Had the good fortune to see Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon last night at the MFA. Although the MFA does a series of outside concerts in the Calder Courtyard, the Kozelek show was indoors in the quiet Remis Auditorium theatre space, but perfect for his music.

I first heard the Red House Painters when I lived in Seattle at the Tractor Tavern in fabulous Ballard. Bought a few of RHP's CDs, but my favorite is probably still "Songs for a Blue Guitar," but all of his releases, whether they are under Mark Kozelek, Red House Painters, or Sun Kil Moon , are all great.

Kozelek's lyrics are not always easy to make out, but his voice reminds many of Neil Young, Nick Drake, or Tim Buckley. Fans of Iron and Wine would also easily enjoy Kozelek's work.

He commented a number of times about how quiet and attentive the Boston audience was; apparently not always the case at his shows (where folks in the front rows are spending much of the night text messaging others that aren't at the show) and he seemed to enjoy the venue. Funnier than I thought he would be, it made me sorry I hadn't approached his publicist for an interview as I think he would have been very entertaining!

Check him out on tour if he is stopping in your neck of the woods.

Charlie

Jonathan Kane: The Well-Rounded Radio Interview

Jonathan Kane played the role of a drummer and percussionist since the 1970's, but recently took the leap to recording his first solo record with last fall's release of "February" (Table of the Elements Records) and his newest disc, "I Looked at the Sun" (Table of the Elements' new Radium imprint).

As a long-time fan of Swans, I knew Kane had played drums in the band, but didn't know about all the other esteemed musicians that Kane had worked with, including Rhys Chatham, La Monte Young, and Gary Lucas, until after meeting his wife, Holly Anderson, who I had a chance to meet via her collaboration with Clint Conley and consonant for a very early episode of Well-Rounded Radio.

Having known Kane's earlier work, I was surprised to learn that his first musical love was actually the blues, and its been a form that he's experimented with over the years, including his first two solo releases.

Read the full show preview at Well-Rounded Radio and be sure to check out our new logo and web site!