11th Street Bar & Montreal
Friday, May 30, 2008

Melody Allegra on fiddle, Butch on mandolin, Nate on guitar and Domenick on lapsteel.

It was the New Heathens Salvation Army band at the 11th Street Bar on Wednesday night, anchored by the amazing fiddle playing and beautiful singing of Ms. Melody Allegra (how's that for a musical name?)

I asked Melody, who I'd met a few weeks earlier while playing a solo gig for the King's County Opry at Freddy's Backroom in Brooklyn , if she'd do a gig with the New Heathens. Melody is an incredible natural musician and mercy, she threw DOWN busting out pretty fiddle licks and wonderful harmony vocals.


With the lovely & talented Melody Allegra

The guitarmen, Butch & Dom opened up their full bag of tricks. Butch strummed a mandolin, Domenick teased licks from his lapsteel all night and I even played a wooden train whistle.

Hopped a train to Montreal early the next morning (and early mornings come HARD after an 11th Street gig) and played a 45-minute solo acoustic set at a really cool venue called The Pound . The Pound is a beautiful, huge former warehouse turned into a music venue and art space by a few friendly dudes who live on the balcony above the stage. It was like the best parts of Williamsburg, only with national health care.


At The Pound in Montreal, CA

I ran down a bunch of tunes off Heathens Like Me, plus a few new one's I'm working on. Later, my friend Tom Holl joined me onstage to sing Warren Zevon's "Carmelita." Tom's brother John Holl, a friend, colleague and stalwart New Heathens booster, is celebrating his bachelor party in Montreal this weekend.


With Tom Holl, in Montreal, singing "Carmelita." Photo credit: John Holl

Now, point me to the poutine (it means disco fries!)

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