A few months ago, my friend Louis Matteo performed with his band, The Modern Minstrels, at the All-Asia bar on Mass Ave. Of course, I went, because concerts are always fun, and I especially wanted to support my friend. The big surprise of the evening, though, was his opening act – Katelyn Benton. Katelyn played piano with a bass accompaniment, and even though her drummer never showed up, I really liked her piano style and voice. I decided to look for any of her future concerts in the hopes of catching the whole band together.
Well, tonight was the night. I convinced Batya to head out with me at 6:00 for the 6:30 concert. Since we were a little early, we stopped by Toscanini’s for some ice cream first. By the time we got back to the bar, the music was just starting. As expected, Katelyn’s band was really good. Her music is generally upbeat, and has a sort of bluesy feel to it. Apparently, she’s from Denver, but has a little bit of Louisiana influences via her grandmother (or aunt? She told a story about it, but I don’t remember all the details). If you want to hear a few samples of her music, you should check out her myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/katelynbenton.
After her band’s first set was done, the bass and drummer left the stage, and two guys with guitars, Will Knox and Kyle James Hauser, came up. For this section of the concert, the three of them took turns playing generally solo pieces that they had either composed or just really liked. Will and Kyle are in a band together, but tonight Will was a little better than Kyle. Apparently Kyle has only played solo twice in two years, so he hasn’t had much practice performing like this. Batya and I were both having a great time listening to the three of them, so we left slightly reluctantly when she had to go to a meeting at 8:30.
There seems to be a pretty vibrant local music scene in Boston, and I never really knew about it until this year. I’m excited, though, because maybe if I keep going to events like these, I’ll be able to continue to hear good artists and my network will just expand. I’m looking forward to hearing more.
