Shane Sweeney - The Finding Time

Those in the know may recognize the Shane Sweeney name from his role as the bassist and co-leader of Columbus, OH roots rock powerhouse Two Cow Garage. who released their excellent fifth record Speaking In Cursive in the last year or three.


The Finding Time is Sweeney's solo debut.  I picked it up a while ago, but Shane's recent Two Cow stuff hasn't been totally up my alley and I had put off giving it a virtual spin until recently. Shane and his lady had their first child recently and I figured this was going to be heavy on the wide-eyed new father tip. Well, once again it seems like this asshole's face is red, as The Finding Time is a great record.

The lion's share of The Finding Time is solo and acoustic, with only the odd backing vocal for the most part. The vibe is Steve Earle meets Mike Cooley and heavy with the populist sentiment. It's almost folky in that way, normally a death sentence at JS-NYC, but The Finding Time songs are solid enough to carry the sentiment. The talking blues of Promised Land Blues might be accused of a misstep, as could the cover of Big Star covering Loudon Wainwright, but for the most part the eleven tracks here come highly recommended.

Get The Finding Time in virtual or actual form here from your friends at Last Chance Records.

R

Two Cow Garage - Sweet Saint Me

Two Cow Garage have been one of my favorite discoveries of the last ten years. While I really miss their rough and ready early days, it seems these stand-up gents from Ohio are making some serious headway in the 21st Century. The deserve it, having recovered from the loss of one of the hardest-hitting drummers on Earth and added keys over the last couple records to enter an era that might even allow the use of the 'M' word (for mature) when describing their recent work.

It stands to reason: at the very least the boys aren't getting any younger. Shane (with some help from his wife) had a baby in the last year and you may remember that Micah released a great solo record called When The Stage Lights Grow Dim. I loved that record and have softened my hardline on procreation in recent years, but upon the first couple spins of Sweet Saint Me I kinda thought that maybe the new release was a bit lacking for these two eventualities. A couple weeks of revisitation have found more and more of the tracks growing on me, with Jackson and Lydia working their way into my head with enough vigor that I expect the next live show will really sway me on record number five. If I were you, I wouldn't wait. Buy some gas and diapers for some solid dudes and get Sweet Saint Me here. Southern friends should be advised of the shows in a couple of weeks with Slobberbone and Glossary and know that I am seethingly with jealousy.

R

Micah Schnabel - When The Stage Lights Grow Dim

How great is this record? I picked up When The Stage Lights Grow Dim at Micah's show the other night without thinking that I was going to fall for it as hard I did. There were a fair amount of covers in his solo set, so I was pretty sure it was for lack of solo material. Color this idiot wrong, as the whole kit and caboodle is pretty damn fabulous, even the song I was pretty sure was a Tim Easton cover. Micah self-released this late last year, but I understand Virgil and the kids from Suburban Home are re-releasing this soon, if not already. Check here for the details, but don't think for a moment that you don't want this. Buy it, love it and look out for a new Two Cow record this summer from Suburban Home.

R

Live: Micah Schnabel @ Union Underground

Almost missed this one. Luckily e-mails from mayoral candidate Eric and his brother Dave got this back on my radar. This was my second time to Union Underground and my visit only asserted what I vaguely remembered about my last show: the upstairs space at Union Underground has the worst show space ever. There's a suitably-sized house backline, but the area of the floor that is supposed to be the stage is literally three feet from the bar and has two huge pillars that effectively block the view from both sides. Not to mention the quasi bar/shelf they've got between said pillars. The general consensus was that it allowed artists to sell merch while they played, but all in all in only adds to a bad situation.

Sadly, it wasn't the hugest crowd, but the the 30 or so people that did make it out were treated to one hell of a set. Micah's got a new solo record out called When The Stage Lights Dim, that is absolutely fabulous. While there was the usual Two Cow contingent out for the show, I'd venture that most of us were hearing the songs for the first time, but they were pretty universally well received. I really regret not taping it. He played for maybe 40 minutes, throwing some covers and whatever Two Cow favorites people (ok, Eric) shouted out. NYC was the last night of the tour, which Micah says was really well received. Lest Two Cow fans think this is the band's death knell, word from the man is that they'll be recording a new Two Cow record next month. It'll be on Suburban Home, and if the solo songs are any indication, I can't wait to hear it. In the meantime, pick up Micah's solo record here. Immediately. Look for a review soon.

R