I went to both the 5/12 show at Mercury Lounge and the 5/17 show at Rose in Brooklyn. The 5/12 show started with a Belgian songstress (I believe her name is Trixie?) on keys. Greg backed her up on slide guitar and e. guitar. She was a little unpolished, but she has an amazing voice. Meshell noted at the Rose gig that Trixie will open up for the next Mercury Lounge gig on 5/19. I don't remember the setlist from the 5/12 show. The music was a bit slow for my taste. The only song I recognized from this set was The Bottom. Meshell switched back and forth between guitar and bass. The band included Greg on slide guitars, Marc Kelly on Bass, not sure who the drummer was, and didn't catch the name of the mandolin player (he also played accordian and sung lead on a couple of the songs. I remember last night show (for the obvious reason--it was last night!). Rose is a very intimate jazz venue. I think I got there around 10:45 or 11 and went to the first available table which was dead center and right in front of the stage. The band included Meshell on vox and guitar, Marc Kelly on bass, Greg on guitar, a different drummer (whose name also escapes me) from the Mercury gig, and a keyboardist who I think I've seen play with Meshell before (his name also escapes me). This show grooved a lot more than the Monday show did. The band settled into the first song by just grooving on it a little. Then Marc started singing "Desire is all the Rage". Then Meshell took over on vocals. This song was a cross between Virgo and the songs Meshell did with Trandsdubmassiv. The name of the song is Arthur and the Lion. The next song Meshell said was untitled (not the same one from Plantation Lullabies). Meshell also pointed out that the untitled joint was not a song the band learned together (I think she said they learned in in separate rooms or something to that effect). She said the song was like a "Clyde Stubbefield song in 3/4". The next song was The Bottom (I believe Meshell dedicated it to Bill W?). Die Young was the next track followed by a song with the lyrics "I gave my baby a blackberry. She lost her mind". I'm not sure, maybe it was the paranoia from the pot I smoked before the show kicking in, but I think the song was directed at me. See, I was sitting directly in front of Meshell and I was using my Blackberry as a notepad to capture the setlist. I kept picking it up writing my thoughts about the gig. Again, maybe it was just paranoia on my part! The final song was Blood on the Curb. The set was rather short but good. Also, at the begining, Meshell pointed out that the folks at the Mercury Lounge were pissed that Arthur and the Coopers were playing at Rose. I hope that doesn't F up there relationship too much, cause I'm looking forward to these Monday gigs like some people look forward to the weekend! And finally, if you ever go to Rose, you should try their food (restaurant located downstairs but my waitress was kind enough to bring me an entree upstairs). Their jumbo shrimp is amazing! It came with a side of cous-cous that was littered with cranberries. Also included huge slabs of zucchini, sliced tomatoes (and cherry tomatoes), delicious potatoes, and sliced eggplants.

Thank you for this comments on this new band.
When you mentioned a girl called Trixie, from belgium playing piano with an amazing voice, I immediatly recognized Trixie Whitley ! I really love her voice and songs. There is so much soul in them.
Actually I've never seen her live (I'm not sure she's already performed in Europe) but I discovered her on the net since she is Chris Whitley's daughter : Chris Whitley is definitly one of my favourite artist of all time : if I only had the time left to listen to 2 CDs, it would be Bitter from Meshell and Hotel Vast Horrizon from Chris Whitley...
You MUST listen to his albums !!!
Unfortunatly he died 2 or 3 years ago, and this really broke a part of my heart.

quote:

Their jumbo shrimp is amazing! It came with a side of cous-cous that was littered with cranberries. Also included huge slabs of zucchini, sliced tomatoes (and cherry tomatoes), delicious potatoes, and sliced eggplants.

My god that sounds awesome! I'm so damn hungry now. They have a song called "Blood On The Curb"? Someone's been picking my brain. I wrote one called "Blood On The Road" about twenty years ago.

You can listen to a clip of it on their myspace page.

Mark Giuliana played drums instead of Yuval Lion for the 5/17 Rose and 5/19 Mercury Lounge gigs. I heard that the set on Saturday was short because Mark had only had a chance to learn half the tunes. He then played four straight sets that night.

I only made it there for the last set, Jason's "Now vs. Now" group....... mannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn............. check that shit out. They're playing at the end of the month, 2 nights at Smalls and 1 at Groove, of all places.