Jentri Colello

Blueheels/ Josh Harty/ Jentri Colello/ Blake Thomas; May 14, 2007; Crystal Corner

What I thought was going to be a Bricco and Robby acoustic set turned into a full band show that featured Bricco’s dad on guitar for a good chunk of it. I certainly didn’t know that either Jentri or Josh was going to play. And while I knew Blake was, I didn’t expect to walk in and see him playing with a full band. All of these things were very, very pleasant surprises. I definitely should have gotten here earlier.

“Oh, you haven’t heard,” Robby responded to my look of surprise when he that it was nice that I captured a few songs from the Cuda-fest since it was Rebecca’s last show. She had decided she wanted to spend more time with her kid, which is completely understandable, and quit the band, bassist Brett went with her. Luckily, producer, fan, and bass player, Justin Perkins was more than happy to take the job. They didn’t even have to cancel a show. While Rebecca certainly added to their sound, it has always been Robby’s unique twangy-yet-totally-sexy voice and remarkable songwriting that draws me to the band. The other surprise was that Justin Bricco’s father was in town, and now we know where the Blueheels kinetic guitarist gets his talent. Dad Bricco played a good chunk of the set, and impressed me with how many Blueheels songs he knew. He even sang one himself.

Since I had been over at the High Noon earlier in the night, I missed Blake playing the instant classic “I Don’t Want Your Heart I Want Your Liver,” a song I have only heard once and that he has just decided to include on his next record. I did catch “Tip of Your Tongue,” the fourth song he had played with a band made up of Adam Cargin on drums, Bricco on guitar and Perkins on bass. When I protested that I hadn’t known he was going to play with a band, he responded that neither had he, it had just all come together in a very impromptu manner.

I’m not sure if Josh had planned to play with the same band or not, but since these are the guy that are playing on his record it made sense that they knew the songs. Well, except that Robby took over the drum stool for a couple. Huh, I didn’t even know he played drums. Cool. I’d only seen Josh play with a band once before, long ago, this was definitely better. Songs slated for the new record like the poppy “Which Way I Go” and the nostalgic “Empire Bar” sounded great with the filled out sound, as did the Robert Johnson classic “Malted Milk.” I watched his set and pretty much everything else that night with a big dumb smile on my face.

I’ve seen Jentri Colello a few times before, since she usually plays a set during the weekly Wednesday gigs at the Local. The problem with the Local is that it rivals Monmartre for chattiness and I’ll admit I’d never paid as much attention to her as I did tonight. Most times she is joined by a friend, but tonight it was just her and a guitar, and it was pretty stunning. She has a fantastic sultry voice that matches well with her songs. Yeah, I know I’m not supposed to like girl singers, I'm just as surprised as you.

It was all so ridiculously good that I was just a little mad at myself for having missed any of it. I had started the night at the High Noon, excited to finally see Flame Shark. I’d been listening to their debut CD Midnight on Pearl Beach a lot ever since getting it from Rick (the very day he announced he was shutting the paper down). An addictive combination of Jayhawks and Cash Brothers, it’s an easy listen. Despite lead singer Justin Jahnke’s insistence on wearing a ridiculous bandana tied around his head, live they were just as easy to listen to, the harmony vocals sounding just as good as they did on record. This was my second time seeing openers the Javelinas, and I didn’t have any more patience for them this time than I did when they opened for the Blueheels. They are talented and their songs are undeniably catchy but mostly I wanted them to be done. Pretty much in sharp contrast to the rest of the night when I didn’t want anyone to stop playing.

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- Kiki Scheuler

Jentri Colello, 5-23-07

After playing every Wednesday at the Local Tavern since December, musicians Jentri Colello and Ariel McClain have decided to take the summer off. Jentri will be out of town, and even if she weren't the two of them have seemed to be getting burned out on playing every week.

Before leaving, Jentri played one last Wednesday show. She started the night by covering Ryan Adams' "Oh My Sweet Carolina" with Ariel McClain, who wasn't doing a set of her own. The two have done the song a number of times before and always sound great. Ariel was then replaced by Jentri's usual partner, Adrienne Blow. The two played four or five songs together, starting with one of my favorite songs, a track called "Planes".

When I first started going to the Local on Wednesday nights, Jentri would play an acoustic guitar and was always accompanied by Adrienne, who provided backing vocals and harmonica. In the three and a half months since then, she's made a few changes to her performance. A few weeks ago she switched to using an electric guitar plugged directly into the PA system. The result is amazing. Not only did she seem more confident with the electric, but the sound of the undistorted guitar is magnificent. It suits her ragged, yet gentle, voice well. Jentri's also started doing a number of songs solo and did another five or six songs alone, including a new one. Consistent with my experience in the past 26 years, sheer dumb luck prevailed, and a few seconds after deciding to video the next song Jentri announced, "No one's heard this song but my dad."

The song is as amazing as anything she's ever played, maybe more so. She finished with a request from the crowd, a Pearl Jam song called "Lukin". It's sad to know I won't see her play the entire summer, but I'll have waited a year and a half to see Tegan and Sara again. I can wait three or four months to see Jentri, and I won't even have to take an airplane to do it.

But I would if I had to. She's that good.
- Nick Griffin