Milk Carton Kids Revue – Largo

Los Angeles – Lost in the noise of pop, top 40, or whatever indie group happens to be hot at the moment, the quiet harmonies of Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale persevere. Folk/Americana doesn’t get a lot of mileage in the mainstream these days, but it doesn’t matter much. The genre stands as a timeless one in a land where fads wear out and audiences are swimming with options. Though the oft-used comparisons to Simon & Garfunkel or the Everly Brothers ring true, The Milk Carton Kids isn’t looking so much to reinvent a sound, but rather carry on a tradition.

Ryan and Pattengale stand face to face on stage. A shared mic between them and their respective vintage guitars in hand, TMCK have a parade of friends they can’t wait to introduce. Tonight the guys are taking a backseat to the evening’s guests. It’s the second iteration of The Milk Carton Kids Revue where the pair plays the supporting role and the rotating casts of musicians soak up the limelight. For those not in the know, Ryan was quick to offer a tongue-in-cheek apology to those hoping for more original material.

Opening with the beautifully poignant guitar interplay of “Promised Land” then seguing into the rustic roots of “Snake Eyes” the duo’s strength lies in the minimalistic nature of their arrangements. It’s how they can still dole out such emotive pieces is what truly amazes. This went double for “Years Gone By” where Ryan quipped, “A lot of songs we wrote are about coming of age…now, we’re just aging.”

While Old Crow Medicine Show alum, Willie Watson, really got the evening underway with his stompy rendition of the gospel standard “Drinking of the Wine” it was Leslie Stevens’ heartbreaking cover of Jimmy Work’s “Making Believe” that really cemented itself as the evening’s best. The vocal assist from Pattengale just drove the melancholy home.

The evening never strayed far from TMCK’s folksy expertise. Whether it was backing Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith from Dawes adding their coupled harmony to ”My Way Back Home” or running down “I’ve Been All Around This World” with new friend/lead in the upcoming Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis, Oscar Isaac, the pair operated well within their element.

As the two-hour revue wound down, the somber TMCK tune entitled, “Michigan” kicked off the two-song encore. So as not to end on a bummer it was the countrified hoedown version of traditional folk song, “Midnight Special” that brought all the night’s contributors on stage. Led by Watson, the free-for-all jam ended the evening on a collaborative note, which is what the night was all about in the first place and if tonight is any indication, they may have to have another revue sooner rather than later.

About
Latest Posts

Ian Joulain

Somewhere between Sublime’s 40oz. to Freedom and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic something clicked inside a young Ian Joulain’s mind. His love for music had taken root and the only way to satiate this newfound passion was mass consumption of any and all genres. While gravitating toward punk rock, hip-hop, and jazz he discovered his distaste for pop-country, but blames that mostly on the excess of tractor and NASCAR mentions in the genre’s lyrics. That said, Joulain has never met a drink that was too stiff or a beach that he didn't like. He hopes to one day hug a koala and would love to ask Greg Ginn why he’s such a dick.