jamescuarterodotcom

it was an unexpected yet ultimately very cool experience last night in of all places, sicklerville nj. monica and i had gone to see denison witmer begin his spring tour at a venue called rockwell’s. i know - it sounds like the name of a sports bar, but it turned out to be the youth center across the street from the sicklerville methodist church.

the crowd was much, much younger than even your normal DIY show. i mean, i may have had twenty years on some of these kids. after paying and getting my hand stamped, i noticed that monica hadn’t followed me in. i turned around to see her excitedly chatting it up with a girl on the steps. i thought, great, now she’s going to be exchanging sewing tips and myspace comments with a minor.

it turns out it was monica’s friend kim from our high school. to make a long story short, she and her husband mike run shows under the rockwell’s banner. actually, ‘run shows’ is an understatement. in addition to renovating the youth center, they book and promote together, mike handles sound, kim cooks enough food for everyone (vegetarian dishes, pasta, baked goods, you name it), giving these kids an incredibly positive and inclusive environment in which to enjoy great music without being preached to by adults. in fact, at times the adults enjoy the shows even more than the kids!

kim told us that most of the time they put on hardcore shows but tonight was an exception. out of all the times i’ve seen denison witmer, this may have been the coolest. surrounded by a packed room of floor-seated, enthusiastic teens, pre-teens and parents (there may have been eight hipsters in the room total, and that includes us, randy & steve), he played a set that was heavy with selections from philadelphia songs while we ate tofu and brownies off of styrofoam plates. all the while, kids were clapping along, goofing around, giggling and just… being kids. how awesome is that?

i probably mentioned this the last time i reviewed a show of his but denison is the real deal when it comes to singer-songwriters. the quality of his songs and playing is consistently high, no matter if he’s in front of 50 people or several hundred. he just never plays badly. and while his quiet yet dry sense of humor (’i was very close to being asked to spend the next few weeks opening for switchfoot… that is the worst combination: three thousand people a night versus one small man with an acoustic guitar.’) may have been lost on the crowd at times, it was definitely appreciated. john millenen joined him for two songs from are you a dreamer? and they came off as the most affecting songs of the night. i’ve always thought that the best shows are the ones that have moments that make you feel human; this was definitely one of them. check out denisonwitmer.com for the rest of his tour dates and make sure to catch him when he comes to your town. (in fact, denison witmer plays tuesday april 4 at bright hall on temple university’s ambler campus with the mighty pattern is movement.)