House Concert Series
There's no place like home for a concert.
by AE Sadler - DigitalCity.com
Anyone frustrated with crowded clubs or simply yearning for a sense of community now has a
new place to call home. Home it truly is, especially for local poet Lizzie Wann who lives
there. About every six weeks, she generously opens her doors to music lovers for live
acoustic concerts. Staged in her living room with space enough for approximately 30
people, the Meeting Grace Concert series undoubtedly qualifies as the closest encounter of
a musical kind an audience can have in San Diego. Since its inception in early 2000, the
series has included local favorites Gregory Page, Dave Howard, Lisa Sanders and Eve Selis
in addition to out-of-towners who sometimes find not only a stage but a place to sleep as
well. Homemade cookies, tea and coffee make the experience homier still.
Bringing It All Back Home
'Meeting Grace' Puts the Local in Local Music
by Troy Johnson - SLAMM Magazine
I drive through Golden Hill's center, the downtown lights like a faint swarm of moths to
the west. Navigating the residential neighborhood in the newly dark night, past yard toys
and one resident lounging on her porch by candlelight, I spot the house I'm searching for,
marked by a painted banner hanging over the porch. Quickly finding a parking spot, I greet
another visitor and together we head for the front door.
No, it isn't my nephew's birthday; not even a kegger. My invitation
reads, "The spirits of Woody Guthrie, Gram Parsons, and Jeff Buckley; the friendship
and encouragement between many singer-songwriters like Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris
or Jackson Browne and Kris Kristofferson; the essence of a good old-fashioned get
together; the sparkling truths that are revealed in music."
It's a concert -- one without lines, bouncers, or stalls in the
bathrooms. The venue is someone's home and, from now on, every six weeks, it is musical.
House concerts have a long history, particularly throughout Texas
and the Midwest. Frustrated by the distance traditional venues put between artists and
their audiences, these concerts sought to bring the music back to places where artist and
listener shared the same few feet of floor space. Almost all of the concerts are acoustic,
focusing on the long-ignored art of the singer/songwriter -- it's a genre that, by its
bare-naked nature, begs this sort of closeness.
Compared to the usual venues, the appeal of a house concert isn't
difficult to see. It's the industrial paper dispenser vs. the terrycloth bathroom towel,
the concession stand vs. the kitchen counter, the donation jar vs. TicketMaster. Seems
pretty romantic, no? Yes, and that's what the organizers intend -- to recapture the
palpable connection between the music maker and the music lover.
The house concert works by word of mouth and, nowadays, by e-mail.
Hosts often have room for anywhere from 20 to 200 people. Seating is done on a
reservation-only basis, so as not to confuse the house with a "public-servicing
business" and invite tax auditors and the sort. Musicians are booked, the mailing
list is notified, and the seats are filled quickly. There's usually a minimal donation for
the musicians (usually between $10 and $15) and the host either provides food or asks
guests to bring pot luck fare.
A makeshift stage is set in the living room (or wherever there's
room) and no amplifiers are used. Stage lighting is often a pair of $2 clamp lamps from
the local hardware store with multi-colored PVC tape covering each for effect, hung from
bookshelves or curtain rods. It's a 'my-old-man's-got-a-killer-set-of-tools' kind of
musical production, shockingly more human than the commercial entity we know as
"concerts" could ever be.
Lizzy Wann is a San Diego poet and a long-time conspirator in
developing the local music scene. After years of forming friendships and following local
songwriters, she's decided to open her home as an alternative venue for the new concert
series, 'Meeting Grace.' Beginning with the opening show, featuring local gurus Berkley
Hart, Gregory Page, Frank Drennen, and Cindy Wasserman, 'Meeting Grace' immediately made
the San Diego music scene a touch more intimate.
Wann says that everyone who walks into the old home falls in love
with it -- she turned to music to add to its intoxication. "I think the house demands
a certain respect," she says admiringly. "I just wanted to enhance the house and
I wanted it to be comfortable, where people didn't feel pressured to have to mingle. I
wanted them to know that they were welcome there and they could have coffee or cookies, or
whatever -- just relax and hear a great show."
On the encouragement of her friend Jeff Berkley (who helped Wann
move into her current residence), she took advantage of the natural acoustics of her old
Craftsman home. The day of the concert, she rearranged the furniture, swept the hardwood
floors, and hung a bedsheet over the window on the front door to deter late-comers from
trying to barge in through the "backstage area.'
"The appeal of it for me is to keep it pure and kind of
makeshift," she says. "All the chairs I had were donated by neighbors. [For
performers], it has to be no more than three people at one time. Preferably no amps or
microphones -- you just don't need them. It appeals to people like us who are into the
music and want to hear it straight, without the stuff they can do in the studios."
Before finally deciding to commit, Wann handed out questionnaires at
public songwriter venues like the Olde Soud inquiring whether fans there would attend such
an event. The response was small in number but heavily positive. After that, she went by
intuition.
"I just had this feeling, because I know so many musicians and
I knew what kind of atmosphere I wanted it to be, what kind of vibe I wanted it to be, and
I was just confident that I could do that."
Local singer/songwriter Dave Howard built her a Website to promote "Meeting Grace,'
and she set up a hotline for people to call for reservations. Finally, she sent a press
release to her list of old poetry contacts and friends. From there, like all house
concerts, the series depended on word of mouth and word of e-mail.
Wann seemed a bit nervous the first night, but enthusiastic and friendly. With folding
chairs filled by 40 friends and new acquaintances, the musicians sat feet away and -- out
of necessity -- engaged the crowd on a level to which we were unaccustomed. There were
some bad jokes. Some good ones. Revealing stories. Good-natured ribbing between longtime
musical pals. And music -- straight from the fingers, to the back of the guitar, to the
ears.
As the show wrapped up and the assorted home-baked goods dwindled,
Drennan and Wasserman headed to the spare bedroom to nod off before Wasserman's return to
L.A. in the morning. That's another aspect of the house concert -- traveling musicians
often get a much-needed night of home cooking and a place to stay that doesn't charge a
nightly rate.
As for Wann, she gets to enjoy the satisfaction of her contribution
to the music scene and to postulate on the possibilities for the future. "There's so
many opportunities that could stem from it. . . you could mix it with an art show, you
could put poetry in it, whatever. The main reason I got into it in the first place was to
get musicians to come to San Diego and have a place to play."
Eve Selis goes acoustic at "Meeting Grace" on April 27. To
reserve a spot in Lizzie Wann's living room for the show, call (619) 525-7967 or visit
www.meetinggrace.com
