Boston's North Shore was well represented at Harpers Ferry for Josh Caress and the Glasnost Gang and opener Magnolia. These bands shared the stage and musicians, for a showcasing of strong songwriting and a healthy dose of Russian argot.
His t-shirt blazoned with a hammer and sickle, Caress and band ripped into "Perestroika On My Mind." This epic, rolling reminiscence of when we "embraced our fear" set the tone for songs of enlightenment. Still, this transformation seems to extend beyond the glasnost in their name. The tumult of Everything I wasn't Meant to Be finds Caress asking to surrender plans that entangle him from a brighter purpose. Much of their music shares this imagery and tension between light and darkness. Exemplifying this battle, the band dropped into a mangled jam, murmuring lines about deconstruction, building a pastiche with a refrain from Radiohead ("it is the 21st century"), then resolving in a later song to "go by the light of the lantern."
Theirs is a noble revolution, and the Glasnost Gang have the musicianship and zeal to see it accomplished. Joining Caress were long time collaborators Dan Hayward, Ken MacLeod and Aaron Thomas Butt. Hayward accompanied MacLeod's drums with bass or suitcase, all done with zero irony. From Magnolia, Dan Kaplan added keys and Jud Abts handled guitar and xylophone. With Magnolia, Kaplan strikes good poise with guitar on lead. Yet Tina Muzzi was missed on violin, a fuller sound that was needed for the open layout at Harpers Ferry.
So while the iron curtain has long come down, there's always room for a little more Perestroika. Heck, even somebody still loves Boris Yeltsin.
