Songbook (3/26/18)

The Songs of Ben Rosenberry and Chip Klose

Kennedy Caughell, Trista Dollison, Zachary Prince, Natalie Weiss,
Sarah Ellis, Michael Henry, Matthew Hydzik, Mamie Parris,
Adrienne Eller (vocals); Jeff Washburn (guitar/vocals); Brandon Ellis
(bass guitar/cello/vocals); Ben Roseberry (piano/vocals); Gerard Canonico (percussion/vocals)

Hey, hey, hey, it’s Songbook time again. The interesting take here is that
Mr. Rosenberry and Mr. Klose seem to be equals in the music/lyrics writing formula. Sort of. The first three songs on the program were stand-alone songs, written ‘by Ben Roseberry and Chip Klose’. The next three were from The Fractured Years, and carried ‘by Ben Roseberry’ as the credit. We then had one song from From the Ground Up ‘by Ben Roseberry and Chip Klose’. And the last seven songs were from Picture Perfect, ‘by Ben Roseberry and Chip Klose’.

The first stand-alone was De-Evolution, billed as a soulful middle finger to 45. Maybe so, but it was tough for me to follow the lyrics, so any subtle attempts at satire didn’t do it for me. When It Does was a better mood piece, with a father commenting on, and remembering, time spent with his son—including using fishing as a metaphor for life, learning to wait, and grabbing life when you can. It was very touching, moving, and real. Wallflower was a twist on feeling pretty (pretty nervous) and then getting a chance to bloom once in a while. It was a good concept but the presentation fell a little short, for me.

Swing and a Miss, from The Fractured Years, was two folks missing out because each can’t really commit at this time—insecurity wins. Bullshit had a rock vibe (and sound and volume) that made the lyrics hard to hear and understand. There were brief, choppy phrases that I had trouble following, but the piece was a real crowd pleaser. Lucky had lyrics that were a bit lost to me, again. Maybe they read better on paper? Or benefit from multiple hearings?

From the Ground Up gave us Follow the Tide, which was pretty much telling us to have faith, it’ll all work out, sure there are problems, but the tide will bring you back in. Could be? Who knows?

Picture Perfect was the most developed of the duo’s shows. As near as I could follow, Adam is about to get married but it all falls apart. His three groomsmen determine that a road trip will save the day. So Coast to Coast was a looking-forward song, clearing out problems and gaining a new start. The solid rock feel was, once again, not my cup of tea. Out of the Frame was touted as a reworking of the original title song—Picture Perfect—but I didn’t quite see how anything out of the frame added anything to the song. They might consider reworking the reworking. But, hey, I'm no play doctor. And without seeing a full reading/
workshop, everything I say here is smoke and mirrors.

A Little Situation was the kick-ass number, as far as I was concerned.
Gerard Canonico, the percussionist, stepped out front and center, really selling this fun, funny song that made the rock feel of the musical work perfectly.

Hollywood Ending was the fiancée getting cold feet about two weeks before the wedding. We hear what brought us here but we also hear the fear about whether there really can be a Hollywood ending. Everyone’s an Expert is almost a rock patter song, recounting the back story of what leads to the collapse of a marriage or wedding. So Many Years is both parties realizing how irreconcilable the differences are—even before the wedding.

The finale, Time Stops, asks where do we go from here? Where, indeed? This piece had a weeklong intensive workshop recently, and both authors seemed buoyed by it as well as determined to learn from it. These songs were certainly the most polished of the group that we heard throughout the entire evening. I mostly liked what I heard. The choppy phrases of rock-style lyrics were not my favorite but the audience was more enamored than I was.

Will these guys make it? I don't know. There is talent there and they seem to be doing a lot of the right things. I'm grateful to be in on hearing these types of things close to, if not at, the ground floor. Or ... from the ground up. Two more Songbooks this season.

ConcertMeister