Doveman makes music meant to be enjoyed with a glass of wine or a single malt scotch, a comfortable seat and a mind free to roam. The crowded standing room only area of Joe's Pub made it difficult to procure any of the above, but this hardly mattered: Thomas Bartlett's voice was my scotch, an intoxicating and numbing elixir; his backing band was the chair, supporting the delicate meanderings of his croon; and my mind, well, it just about did the rest.
MP3 Masala: "Honey"-Doveman
Thomas Bartlett's stage voice sounds just like it does on his records, which isn't a feat of wonder seeing as every note is delivered with breathy restraint. What is remarkable is that his voice conveys every bit of the hushed intimacy and emotion that makes The Acrobat such a moving effort.
A voice so subtle could only thrive in a band with a firm understanding of tonal space, and Doveman is masterful in this regard. Banjos gently pluck arpeggios over jazz flavored piano chords, drums toy with the beat with gentle cymbal work and off time bass drum kicks, electric guitars chime in with the crest of an emotional wave, all in service of mood and texture.
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Like Jeff Buckley and Nina Simone, Thomas Bartlett makes any cover sound like a good Doveman song. Tonight, he demonstrated this during a stirring rendition of Thompson Twins' '80s hit "Hold Me Now." Here Doveman allowed a piano-and-vocal verse to give way to a gentle backbeat and trumpet flourishes during the song's familiar and uplifting refrain. Under any other circumstances I may have been embarrassed to mouth each word, but tonight Doveman's performance shed new light on this desperate anthem and, somehow, managed to make singing it an act of pride.
The band wasn't shy about deconstructing its tunes, allowing the swirling, colorful lights to play into passages born of chaos and cacophony. However, there were no extended Sun Ra moments here: these were mere dynamic devices, used to drive home the elegant nuance of Bartlett's emotional phrasing and affected delivery.
What is an obvious asset could also be a limitation, for Bartlett's gentle voice wouldn't easily lend itself to songs that travel above 75 bpm. Tonight, however, this was of no concern: Joe's Pub is a lush and intimate listening room, and Doveman was the perfect accompaniment to a nice bottle, a candle on the table and a date to impress. Of course, I had none of these...but it just didn't matter.
Go the Doveman site for lots of free MP3's.
great pictures. glad you enjoyed it. they really do remarkable covers. they've done "Honey" right into "Free Fallin'" before. so good.
Posted by: jerry | February 07, 2006 at 09:14 AM
Thanks yeti, I definitely enjoyed. I hussled over to the Merc later in the night to catch Chad VanGaalen-that floored me. He's goooood.
Posted by: VI | February 07, 2006 at 10:27 AM