Catching Shows by James Hart Band, the Beagle Brothers & Action Camp

I've struck up conversations with my friend James Hart the few times that he's come into my workplace (and his former workplace). He co-fronted the Pittsburgh band the Harlan Twins in the late '00s/ early '10s and I thought, at least for a while, that they could be the next band to blow the lid off of Pittsburgh, in the same way the Modey Lemon did at the turn of the century. It didn't happen but James has continued to play music, predominantly in a supporting role since then, a position he's really good at. (Along the way, he and I also took part in a pick-up band that played Canned Heat songs at a Woodstock tribute back in 2010. Looking back, I'm amazed we pulled that together.) 

When he and I talked, I thought nothing of encouraging James to get back to doing his own thing, fronting a band. So when I saw that he was actually doing it again, in a public place, I felt like I had to be there. Plus, if the Beagle Brothers were also playing, all the more reason to get out to the show.

Stepping upstairs to the Brillobox last Saturday was like stepping back in time. The venue (downstairs bar, upstairs live space) had closed following the pandemic. It beat the odds and opened back up again in March, which is a good thing for music and those wanting some suds (and eats) outside their house.

There was a time around 2010 where the Harlan Twins might sell out Brillo. I recall at least one night when I waited downstairs until a few people filtered out so I could make get in. That wasn't happening last week, but it was great to be out at a show and see a flock of people that I knew from several years ago. 

It was funny that the first person to saddle up next to me and say hi was someone I met during my time as the PTA president at my son's elementary school. (For perspective on time that has passed, the kid just started 10th grade today.) Before the night was over, several other conversations involved updates on friends' kids. There was a little more gray hair in the room, maybe a little less hair overall, but why worry about looking young?

James and the band were onstage, getting ready to start, when I got there. (Apologies to Lindsay Dragan, who opened the show while I was finishing up at work. I haven't seen her yet but I've been piqued by her online presence.) While waiting for the band to start, I felt someone shove past me, moving through the crowd. At first I thought it might be some drunk who wanted to get a good spot at the front of the stage. It was actually the soundman, who might be better called a Sound Bro because after charging past me, he jumped onstage and swung a boom mic stand out of his way, spinning it right at James' mouth. I know what it's like to be working and letting pressure get to you. I also know the frustration of equipment that needs to be tweaked. But jeez oh pete, man, there's no reason to be a storm trooper. 

I'm not really a fan of Americana rock or whatever you want to call that style. In fact, I might as well go on the record and say that I feel like I don't know much about rock at all anymore, since the new music I'm listening to is mostly jazz. I know some people play that style and it sounds *nice* and that's about it. It just kind of flows past me. But then some people can hit a G chord that feels like the start of an anthem that makes you pay attention. That happened during the Hart band's set on Saturday. And when James sings in the upper register - his voice coming close to cracking but only adding more of a passionate rasp - it gets even  better. One other impressive moment: seeing him lean over and grab a sip of his drink while he was still playing. That was almost as slick as the scene in Straight No Chaser where Monk plays a piano solo, dabs the sweat off his forehead and picks up his cigarette for a drag in one chorus. James is no Monk, but he is slick.

The Beagle Brothers played next. Back when I first heard them, they were almost completely acoustic. No drums, bull fiddle, about four guitars. The day I heard them go electric was when they played an event at the cemetery chapel where my wife worked. (I had connected them under the thought that they were still acoustic.) 

These days it's all about electricity for them, though they still have some pedal steel and mandolin along with the gitboxes and drums. The other pleasant surprise was seeing my friend Kraig Decker not only filling the bass seat but singing lead on a batch of the songs. 

Their set was plagued by sound issues, mostly dealing with the ups and downs of the steel and mandolin in the mix. A friend had some damning thoughts about Bro's mixing, but that detail is lost in the haze of the second drink so it's better to leave it at that. Clearly I didn't get other details like the names of new band members on a scoop pad (didn't bring it that night). But it didn't diminish the power of what was a solid set of country-inspired tunes. Like the James Hart Band, the Beagle Brothers have always been a group that rises above the umpteen other country-inspired groups through their songwriting and performance chops.

Maybe it was the hooch, maybe it was seeing so many familiar faces, but going out again to see bands felt really good that night. I have been to a few shows in the last several months, but each time feels like a new thing. There's such a rush being around folks. 

One Saturday previous, I had a similar experience at local trio Action Camp's release show for their CD Cusp. Again, it was a night when I was working the closing shift, but I got there right at the trio was starting their set. (Glad to see them but mad that I missed the Long Haul as well as both Normal Creatures and Fortune Teller.) 

The last time Action Camp show I saw took place at Club Café, which is much more intimate space than the Thunderbird. The latter used to be more intimate, in a way that wasn't really built for bigtime shows. Now the room is HUGE, with high ceilings and concrete floors, but the sound is great and it was perfectly suited for Action Camp. Their sound is pretty big for starters, with the addition of drop-tuned bass lines, all of Bengt Alexander's weird guitar textures and Maura Jacob's brawny voice, which can go from low to high easily, with all the appropriate drama. You could feel all of that last week.

I've listened to Cusp once or twice since I bought it that night, and I want to dig into it more. The songs are a bit unconventional in structure and sound, even while they could be easily accessible. They're another band that should be explored by more people looking to hear something that pushes beyond the musical status quo, without completely abandoning a pop structure. 

I do have to wonder how people find out about new music anymore and if the desire to hear more music produced in their own backyard carries any merit anymore. With Jacob getting ready to have a baby this fall, folks will have to wait to hear more from Action Camp in person. In the meantime, it couldn't hurt to explore the new album either.