Lennie Watts – Escape
Deadpan, arms at his sides, Lennie Watts opens tonight with his rock n’roll-at–the-barricades version of “We Gotta Get Outa This Place” (Cynthia Weill/ BarryMann) chased by a balmy “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”(John Lennon/ Paul McCartney) – listen for Ted Stafford’s mandolin! “Everybody’s running from something” he tells us listing the mundane, then, “a clown with a bloody knife”- beat- “just me? But people are also running to something.”
Watts manages to swagger standing still, most often hurtling lyrics as if unassuaged. Notes spike and erupt, slide and climb. “I want to be lazy/Like the dogs in the yard/Why can’t I fly tonight?/Why can’t I sleep all morning?…(“Dogs in the Yard” – Paul McCrane) “Gonna have a good time” he sings with unmistakable determination. Ever charting his own course, content is eclectic.
Lennie Watts, Michael Holland, Matt Scharglass, Ted Stafford
“Teenage Dream” (Katy Perry/Dr. Luke/Max Martin/Bonnie McKee) offers appealing back-up harmony. “Let’s go all the way tonight/No regrets, just love…” Watts de-escalates. Is that wistfulness I hear? “Fragile” (Sting) and “The Show Must Go On” (Queen) are also lighter. Layers emerge like stop-time photography. Michael Holland’s guitar is pristine. The pairing haunts.
“Someone Else’s Clothes” pulses cool. You’d never guess it’s a Jason Robert Brown song. “I’m wearing someone else’s clothes and looking better/I’m eating someone else’s lunch and it’s delicious…You got a mopey coat? (Take it off) You got grouchy trousers? (Take ‘em off)… Watts creates a scenario of change. Musically challenging, intention arrives seamless and with vigor suiting the performer’s droll humor. A rendition of Pete Townsend’s “Pinball Wizard” follows rocketing from the diaphragm. Watts is audibly gleeful – though still not smiling.
“Face Your Fears” (Adam Schlesinger/Jack Dolgen/Rachel Bloom/Sono Patel) bounces in like a hoedown with rousing lyrics. “Play in the street- a busy street/If you’re scared of bees- get stung!” “The struggle is real,” Watts remarks. “For some, fear breaks down to Face Everything, And Recover. For me, it’s face everything under the covers…or, if the wind is right, you can always sail away.”
“I’d Rather Be Sailing” (William Finn) is simply lovely; low key, and credible. Folksy guitar provides waves on which to gently bob. Matt Scharglass’ Bowed bass acts like ballast. “If music be the food of love, play on. Music is an escape.” “Killing Me Softly” (Charles Fox/Norman Gimbel) is downy flannel; no fuss, no embellishment and truer for it. Bass comes in as if responding to guitars.
Michael Holland, Matt Scharglass, Lennie Watts, Ted Stafford
“Come Alive” (Benj Pasek/Justin Paul) “A- liiive…no more living in the shadows…” goes back to geyser mode. An a capella parenthesis of Watts, Holland and Stafford conflagrates. The audience spontaneously claps in time. It’s joyful and frankly unexpected. John Mayer’s “Stop This Train” emerges a weary plea. Watts’ hands float to his chest. A step back from the sentiments of its predecessor, the song may indicate best intentions flag.
Direction seems to consist of moving the artist from piano top to stool to center stage. Patter is as minimal as gestures (Watt’s style), a few short poems and quotes, a spritz of sarcasm. I can’t help wishing the performer showed more emotion drawing us in.
Lennie Watts’ Escape is pot-stirring and crackling fresh. The artist faces material head on. Phrasing feels as organic as it is insistent. Absence of piano is never felt. Superb musicians playing Michael Holland’s vibrant arrangements (with him) more than satisfy. Go. Have a good time – dark thoughts and all.
Photos by Michael Barbieri
Lennie Watts – Escape
Directed by Kristine Zbornik
Michael Holland – MD/guitar/vocals
Ted Stafford – guitar/mandolin/vocals
Matt Scharglass – bass
The show repeats on October 27 at 7:00
Don’t Tell Mama
343 West 46th Street
