A Unique Evening with Jonathan Spottiswoode and Amy Correia at the Lizard Lounge

In April of last year, Jonathan Spottiswoode & his Enemies released Wild Goosechase Expedition, depicting the travels of a rock band on a doomed tour. It’s an eclectic album full of sprawling big band blues, gentle balladry, somber piano pieces, flat out rockers, and some wacky ‘novelty type’ numbers with sharp social commentary. And then there’s the title track, which defies description. Totally over the top, but delightfully so. In part due to his distinctive, theatrical vocals and the crazed carnivalesque jazzy feel, at times he can invoke a little Frank Zappa. Frank Zappa fronting a free jazz band.

It’s a wildly varied and adventurous collection of music, matched only by its fanciful artwork, by renowned English painter, Alexander Gorlizki. A whimsical nod to The Beatles, Spottiswoode himself calls the album “our Magical Mystery Tour.” “I’d Even Follow You To Philadelphia,” has the goofiest of lyrics (“I don’t give a shit about my career / And you know it’s not going so well / They say if you follow your heart it makes you healthier, sometimes wealthier / Well, I’d even follow you to Philadelphia”), but apparently is quite sincere, and it’s one of the sweetest tracks on the album. It boasts a tinkling piano, mournful guitar line, and as the song builds, a massive barrage of horns and soothing female backing vocals.

They finish with the epic, drawn out jam “You Won’t Forget Your Dreams,” which starts out thoughtful and somber, with tinkling piano, soulful harmonies and soft trumpet. The song builds, explodes, bubbles over and is brought back down to a luscious simmer. Haunting poignancy.

It’ll be interesting to see how Spottiswoode music translates in a more stripped-down presentation, without this remarkable accompaniment, though the storytelling is quite strong. He’ll be joined by MA-based Amy Correia on vocals for a few songs. She’s a powerful singer and songwriter in her own right, with a fiery blues voice that has garnered comparisons to Tom Waits, Rod Stewart, Lucinda Williams and Michelle Shocked. To hear them singing together should be pretty special.

Jonathan Spottiswoode: web | facebook | bandcamp | wikipedia
Amy Correia: web | facebook