth note, sung a cappella, gospel-style to the word "ready" is the kind of moment that snaps your head up and makes you listen closer. When the musicians kick in behind the singers, the result is wondrous - affirming, exuberant, celebratory. It sets the tone for the whole CD.

The next song shifts gears. Arbo's country-ish ballad and title tune has a different feel but the result is no less affirming, no less life-embracing.

And so it goes through a mix of songs and styles the rest of the way - including a brilliant cover of Dylan's "Farewell, Angelina" - each song captivating, with something to say. And so well put, too. The feel of the album is complemented by outstanding musicianship from fiddler, vocalist Arbo, her regular bandmates - Scott Kessel on vocals and recycled material drumset, Andrew Kinsey on vocals, bass, banjo and guitar and Anand Nayak on guitar, mandolin and vocals and piano - plus six other guest musicians. And all of this is wrapped in Chris Rival and daisy mayhem's exquisite production, which preserves an earthy, rootsy feel. The result is honest, heartfelt excellence. Wisdom and inspiration wrapped up in memorable music.

I say all this because Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem are coming to Brattleboro this Saturday, May 16, to play at The Church at 8 p.m. I can't wait to see what they're up to now. I suspect what I heard on the CD is not the result of slick studio tricks but evidence of musicians of extraordinary heart and soul, whose live show will be a superb experience.

Tickets are available at www.brattleborotix.com or in person at Everyone's Books or at the door. For information, call 802-257-1571.

Do yourself a favor. Take some time to really listen to Red Heart the Ticker's new CD, "Oh My! Mountains Below." Don't do what I did the first couple of times I heard it, which was to throw it on in the background of my busy family life. That's a sure way to miss the abundant riches of this superb new offering from the Marlboro, Vermont, husband-and-wife duo of Robin MacArthur and Tyler Gibbons.

"Oh My! Mountains Below" is a quietly masterful example of inventive compositions, rich production and spot-on musicianship, wrapped like a blanket around disarmingly honest and engaging songs. It's a CD which beckons you to listen carefully - and rewards you when you do.

On their Website, MacArthur and Gibbons talk about their musical partnership, which is really the happy combination of two musicians steeped in different traditions - MacArthur in 60s folk, with a dash of old-fashioned honky tonky country rock; Gibbons in jazz fusion and eclectic 60s rock. "Oh My! Mountains Below" doesn't fall neatly into any of those camps. Instead, it carves its own niche, perhaps most easily described as neo-folk. Having just listened to Mike and Ruthy's "The Honeymoon Agenda," I hear some similarities - both feature husband-and-wife duos who take an old-time folkiness into original, new territory.

What stands out most in my mind about "Oh My! Mountains Below" - and what I missed when I only listened to it casually - is the inventiveness and originality, the creative spark that infuses these songs. The reason you miss it, is that it's delivered in deceptively simple ways. In an age when a lot of musicians grab you by the lapels and shake you with high-octane showiness, Red Heart the Ticker gets your attention in different ways - like a lover whispering in your ear.

Take for example, the first song, "Off With Our Heads," which starts in the simplest of ways - just MacArthur's achingly plaintive voice, which is soon joined by a spare, simple banjo, played by Sam Amidon, who also adds fiddle. By the time the song is over, you realize this soothing, intimate song has still managed to pull you closer to the speaker; it's power is irresistible.

Track 2 builds on that. A song written in two parts, think stanzas of a long poem, "I Lift that Boombox" is deceptively rich, backing Gibbon and MacArthur's sweetly understated vocals with first strumming guitar, then Daisy Vatalaro's cello and later Chris Vatalaro's percussion, including brilliant lines of bells.

And so it goes. Time and again, "Oh My! Mountains Below" reveals MacArthur and Gibbons' knack for adding the right, surprising touch at the right. You can hear it in Tyler Wood's Rhodes line on Track 4 "(I Used to Wear) The Head of a Lion" and in the contributions of other friends - Thad DeBrock (electric guitar), Joel Rose (keyboard), Scott Roy (accordion), plus the ones I've mentioned.

MacArthur and Gibbons have a definite flair for songwriting, a gift for surprising chord changes and pretty melodies - most evident on "Snakeskin" and "Winter Air." Many of the songs also have an utterly disarming intimacy and honesty about that. There are love songs here that are unlike any you've ever heard, seemingly pulled from your own experiences, what really happens, not how love is usually portrayed by songwriters.

MacArthur and Gibbons recently ventured to New York to compete in the Great American Duet Singoff on NPR's "Prairie Home Companion." They finished third, which is nice enough on "Oh My! Mountains Below" they rise above most of all the other stuff you hear.

Treat yourself to a quiet, intimate hour with Red Heart the Ticker and their new CD. You'll be richly rewarded. Or you can come out to The Loft in Brattleboro on Friday, May 29, for a CD release show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10. Call 802-258-2648 or info@rhtt.net.