[Harp-L] Hazmat Modine performance at Terrablues, NYC, July 15 2006

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I attended the Hazmat Modine show at Terrablues in NYC on July 15, 2006. 
 This is a brief report on that performance.  I'll bottom-line it here: 
it was a great show, lots of fun, and a bit surprising.

The sound of the band was both great and surprising. The band's 
instrumentation is certainly unusual by modern standards; bass chores, 
for example, were handled by a sousaphone, a close relative to the tuba. 
 You have not heard reggae -- one of the styles played by the band that 
night -- until you hear it with a sousaphone playing the bass parts and 
two harmonicas plus saxophone in the horn section. The overall sound was 
 powerful and punchy without being overwhelmed by electric bass and 
drums, as most modern bands tend to be over club PA systems.

Wade Schuman's lead harmonica tended to come in two flavors: acoustic 
(i.e. played through an open vocal mic into the PA, often for a solo 
harmonica piece) and amped, i.e. played through a handheld Electrovoice 
RE-10 (RE-15?) mic, into an Electroharmonix POG (Programmable Octave 
Generator), into a vintage Fender Bassman amp. I like to hear lead harp 
loud, and this setup was extremely powerful, rich, and deep. I would 
have liked to hear chromatic harmonica player Randy Weinstein coming 
through the PA a bit louder than I did -- as it was, the lead harp was 
much louder than the second harp, and Randy's solos seemed a little weak 
by comparison.  When I did hear him clearly, I liked what I heard.  Wade 
handled most of the vocals, and his singing was powerful and convincing. 
   (Wade mentioned to me that in his opinion no one who doesn't sing 
well ever connects with a mass audience, with which point I tend to 
agree, Kenny G notwithstanding.)

The band played two sets that included swing, klezmer-ish stuff, funk, 
blues, and reggae.  Both sets opened with a harmonica solo by Wade, one 
apparently on a Natural Minor tuned harp.  There was a lot of soloing 
from all hands (except the drummer -- I don't think I heard a single 
drum solo), and the solos in general were well received by the audience, 
which was a full house. I noticed a lot of people in the crowd moving to 
the music, always a good sign.

I sat in on a few numbers, including a funk piece on which Randy played 
sheng (a chinese free-reed instrument), a swing piece with Honeysuckle 
Rose changes, and a blues.  All great fun, and it was a real blast to be 
one of three harmonica players on the stage.

I could describe the music in greater detail, but I'll just say here 
that the band's CD, "Bahumet," accurately represents their unique and 
harmonica-laden sound. You can hear full-length mp3s and buy the CD at 
the band's website at www.hazmatmodine.com. The band is on vacation 
through the summer, so this is the only way to hear them between now and 
then.

There aren't a lot of bands out there that use harmonica in a new and 
compelling way. This is one of the few, and harmonica players in 
particular should make a point of at least checking out the mp3s, which 
are free for the listening.  As with all music that is unique, it's hard 
to describe accurately in words what it's all about -- as Billy Joel 
said, "there's a new band in town, but you can't get the sound or the 
story from a magazine."  So I will let the band's recordings do the 
talking from here on, and close with a recommendation that anyone who 
has the opportunity to attend a live performance by this band should do so.

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com