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The Best Song Ever, by Josh Erstine

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Oakhurst Square

I had distinct pleasure of attending New Fangled Fest at Kavarna in Oakhurst Square last night. NFF, the brainchild of musicians Michelle F. (aka Spymagnet) and John McN. featured 6 musicians performing all new songs, written post-NFF idea 4 months earlier. The night carried a lighthearted sense of fun and spontaneity that could only accompany 3 hours of songs never before performed live.

F. opened the show with a handful of tunes ranging from soul to rock, breaking out of her usual improvised keyboard performances with a soaring voice and electric guitar accompaniment. Gutter P. relaxed the crowd with a mellow electronic mix. The Good G. featuring Kim W. and Jim C. (but excluding McN.) awed the crowd with heartfelt lyrics and emotion and provided comic relief with W's angry ballad, "Stupid Driver." After the Good G., Jeff performed a personality-filled set complete with a lit bunny on stage delighting audience members for days to come. McN. closed out the evening with a varied mix of songs, sounds, and lyrics.

While all performers were at their peak, the highlight of the evening was McN.' release of Liz on Blake (aka The Poppy and Simon Song). McN., known for his amazing song-writing ability as well as guitar-picking skill akin to such artists as BB King and John Fogerty, certainly outdid himself with LOB. The song carried a catchy melody and paid homage to McN.' girlfriend, Liz E., through the perspective of her cats, P. and S. McN.' understanding of P. and S.'s devotion to E. was evident in lyrics such as "Summertime it's true, there's nothing we can't do, the good times they make with Liz on Blake." If the crowd was not overjoyed by the song itself, they certainly would have smiled at E.'s proud, beaming face as the song played.

At the conclusion of the show, we were able to catch up with E. for an exclusive, post-show interview.

JE: Is this the first song McN. has written about you?

E: Um, yes.

JE: Are you ever disheartened by the fact that most of McN.' songs are about other women?

E: Well, many of those songs are fictional.

JE: Yes, but many of the songs were written about his ex-girlfriends. Does this ever bother you?

E: Well, I guess it can be difficult at times. I mean most people don't want to hear about their significant other's exes at all. It can be kind of tough to listen to someone you love express emotion about someone from their past. But that's part of the creative process.

We followed up on the matter with other patrons of the show asking how they would feel about the situtation. One woman stated, "Oh buh no boo. I would not put up with that. If my man is gonna sing, it betta be about me. Okay?" Another woman agreed saying, "E. is a patient woman. She must be a deeply understanding and compassionate person."

Well, as the saying goes, the best things await those who, um, wait. Or something like that. And we're certainly glad we waited for this song to appear! Signing off, I'm Josh Erstine.