City Dogs was jam packed the night of Magazine33’s  Veggie Showcase33, with many of the great music lovers of the city relaxing, hanging out and dancing the night away.  Patrons could pay the small cover charge, or bring in a can of dog or cat food to benefit the Richmond Animal League (RAL).  By the end of the night, there was a small pyramid built up by the door!

 

Ben Butterworth started out the night with his mellow acoustic sound.  Barefoot and passionate, he serenaded the crowd with his original tunes.  Ben has a lot to do with the upcoming Elysian Fields Festival taking place August 6-8 in Boyce, Virginia.  It is a gathering of friends that is a celebration of the relationships in life that make us happy.  I can't wait to go check that out, especially if I get to see more of the Ben Butterworth experience and get into the flow of his sound with friends.

Next up, Jamnation.   These guys brought the high powered energy on in.  The waves of music began to flow over me and I turned back to see what was going on!  The horns...the guitars...and my eyes went straight back to the drummer who was pounding roughly, yet eloquently on those skins.  As the night went on, the sweat poured, and the Jamnation crew got tighter and tighter.  A great combination of communication, flowing music, and technical ability, it was quite an experience to watch each component of their groove and then refocus to watch it all go down together.

 

The City Dogs folks kept up with the crowd and made sure that everybody was happy and well taken care of throughout the night. 

THE NEW BELGIANS took the stage.  Their smooth tunes carried the crowd through the rest of the night.   By the time they were done, the dance floor was filled with enthusiastic fans.  Sweet and tasteful grooves spanned through the songs.  I love how they all fit together musically, smooth to say the least.  The songs are reminiscent of decades ago jazz -  funky, and yes, soulful.  They are serious about their moving craft, and this intention bursts out through the horns, the bass, the keys, the guitars, the percussion and drums. 

Whenever you see a bang-up band live, something really cool happens.  As you watch, you can see that they are individually listening to their bandmates' signals like a satelitte dish; simultaneously they each are projecting their waves into a unified, moving sound picture for the crowd.  THE NEW BELGIANS were this concept in action.

Thank you City Dogs, for hosting a wonderful night of music and friendship!  The Veggie Showcase33 gathered about a 80 cans of dog and cat food for the RAL.  Thanks to Ben Butterworth, Jamnation, and THE NEW BELGIANS for giving the peeps the gift of your music, and thank you Matt Sthreshley for pulling it all together!

Please login to post your comments.

More Featured Articles