On Friday, April 11 2008 I had the pleasure of capturing a show at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn in Milwaukee WI, featuring The Micah Olsan Band with Julie B Well.
First up was Julie B Well, a five piece prog-pop band from Milwaukee, fronted by Julie Brandenberg. The nucleus of Julie B Well was formed from her previous band, Quark Quintet. Julie B Well picks up where Quark left off and, to my ears at least, is surpassing what that band had achieved … and Quark was really good.
Their arrangements are imaginative, with inventive pop passages woven comfortably into more progressive musical interludes. The musicianship is very tight and lyrically the moods are very evocative, with Julie’s lovely voice carrying you from a lilting soundscape one moment to hell-bent cacophony the next. Julie’s mastery of the keys is evident through most of the numbers.
Kramer Kelling on bass and Jordan Roepke on drums provide a solid backbone. Guitarist Eric Lundgren can only be described as a prodigy. Solid and rhythmic chords when called for, but when it was time to solo, he laid down some of the hottest licks I’ve heard in awhile … this young man can play! At only 21 years of age, Eric will only get better and is one to watch in the future. Finally, there’s Tom Hansen on violin, who created some very interesting and melodious musical passages. I’d love to see the fiddle explored a little more in their sound, although in all fairness the lack of violin parts might have been due to the time constraints of being the opening act. Tom was featured prominently, however, during “Holding a Chinese Beetle,” which was very tasty, indeed.
Another song which really stuck with me was called “Rag Factory.” To my ears somewhat of a protest song, it speaks of sweatshops and those who are forced to work there. A very touching and powerful number.
A fine performance I must say, and I look forward to the musical frontiers this new band will be exploring in the future.
Next up was a band that I was not familiar with until this night but one which I’d been hearing very good things about, The Micah Olsan Band.
I now see why good words preceded them … wow!
The band is fronted by Micah Olsan (pictured here) with Anthony Ramierez on percussion, Tim Reck on drums, Dave Ritter on bass and Eric Diederich on lead/synth guitar.
The Micah Olsan band play a mix of mostly original tunes with, in Micah’s words, “a few of our favorites by other bands which, hopefully, we bring our own little touches to,” thrown in for good measure.
The first thing I ask when I see a new act is, can they play? Simple as that. So it was probably a good thing that they began with one of those cover songs, “Politic” by Coldplay. This gave me a chance to assess their instrumental prowess.
Oh, yes … these gentleman can play!
From there they moved into their original material, which can only be described as an eclectic mix of Folk, Funk, Caribbean, Salsa, Pop, Jazz, Alt, Spanish … hey, go ahead and name a genre, these guys can play it and not only that, blend them into a style all their own that just makes your synapses happy!
From tunes such as “Jerry Danks,” “Falling,” “The Sirens Call,” to my favorite of the evening, “Come Again,” this is some of the more interesting, playful, humorous, uplifting (insert a good adjective here) original music out there right now.
Impressive also is the voice of Micah Olsan. Somewhere between a high baritone and a low tenor, his singing takes full advantage of this range. Powerful and expressive, he uses his voice perfectly to tell the stories of his lyrics and the ideas he’s getting across … or to just get you up off your ass and join him in the festivities. More then once I found myself forgetting all about photography and just gettin’ down with it, eyes closed, swaying to the tapestry of his voice.
I found that as I was leaving a Micah Olsan Band show, I couldn’t help … just feeling happy, with toes tapping and fingers snapping on the way home.
Bottom line — if you’re looking for a truly challenging and enjoyable musical experience, you really should try to catch both of these bands … and soon! You will not be disappointed, I promise you.
The full set of photos from this show can be viewed here:
The Micah Olsan Band with Julie B Well: Linnemann’s Milwaukee WI April 11, 2008
My heartfelt thanks to Julie Brandeberg, Micah Olsan and the rest of the members of Julie B Well and The Micah Olsan Band and the fine staff at Linneman’s, all of whom made me feel right at home and were very helpful and attentive.
Slainte
Gareth—The Celtic Camera Photography
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