December 13, 2003 - TheCalvin Theatre - Northampton, MA - with: Martin Sexton
Henning says: So, yeah, I played this show on Saturday. I came in through the back door and walked directly out on to the huge stage. I could see a few people milling around way back by the sound board and Martin Sexton's guitar was set up on the stage near a couple microphones. It was 6:00, that's when they asked me to show up. So, I stood around for a couple of minutes and them met the Calvin stage manager, David. He told me that Martin hadn't sound checked yet and I had some time and pointed out the way to the dressing rooms. I'd been backstage at the Calvin once before, when The Aloha Steamtrain played in a multi-band holiday fund raiser so I kind of knew the way. The dressing rooms and artist lounge are directly below the stage. I went down there and met Martin and crew, which included his two daughters who were making "concoctions" out of the snacks that were set out. I went back to my dressing room and sat down in a chair that was facing a huge mirror and was next to another huge mirror. I had time to kill, but I had nothing to kill it with. The room was completely bare except for the mirrors. So I just sat there and made faces for a while. Then I went back up to the stage and paced a round a little. I talked to some people about merchandising and walked all around the theatre, looking down from the balcony, walking up and down the stairs. Eventually, Martin did his soundcheck and it was my turn. I was happy to see Jim doing sound. I know Jim somewhat from the Iron Horse and it was nice to have someone there that had a familiar face. We did my soundcheck, which involved some sticking my fingers in my ears while squelches of high pitched noise screamed out from the monitors. Nothing too bad. Once it was all set it sounded great on stage. The trails of echoes that bounced back from the theater made my voice feel bigger and more powerful than usual. It was cool. Once my sound check was over, I had nothing to do but wait. So I waited. It seemed like forever. I sat in the barren dressing room for a while, I paced around back stage for a while. I wasn't super nervous, I just had nothing to do. I was anxious. I was worried that I was going to get nervous. Jim had told me that they expected between 7 and 8 hundred people. I have played to more than that before at Transperformance, but that's a whole different thing. Besides the fact that I was going to be playing completely alone, the people were just going to be sitting there and watching. At Transperformance, there are a lot of distractions for the audience. This is just a dark room and a spotlight. So I was nervous about being nervous. Finally it was 8:00 and it was time to start. Eric Suher asked me how I wanted to be introduced. I told him my name and that I had a band called School for the Dead. He seemed a little hesitant on pronouncing Ohlenbusch and I said he could just call me Henning. He said that he thought that's how most people knew me anyway, but then when he actually did introduce me, he said Ohlenbusch perfectly. That's why he makes the big bucks. I walked out on the stage and immediately started warming up in the spotlight (It was freeeeeezing back stage). I started 1,000 Times and, once I began singing, everything felt great. I could only see the three people directly in front of the stage. The rest of the room was blackness beneath the bright lights shining on me. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. A few times I started to marvel at how comfortable I felt and then had to remind myself to pay attention to what I was doing. Then I would say, "Ok" and then I would think, "You don't have to answer me, you ARE me. Just try to listen to the words you are singing and concentrate on what your fingers are doing." Then I would say, "Ok." It went on like that for a little while. I cracked a few jokes and the laughter from the crowd was really satisfying and there were a few points where I stopped the music short and I could here my voice reverberate through the big room. That was great. I had been planning to play for a half an hour (that's what I was originally told) but about 15 minutes before going on, the stage manager told me that he was told I would be playing for 20 minutes. So, I did 7 songs, I think. It felt like an ok length. Sure I would have loved to have stayed on stage longer, but, I felt like it was enough to get across who I was to the people there. Yee. All done. It's good to know that I can play to a room that size and not be nervous or fall flat. Next stop, Sitting Next To Brian, tonight at Harry's. See you there. Tony Says: "I'm this evening's opening act. That means it's my job to enterain you while you're waiting for me to get off the stage." (Audience laughs) "So, I have two more songs to play and then we can get the show started." It's the second coming of Tom Lehrer. Awesome. From where I was sitting (Row O, Seat 16), Henning still looked pretty damn tall. And it was a wonderful performance. It was a brief set and I paid an excessive amount to see it (considering I wasn't at all interested in Martin Sexton, who certainly provided a fan's value, with a show that lasted about 2 1/2 hours) and I was bummed that he chose to end with Omnivore in place of Photobooth Curtain but I'm glad I went after all. Aside from Henning's set (1,000 Times/ One Lady/ Day Job/ Campground Daughter/ Uncomfortable/ Omnivore), the real treat for me was eavesdropping on the audience's reactions. It was certainly nervewracking to have to deal with swarms of people constantly walking up and down the aisles, still being seated through the set and people continuing to gab as well; nonetheless, I did get some interesting feedback. A baseball-capped Umass boy who had his arm around his girlfriend the entire time and excitedly whispered guitar-tech ephemera to her (what guitars Sexton uses mostly) chuckled when Henning mentioned the Huffy in Omnivore. The cold halt of guitar in the middle of Omnivore brought the yapping, ambling and twitching of the patrons to an abrupt stop for at least a second and seemed to net a good amount of them to pay attention to the performance onstage. Pity it was the last song. Before I continue, let me first apologize to the nice couple behind me last night, should they happen upon this website, see my picture in the band photo section and then read this account. At first, I simply noticed phrases of their conversation after Henning finished. I heard "good songs" from the woman, then "VERY good songs" from the man. She went on to praise Henning's stage presence and remark that she enjoyed the modesty of his banter. The man was in awe of Henning's "opener" line, claiming it was the best thing he'd ever heard an opener proclaim about their experience. He also mentioned that he appreciated the "jazz vocabulary in is chords" and then promptly headed to the foyer to buy a CD. When he returned and the two glanced at the cover and insert ("Rub Wrongways Studio???"), that was when I stepped in. And I guess I did this just to see if I could get to hear more of what they thought, maybe also probe into what they didn't like about Henning (the only negative thing said thus far was that they felt the guitar "sound" was thin, that it lacked any sort of deep resonance, which was pretty accurate, actually). Anyway, I introduced myself as someone who merely knew Henning and liked his band. And then as the conversation unfolded, it felt way too awkward to drop the coy deceit and admit that I play in School For The Dead and that Henning is actually my son. Anyway, my plan backfired. Because now I wasn't so much getting to ear an honest critique as I was merely answering questions about Henning, his band, his age, his musical training, where he normally plays, etc. Mind you, I was more than happy to answer all theee questions and the fact that they were asking so many meant they were truly interested in checking him out further but it was awkward referring to the band in the third person and answering questions vaguely- like when the new album will be completed. As an insider, of course, I know that the new SFTD album will be released on January 22, 2004. But it was my own stupid fault for trying to pretend I was somebody different. The new you. Anyway, the Sexton show was enjoyable. He's still not an artist that I can say I really get something out of and I've no inclination to pick up a CD or see him again, but it was a fine way to spend a Saturday evening. Probably the best part of the experience is that his songs tended to run long, and were full of wordless singing and dramatic open-tuning swoops and plenty of snazzy, impressive gutiar chicanery. He has a masterful command of a large range in his voice and the presentation of guitar and vocals together are so confident and assured that you can't help but be wowed. That said, his lyrics for the most part had no impact whatsoever- they were there to fill out the rhythms of the melodies he sang- and the actual songs were not the kinds of things that stick in the memory. Certainly, nobody else could cover them. In other words, it wasn't about melody, hooks and lyrics, it was all about texture and mystique. The singer, not the song. I did very much enjoy the eclecticism he brings to his set. Coffeehouse folk laments were followed by snappy jazzy boogies, which could incorporate the use of a guitar as a beatbox or a suave scat interlude. I enjoyed the show most when my mind would wander to all sorts of things (from work left to do on the SFTD album to how nice it would be to slide into a warm bed after the icy walk home to memories of playing Little League baseball) with the music swirling away in the background. Brian says: I'm here to say that I witnessed Henning on the big, big stage, just the guy, his guitar, a spotlight and his voice ringing out through the grand room. He was smooth, confident and funny. The most surreal bit: hearing a typical Henning quip being followed not by a few guffaws, but by 500 laughing mouths. Where was I? The Seinfeld show? People seemed to recognize "One Lady Dancing", thanks to the River. El Bezo and I were like proud parents. We were dead center, about 15 rows back. I "yee"d a couple times. Then I went and rocked with the Spoils. Now I'm going to NYC to try and find a potential wife. I hope she's in better shape than Saddam.	No pictures. Sorry