I AM LOVE, THE PRETTY DITTYS, AND VITA AND THE WOOLF IN CHADDS FORD

On a chilly, late-spring Saturday night in Chadds Ford, a handful of people got together on the gorgeous property of a generous host to celebrate a graduation. The moon looked full, the spacious barn sparkled with golden strands of hung lighting, and silver-painted branches were arranged into bouquets that decorated the pillars and rafters of a glowing barn. There was barbecue chicken, fresh cherries, psychedelic-colored decorative cows, hay-bale seating, bonfires, kegs of cold beer, and not a soul with a bad thing to say. The place was buzzing with the welcoming generosity that the music scene often comes off as too hip for, and as a result, everyone I ran into had more fun than they expected, myself included. I came expecting a casual, head-nodding show and ended up in the thick of a celebration, dancing until I was soaked to some excellent, enthusiastic local acts.

The first group to hit the stage was West Chester’s I am Love. The quartet earned the Love of the crowd with its unique sound and aesthetic and was met with loud hollers between songs and sporadic outbursts of dancing. Despite a spotty PA system that made the vocals a bit difficult to make out, singer Josh Christopher dove headfirst into the performance with vigor. And, as usual, he was accompanied by a band that never fails to recognize the value of originality and experiment in sound and performance.

While spewing out an entrancing blend of Zappa-style folk, Love looked like a circus in full effect. The keyboardist donned a horse’s mask, a ruffled shirt, and assless chaps; the singer sported a mustache to complement a foot-tall top hat, and the drummer went topless under a set of suspenders. In short, the band took the character of American folklore and pushed it to its surreal extreme.

Fortunately, Love’s strange, energetic theatrics didn’t come off as a tactic to hide a lack of chops, as is often the case with less capable musicians. The psychedelic hints stroked on every musical measure, soared through a barrage of percussive accents that drove the songs along. The distinct variations in the drum patterns gave the young audience something interesting to dance to. The elegant addition of roaming keyboards and walking bass lines contributed intense hues of musical depth to a final product that was at once a bizarre and captivating take on an otherwise straightforward genre.

Many contemporary acts would benefit from sharing this group’s taste for sonic exploration. In the end, the set was a welcomed spurt of eccentricity that matched the almost otherworldly charm of the venue, and the band achieved an excellent balance between showmanship and musicianship.

Next was another West Chester ensemble, The Pretty Ditties, which included A. J. Thomas, Steve Harman, Melanie Peterson, Matthew Willoughby, and Alexander Pedrick. The Ditties’ soundcheck tantalized the audience with hints of the musical styles that were soon to come. Different tones of jazz poured from the bass and trumpet, and acoustic guitars paired with a horn recalled the beauty of Tex-Mex music. The elegance of the violin provided a fluid and elegant thread that helped hold the set together.

Fitting the big barn atmosphere, The Pretty Ditties gave the audience a chance to stomp their feet to lively originals and a few dance-worthy covers. In a beautiful display of dynamics, the music blended into a cohesive sound without muddling the idiosyncrasies of the individual members. The liberal use of the trumpet and fiddle produced a dense sonic climate, and a sturdy backdrop for the balmy two-and-three-part harmonies, back-to-barn-floor-stomping-folk-blues, and hard acoustic guitar riffs.

While handling a diverse spectrum of sound, emotion, and style, the Pretty Ditties always seemed appropriate for the setting. This, however, could be said of the evening as a whole. The crowd was a unique blend of ages and interests. Few were quite conventional, but everyone was welcoming and generous.

In a style that matched the particular tone of the evening, Vita and the Woolf closed out the festivities as they lashed the audience with a concise and unremitting set. The duo of Jen Pague and George Davis provided a bold finale with their commendable synthesis of old-school folk, high-adrenaline indie rock, and dispersed hints of rhythm and blues

The band blasted through the thirty-minute set, their songs pulsating with an aggressive percussive style that was matched by a vocal range as dexterous as it was articulate. The deep and forceful style of Pague’s vocal delivery often resembled that of R&B legend Etta James or Alabama Shakes’ lead singer Brittany Howard, and Pague’s emotional range came clear through her vocal fireworks.

The simplicity of the songs flowed with a degree of naivete that exploded each time Pague reached a poignant lyrical moment.  The yin-yang relationship between Pague and Davis was admirable. Neither overtook the other, and both remained free to show off their individual musical assets while committing to a collective sound.

In a perfect end to an evening filled with eccentric and innovative local flavor, Vita and the Woolf coolly rode the wave of adrenaline created by the other bands and sustained by the audience.  In the end, the event came to celebrate not only the graduation of the accommodating host but also the thriving menagerie of talent from the Philadelphia area.