You Should've Been There: Brightblack Morning Light [10/8/08; Sam Bond's]

Naybob Shineywater on guitar, vocals and keys. All photos by Todd Cooper

Brightblack Morning Light is the core duo of Rachael Hughes and Naybob Shineywater, but add a drumkit and an additional percussionist/trombonist to fill out their folksy-psychedelic groove-funk on their road show. Their latest album, Motion to Rejoin, is something to put on the record player during the long winter nights while sipping on a glass of wine, reading a book and/or smoking a marijuana cigarette. Their live act, however, probably doesn't require drugs to set your mind at ease and slow your blood pressure. Their show at Sam Bond’s simply washed over me, wave after wave of sonic morsels entering one ear and slipping out the other. It was exquisite, and you should've been there.

Rachael Hughes on keys

A question came up at my table: What is Hughes playing? It looks like a keyboard, but split in half. Well, it turns out it’s a keyboard, albeit a big and bulky one that looks more like a portable church organ.

Props should go to the percussionists, both of them. But mainly the xylophone/bongo/maraca/trombone player. He had to repeat his motions so much I feared he’d keel over with dizziness or go into some trance state. It turns out most of the band appeared to be in a "trance" state, with Shineywater’s lengthy, greasy locks covering his face for the entire show and Hughes bopping and grooving to the beat, however slow and stretched. Shineywater once performed with an arrowhead in his mouth; at this show he had a hawk’s feather knotted in his hair, appearing to sprout from his cheek.

The crowd at Sam Bond’s was decent sized for a Wednesday. More folks would’ve turned up if the cover charge wasn’t so high (and we apologize for publicizing that the show was $6 when Sam Bond’s charged $10 at the door, this was an error on Sam Bond’s part), as we heard people bitching and turning away at the door. For such patience-testing music, and the fact that it was a Wednesday night, cover really should’ve been $6 or less.

After BBML's set, the band dispersed into Sam Bond's warm embrace and chit-chatted the night away.

Read Jeremy Ohmes take on BBML HERE, and Mariam Wahed’s review of the album HERE.