It’s always good when Acoustic Alchemy comes back to the Birchmere.  They are a fantastic group and this is the perfect venue to showcase them.  We can always count on Acoustic Alchemy at the Birchmere in the fall.  The band has over a 20 year history, so this year’s set list ran the full gamut from older tunes, originally recorded with founding member Nick Webb, to new songs, not yet recorded on any album.

They opened with one of my favorites, “No Messin,’” followed by “Overnight Sleeper.”  Keyboard player Fred White was prominently featured during many of the tunes.  His keyboards filled in for much of the horn section highlights heard on the recorded versions of the songs.  The band followed with “Angel of the South,” “Jamaica Heartbeat, and “Passion Play,” which they dedicated to my good friend and Smoothviews colleague, Bonnie Schendell.  These are songs I’ve listened to many times, but it’s always interesting to hear what kind of musical twists the band brings to these tunes.

This tour allowed us to hear two brand new unrecorded songs: “Sixteens,” and “Marrakesh.  These are the working titles and may change as they continue to work the songs.  We love when the bands try out new material on the audience.  What better place to get feedback than a live show?  Both of these songs sounded very fresh and youthful sounding.  I can envision myself driving along with the windows down, the volume up, keeping time to Acoustic Alchemy’s tunes.

One of the best things about sitting front and center at the Birchmere is you get to watch the musicians up close as they play.  You experience all of the emotion they put into their playing on so many levels, and you know this is what live music is all about.  That was clearly on display as we watched and listened to Fred White playing his keys.  Fred’s playing, while always good, seemed more intense than we’ve heard previously.  And, we saw it with Greg Carmichael as he played the beautiful “Ariane.”  It is an amazing experience.  “Playing for Time” allowed us to not only hear the musical expertise, but to see it as well.  Watching Greg and Miles match each others’ rhythms and then trade off leads is like listening to them finish each other’s sentences.  They are that in sync. 

Before the night ended, the rhythm section of Grainger and Grainger finally got their chance to shine on “Tuff Puzzle.”  The crowd was very appreciative as Greg and Gary laid it down on drums and bass respectively.  The Grainger brothers are awesome.

Acoustic Alchemy brought it to a close with one of their signature songs, “Lazeez,” the high powered Spanish flamenco classic.  They left to a standing ovation, but came back one more time to give us a little “Flamoco Loco.”  This was a fun way to end a night of great music and great company.