BOBBY BARE JR. & THE SLIP - THE BOWERY BALLROOM, NYC - JUNE 22ND, 2007

While we certainly didn’t know it at the time we were cruising through our ritualistic pre-shoot preparations (crew huddles are big here at Baeble), last Friday’s shoot at The Bowery Ballroom was one for the books (and, very shortly, for the site). Thinking we would show up, aim our cameras at the talent on stage, and stroll back out with our footage in hand a couple hours later was, well…a bit naïve. Turns out both Nashville Tennessee’s Bobby Bare Jr and Boston Mass’ The Slip like to entertain. It also turns out that both bands like to give the audience exactly what they paid for: a full evening of incredible music. Our cameras got rolling at The Bowery around 10PM, when Bobby Bare Jr. and the Young Criminals Starvation League took the stage. And when The Slip finally decided to call it quits at 2AM in the morning, all that was left to do was scratch our heads in amazement. Did the two really combine for a four hour show? They did indeed. And Baeble Music was there to take it all in.



Blown to New York on a carefree combination of crude oil chords, and sweet summer melodies, Bobby Bare delivers the kind of take on authentic country blues and southern rock that lets the whiskey running through your blood do its’ job. Humid and hazy at times, fearlessly grungy at others, Bare brought the region that bred him to the Bowery’s stage. Whether lamenting for a “Flat-Chested Woman” in two-part harmony, moaning and whaling like a real singing cowboy, or rolling through rock and roll barn burners, Bobby and his band rollicked like a southern fried Guided By Voices.



Those mumbling and grumbling over The Slip’s recent change in sonic direction on their recorded efforts need to catch this trio in their live environment. Playing for nearly three hours, The Slip’s reputation as one of the most precise, sophisticated, hardest working, and passionate jam bands on the scene, rang true throughout the set. Performing for three hours, singer Brad Barr peppered his smoky, almost Aaron Neville (I kid you not) like voice in between the band’s impressive, instrumental, improvisational sessions. Cool and confident, The Slip touched on a few of rock’s holiest grails. Few three-pieces have the chutzpah to kick their set off with Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker”. But The Slip does it, and they do it well. Other festive highlights included the band being joined on stage by Bobby Bare Jr. for a spirited take on The Pixies “Where Is My Mind”. - David Pitz




Photos - Maureen Pitz