The Good Graces/ Night Driving In Small Towns/ Mary O Harrison, PopFest 2008, Flicker Theater, 8/14/08

Good Graces

by Glenn Fullington
08/15/2008

In my mind, the PopFest humpday audience at Flicker seemed to consist mostly of potters or clay throwers. The ceramics crowd is often drawn to the folk pop scene, and vice versa.

The Good Graces, an Atlanta trio, led off the three-band set. Kim Ware fronted the group with her acoustic axe and mellow pipes. John McNicholas harmonized with electric guitar as Jim combs tickled the keys. Their set was heavy hearted at times, delving into a melodica controlled ambiance. The melodica, for those not familiar with their woodwind-keyboard hybrids, is just that. Like the bastard child of an piano and a clarinet. "Real to Me" was particularly moving. Their musical mindset might be derived from their last two songs, titled "Unhappy Ending" and "Over It." Though I hope they are far from "over it." They have only been playing together for a couple months but communicate on stage like seasoned pros. The ceramic crowd was pleased.

The next band on the set was Night Driving in Small Towns. Most of the five piece went to high school together and they have been playing as a band since 2006. Andrea Rogers took the mic and produced some stunning sound. Colby Wright layed down some tasty down-home riffage on lead guitar as Daniel Gonzalez strummed like the wind on acoustic. Sage Cady and Tyler Shores on upright bass and percussion respectively synched like conjoined twins who were separated early in life but still sometimes sleep with their shoulders touching just because. They are self proclaimed "sparkly, spontaneous, robust, gonzo" people; Andrea's description of the music as "engaging fun" is spot on. The country style jam session with heart felt poppy vocals inspired whoops from the crowd. The potters have spoken.

Mary O Harrison finished off the Flicker sets. John and Kim from The Good Graces made another showing on guitar and drums respectively behind Mary on keys, flute, guitar and vocals. McGregor Button kept the bass lines flowing and Tracy Clark jumped out of the crowd to assist in some backup singing. The set was upbeat and satisfied my soul. Born Pretty was especially pleasing. Mary describes her styling as "childlike and quirky" and the youthful nature shows in the groups demeanor. They meshed well and smiled alot. That was the best part. They were completely happy with their music and the crowd really dug that. Mary "tries not to make a formula" when it comes to songwriting. "I get inspiration from really random things that you wouldn't get from hearing my music," she claims. My theory is that it comes from pottery.