Unwicked

Two artists at two different venues on Saturday night in New York City.

Andy Friedman @ Pete’s Candy Store, Brooklyn, NY 15 Sept 07

Andy Friedman went on at ten at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg. Pete’s is one of my favorite places to hear music. I’ve seen some terrific acts here and it’s an intimate and groovy place. I’d read a lot of the praise for Andy yet I continued to miss him when he was playing around town with his band The Other Failures. I admit that I went with some expectations, but I’m happy to write that they were surpassed.

Friedman is great. Make that Great. He’s a good guitarist and a gifted songwriter. If I were forced to compare him to other artists, I’d say think John Doe, Dave Alvin, Leonard Cohen, Spalding Gray, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Dylan.

But I hate doing that, because it takes away from what makes Andy Friedman great. Andy is Andy. That’s that. So go see him. He is playing every third Saturday at Pete’s.

Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers @ The Baggot Inn, NYC, NY 15 Sept 07

I stopped in earlier at eight o’clock at The Baggot Inn to see Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers. I had heard a track earlier in the day but that did not prepare me for the easy charm of this group from Boston. The songs ran the gamut from good to terrific, and underlying it all are four musicians with a lot of talent and a great deal of charm and sincerity. I’m looking forward to seeing more of them.

I hope they come back to NYC soon.

UPDATE Sept 30, 2007: Listening again today to the few songs they have on their MySpace page, I am reminded how much I loved what I heard that night. Annie Lynch and the Beekeepers can’t get back to NYC soon enough. (Hell, I might have to go to Boston to catch them. Boston’s a lovely town, of course, and it’s been a while since I have been there.)