Magnficent Seven Part II, March 2, 2013

The Magnificent Seven show returned to Montana Actors' Theatre-Great Falls last night and although I had to leave early, I do have a few thoughts about the evening.

The first thing I noticed was the giant spread of food as we walked into the theater, which Joe Ryan's mother provided. Her deviled eggs were delicious. So were the meatballs. The food was a serious upgrade this time out, most definitely.

Tales from Ghost Town

As for the show, most of the acts we saw killed it.

The first group, Lucky Valentines had a tight sound that perhaps only two people who understand each other intimately can have.

Lana said the melodies they sang were some of the hardest to perform, and they did them well. They did several Patty Smith covers and mostly originals.

Plus, I always love me some fiddle songs. They did several. It was a great way to start the show.

Another of the highlights for me was Tales from Ghost Town from Bozeman.

The guy, a one-man band who played drums, guitar and harmonica, and also singing, got it done with some upbeat down-home barn dance anthems that had the whole room rocking. He could have played for much longer than he did and no one would have minded.

I also must say that Tyson Habein did an excellent job at organizing the artwork behind the stage. Each of the pieces were both separate but fit together in a theme with similar shapes and colors. Whether the artists were the same or not, it was a cohesive display of art that made the stage shine.

Moving on, I was a little torn on Patty Hearse and the Mortician.

Saif Alsaegh performs poetry

Yes, at times the vocals got drowned out by the instruments and yes it was loud. But, as their set progressed I kind of got the feeling that was the point. Like I told Lana, you don't listen to Metallica for the amazing vocals. You listen to them to hear them rock the f@*$ out. Patty and the Mortician had that feel to them. Hopefully they can get the vocals to come across better in the future.

Plus, Joe Ryan did a decent job of adjusting the levels to help Paisley's voice project.

Before Patty and the Mortician, Saif Alsaegh performed some of his best spoken word poems.

The original plan, as I gather, was to have Joe Ryan play with him on guitar and Josh Wilkinson on drums. Before Saif started, Joe apologized and said he had to help one of the bands set up so he couldn't play..
I was a little bummed, mostly I feel he does a better job of playing behind a poet than Josh did on this night.

I'm not saying Josh did a bad job. His sound is so unique it's always a treat to hear. I'm just not sure it worked with Saif for some reason.

And, before Saif came up, Josh did a good job with his own set. It was fun, interesting and included several songs I've never heard him do before. I would have loved to hear "Jessica Simpson," but I suppose that's kind of an "Open Mic" song. Josh still has a little of that Open Mic sound, meaning when I hear him I think of the times I've heard him play there.

Aside from "Jessica Simpson," which really we wanted to hear for nostalgic reasons, perhaps, it might have been fun to hear him play a few other different songs than ones we've heard a lot in the past.

Then, with his playing together with Saif, all I'm saying is I felt like they weren't quite on the same page last night. At times Saif would be performing a dramatic piece about his relationship with god and religion, and at the same time it felt like Josh was playing it a little too positive and a LITTLE too loud for my liking.

Perhaps it could have used some more minor chords, I'm not sure. If they had more time to prepare together it might have worked better, but, it was by no means a bad performance. Anytime Saif reads it's a treat because his poems are so good!

All and all it was a fun night and the room was packed during the entire time we were there.

One final thought is that I think people still aren't quite sure how to dress for the event.

Some people dress casual, some people dress up and others still wear semi-casual clothes. And indeed, that's true of almost all events in town, it seems. It's not a huge thing, but I suppose Tyson and Joe could give people a dress code guideline for next time. I might suggest giving a gentle suggestion so folks have an idea of what to wear, (or what not to wear.)

Finally, I look forward to seeing what the Habeins and Mr. Ryan present next month. :-)