benefit
9pm-midnight
$10
a benefit for the zeitgeist with
The Mustn't Grumble
Shawn Hershey - Trumpet
Carl Staaf - Saxophone
Chris Scharl - Drums and silly faces
John Rice - Banged-up old bass and epiglottally distressed moray eel
Ben Vigoda - Gypsy Jazz Guitar
An improvisation of folk harmonies, gypsy acoustic contra-swing, and witful and wistful lyrics by an unusual orchestra that will move you, make you dance, and make you laugh.
Long time friends of the Zeitgeist Gallery, The Mustn't Grumble, are back in Cambridge after headlining the Cape Cod Folk Music Festival, drawing enthusiastic crowds at Barbes in Brooklyn, and playing live on WAMC Performance Place (Hudson Valley NPR). They will be playing a benefit concert for the Zeitgeist on Saturday, January 21, to help support expansion of the gallery as it opens its new space in Inman Square at ???.
The Mustn't Grumble have been together for a number of years, playing through-out New England, but are still somewhat of a well-kept secret in their home base of Cambridge, Ma. With influences ranging from Django Reinhardt to Gillian Welch with Bela Fleck and John Zorn in between, Carl Staaf (on his vintage 1910 Saxophone) and Shawn Hershey (both electronic and silver trumpets) range from quiet close harmonies to going wild on their horns, while audiences that love to swing or contra-dance often jump up to rhythms of band leader Ben Vigoda (who studied gypsy-jazz guitar with French master of the style, Stephane Wrembel and also built his own magneto-acoustic infinite-sustain guitar at the MIT Media Lab), Chris Scharl (on suitcase percussion) and John Rice (on upright bass). Ben Vigoda and bassist John Rice also sing wonderful harmonies on an appalachian ballad from a Gillian Welch record and the entire band joins in on a chorus of "Singing in the Bathtub" singing, "I'm forever blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles in the air." They dress up in vintage vaudeville-era suits complete with old felt hats, and this band leaves you with the impression that they are deeply listening to each other and the audience at the same time that they are having a whole lot of fun onstage.