CONCERT REVIEW
Live in Philadelphia
Feb. 22, 2015 • World Cafe Live
By: Barry Brandow
Here it is. Sunday night in February. The night of the Oscars, or as my wife calls it, “the super bowl of movies, fashion and entertainment”. It’s great to have choices and I have 3. I can go see Chris Robinson’s Brotherhood playing at the TLA. I can stay home on this cold wintry night and watch the Oscars with my wife. OR, go to the World Café Live in Philly and see Big Head Todd and the Monsters, a band I’ve wanted to see again since the first and only time I’ve seen them a few years ago when they toured with Blues Traveler and Barenaked Ladies. The choice was a very easy one. I had just seen Chris Robinson at Mountain Jam and I couldn’t care less about the Oscars.
So, with the high recommendation of my friend Janice, I went online and bought myself a ticket and after dinner I got into my car and drove the 45 minutes to the World Café Live to see Big Head Todd and The Monsters. Or, BHTM as their loyal fans affectionately call them. BHTM, from Colorado, have been rocking fans all over the country since the late 1980’s. Constantly evolving and appealing to a wide spectrum of fans. Anyone who appreciates great song writing, passionate musicianship, and inspired energy can easily endorse these guys. I’m not going to pretend that I’m familiar with the band and its’ music other than what I remember 2 years ago or what I had learned from watching on-line the last two weeks, it wouldn’t be genuine. I will do my best to describe and illustrate tonight’s performance and do the music, band, and crowd justice. Based on what I do know, I am very excited for the show to get started.
As they took the state at 7:30 sharp, the loyal fans in attendance were all smiles and excited too. With front man, co-founder, Todd Park Mohr – right center on Guitar and Vocal, Base player Rob Squires – stage left, Keyboard and Pedal Steel Guitarist, Jeremy Lawton – to the right of Mohr and Drummer, Brian Nevin – filling mid stage, the band was set to go. After the opening song, Josephina, from their 2014 release ‘Black Beehive’, Mohr confirmed to the capacity crowd that there was going to be 2 sets of music and that they would be opening for themselves tonight. He also said they would be performing songs all night from their entire library – old and new. I don’t think there was anyone there that minded, even a little. As promised, BHTM’s 2-set show included 27 songs spanning their entire catalog of music. Songs like ‘I Will Carry’ from their 1989 release ‘Another Mayberry’, to the 5 songs they included from their latest release. Seems like no matter what they played, you could turn in any direction and see someone singing along. The show included many songs from their first Platinum album, 1993’s ‘Sister Sweetly’, including the title track which opened the second set. Mohr and Lawton often traded leads throughout the night with Lawton often switching back and forth from keyboard to pedal steel. And sometimes both – simultaneously! The popular and radio played song, ‘Bitter Sweet’ energized the 2nd set. I didn’t even mind the extremely off-key inebriated women standing behind me singing the hell out of the “la, la, la’s” during the song. She was both passionate, endearing, and gave a few of us in ear range a good laugh. I think my favorite song of the night was the very melodic ‘Broken Hearted Savior’. I really enjoyed when it morphed into Marvin Gaye’s, ‘Sexual Healing’ – that was a nice touch. A few other highlights for me during the show were songs such as; ‘Imaginary Ships’, ‘Rocksteady’ and the popular ‘Please Don’t Tell Her’. I also enjoyed covers like, Led Zeppelin’s, ‘Tangerine’, and BHTM’s version of the Johnny Lee Hooker classic, ‘Boom, Boom’ which closed the 2nd set. If that wasn’t enough, Mohr and friends, delighted the crowd with FOUR encores. 2 of which were performed solo-acoustically by Mohr; ‘Watercolor Rainbow’ and the folksier, ‘Build My Own House’. After being reunited with bandmates, Squires, Lawton and Nevin, they finished they show with the songs; ‘Circle’ and ‘Hey Delilah’ to a rousing applause.
Overall it was an awesome night of music that any hardcore, longtime fan, or newbie, like myself, could appreciate. BHTM proved why they are considered one of the most underrated live bands and how they have created such a beloved, loyal following. I myself enjoyed everything they played and their musicianship was worthy of all the accolades. Mohr himself proved that he is an extremely talented song writer, guitar player and singer. His chemistry with bandmate, Jeremy Lawton was evident throughout the night. To sum things up, I really admire when a band with this amount of longevity plays a show that capsulizes its entire body of work equally. Not just saturating their set with new and newer releases but also playing plenty of songs from their earlier existence. I’m sure their loyalist fans love and appreciate it as well. That’s what keeps them coming back for more. If there was one thing I would have liked to have heard more was the band taking advantage of the opportunities they had to really jam. The times that they did, I got to really value the band members as the great musicians that they are. It was clearly evident during those moments in the show and I would have liked to have heard more. But that’s me………I love when great musicians jam. If you’re a long- time fan of Big Head Todd and The Monsters, like a lot of the people I had the pleasure of meeting, you will be as thrilled and satisfied as they were. If you’ve never seen them, but you’re a fan of live music, here’s a band you can see and enjoy no matter what your musical taste might be. You won’t be disappointed. I would like to give special thanks to loyal BHTM fans Charlie and his wife Jamie for helping me with song titles and their insight.