Ryan ChartrandI tend to get criticized for being too much like a child. It’s hard to argue with this especially after this weekend.
At some point on Saturday, I don’t go into a party but instead lay on a tarp eating mountains of candy from a broken pi¤ata in the backyard. I follow that with some time on the trampoline and fulfill most of the dreams I had when I was an 8-year-old.
The Finches show on Friday in the Steynberg Gallery falls somewhere in the same category. Lead singer Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs possesses a voice loaded with sugar and sunshine. Her personality falls somewhere along those lines as she comes off as genuinely nice as well as curious and adventurous.
When I have to describe The Finches earlier in the week, I use the term “family band” a lot. The description hinges not so much on their sound, which is a marvelous blend of folk and pop, but description mostly stems from the overall feel of The Finches. It seems like San Luis Obispo is a stop on a family vacation that just happens to be a music tour. The show is filled with the same excitement and wonder.
The songs they sing are full of the same innocence. Lyrics range from topics like night swimming to dreams about June Carter Cash to personal mix tapes.
On “The House Under the Hill,” Riggs declares “I’m the same kid I was out in the schoolyard.” All of the instrumentation fills this out perfectly and stands far away from anything abrasive.
No drummer even exists, just sweet melodic guitars. I don’t want to push the innocent image too far though. Let’s not forget the pi¤ata of candy is behind a Cinco de Mayo party filled with drinking and debauchery.
The Finches have the same sort of weird edge too. When we all eat dinner earlier in the night, they still have the same great crazy tour stories most artists have. The last time I saw them play in San Luis Obispo, Carolyn told a rather wild story about a guy in a muscle T-shirt in a bar.
The edge makes it all OK though. Somehow, it makes the whole thing not ignorant or close-minded.
I mean, when you know you’re an adult and you do those adult things sometimes, doesn’t it make it alright to be an excited child for the rest of your life? God, I hope so.
Show tip: Velella Velella and Point Juncture, WA will be playing a free, in-store at Boo Boo Records on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Free great live music from the Pacific Northwest to make the start of next week so much better.