Richard Swift is bound for glory. For the sake of giving you an idea of what he sounds like….I’d have to go with a straight version of Rufus Wainwright. I like Rufus and so should you. Which means you should check out Richard.
Friday night he rolled into the new Basement Lounge in Long Beach for a rather short solo set. A few of the tunes I recognized from checking out his cool website. Most of the people I talked to had seen him before which might explain the larger than anticipated audience. It also might have helped that the bill had three other top notch bands from LB that night; The Sea Monsters, Other Desert Cities, and Fielding.
My Partner in crime that night was Mr. Parkin and we had a good feeling driving was going to be out of the question. So we did what any other two young bucks in nice attire would. Hopped on the bus. It’s not the quickest way to get downtown but for only 90 cents, it beats the price of a cab or valet parking for that matter. The reason I bring it up is because we rolled in right as The Sea Monsters played their last few notes. Damn, I had been rockin their new album for the last few days and was looking forward to seeing them. You win some……
Other Desert Cities stepped up next and continued the fine art of LB rock and roll. There are roughly 10 bands in Long Beach that make music worth $6 (better put, MY six bucks). Word on the streets was that this was the last show for the band before the frontman, C. Charles, skips town. I hope not but I can sympathize with the need to leave the city life every once in a while. The set was tight and for about half the people that were paying attention, they dug it.
Have you ever noticed those ear pieces you see vocalist wearing when they’re on the big stage? They look a little funny but I’ve always thought that would be the ultimate for really belting it out. Eric B the lead singer of Fielding was rockin one and you could tell it gave a little extra umph to the up front tunes. Most of the rest of the band remained on stage after the ODC set so the transition was flawless. I have a feeling these bands play together on a regular basis. They rock like you would expect from a So Cal group sick of all the musical tags attached to good rock and roll. Fielding is band you want to drink a few beers with during and after their set.
Richard Swift does not look like the rock star he’ll probably become. He’s got a great little afro puff and as he walked around the bar that night, it was hard to believe such beauty was going to come for what looked like your long lost college buddy. “Lovely Night” and “The Novelist” are two tracks you can check out at RichardSwift.us. The solo versions sounded a bit different without the elaborate arrangements but the feeling was far from gone. The set was short and I have a feeling it was because half the crowd was more into their conversations than his music. I wanted to hear more but one great thing about a short set is that it leaves you wanting more. Which means I’m gonna have to do my best to check out his month long, tuesday night, residency at Tangiers next month.
Wish I would have head some Richard Swift to listen to on the walk home.
