On Friday night, a warm and welcoming crowd filled the Lizard Lounge’s intimate basement room for a homecoming concert of sorts for former Cambridge singer/songwriter (and current Brooklyn resident) Jason Myles Goss. Goss performed with his 4-piece band in a show that also featured local supporting acts Dietrich Strause and Beth Colegrove.
Colegrove kicked off the night, and despite her admission that she was still recovering from bronchitis, she managed to subdue the crowd with her bubbly voice and confessional, intimate songwriting style. Standouts included the upbeat tune “Yellow Canary” and a delicately picked rendition of Leonard Cohen’s break up ode “Hotel Chelsea #2”.
After a short break during which the crowd continued to swell, singer/songwriter Dietrich Strause proved himself a rising local star by bringing the boisterous crowd to a hush with his opener, the understated ballad “Susquehanna” from his debut album. He just as quickly brought the crowd back to life with “Nuns With Guns," a foot stomper featuring nimble finger picking and pointed social commentary ("Are we swimming for the next war / or treading for our lives?"). Several upbeat numbers followed, including a two-step take on Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of Rain," and alternated with more intimate ballads that showcased Strause’s excellent guitar playing and smooth, straightforward vocal delivery. The highlight of the set was a track from Strause’s forthcoming second album, a driving bluesy number called “Brickyard,” which was intercut with a completely acoustic rendition of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” that again brought a noisy crowd to dead silence for nearly the entire song – an impressive feat for a Friday night at the Lizard Lounge.
Finally, headliner Jason Myles Goss took the stage with his roots rock outfit. The bass player rocked one of the best handlebar moustaches I have seen in a while, a fact which led my companion to comment, “With a moustache like that you know these guys will be legit.” Sure enough, Goss’s anthemic and energetic songs were catchy and memorable from the very first listen. The band was tight and well balanced, giving Goss plenty of breathing room for his mellow and well worn vocals to drive hook-filled tunes like “Come Back To Me” and “Heavy." Each of his bite sized portraits of city life went down smooth with just enough grit and emotion to keep the audience enthusiastically riding along, so that by the time the crowd starting shuffling out after 1 AM, it felt more like breaking up a party among friends than ending a show.
– Patrick Coman