Half-Handed Cloud, Lake and a Sunday afternoon in the park
Story by Matthew Ralph, photos by Michael Ralph

There are few things in life better than a warm (but not too warm) Sunday afternoon spent in the park. Add in the love of your life, a free show with the likes of Half-Handed Cloud and the Olympia, Wash. band Lake and a potluck lunch and you get the kind of bliss I experienced on a recent Sunday.

Seeing Half-handed Cloud alone is enough of a treat. It’s no secret the Berkeley, California-based John Ringhofer project has been a favorite of mine since he started making regular treks around the country in 2001. Seeing Mr. Ringhofer live, in various incarnations depending on his tour partners, is almost always an experience that transcends the typical things a rock critic might look for in a good performance. It could even be said that Half-handed Cloud’s lo-fi stylings at times translate better on CD, but that doesn’t mean the positive vibes John brings with him wherever he goes are any less of an experience in person.

An afternoon show at the Lexington Art League—a castle-looking building in a park in downtown Lexington, Ky.—further proved this point.

Not even a suspect sound system and a group of people talking loudly through John’s short set (his sets are always short) could take away from the sheer entertainment of the songs, brought to life by acoustic guitar, trombone, bass, percussion and various key instruments. The small crowd ranging in age from six months old to 60 mostly sitting in the grass (except for the loud talking posse) seemed content to soak in the music as an added bonus to a beautiful afternoon.

When they were playing their own material, two-fifths of the band Lake (with John, the honorary sixth member, lending a hand) were just as entertaining, mellow enough to not hurt the developing ears of the youngsters but keyboard beat-heavy enough to encourage head bobbing (they jokingly referenced themselves early in the set as a head banger band) over cat napping.

John, Eli and Ashley’s visit to Lexington was a short one, but their music coupled with the food and Sunday afternoon lounging in the blue grass of Kentucky made for a show much more memorable than one any beer bottle-clanging club environment could ever replicate.

posted [05.06.08]

©2002-2008 White Elephant Productions