:: Bob Schneider ::
:: Soiled Dove Underground ::
:: February 25 ::
By Chibo Acevedo
Seeing Bob Schneider’s latest performance made this writer homesick for Austin, TX. Schneider is an Austin staple who has been performing in that area for damn near, if not more than, two decades. He’s lead a number of acts over the years including Joe Rockhead, Ugly Americans, Lonelyland, and The Scabs, among others.
Currently, Bob is touring solo in support of his latest release A Perfect Day. I happened to catch his Feb 25th Denver Soiled Dove Underground show and it was quite a ride. Schneider performed around 20 of his tunes, a few from the new record, and some old favorites. Even though he was mostly playing acoustic guitar and singing, he incorporated a small synthesizer, and a loop station to create drum loops, rhythm guitar loops, and even some vocal loops. This lends itself to a big sound coming from only one person. His sound as a solo artist ranges from a sensitive balladeer to a soulful folky, and back around to a “Whitey Ford” sounding MC. He has a powerful voice and a mind for vast lyrical prose, which can be utterly painful, or downright hilarious.
He came out and began playing a very light and soft number, seemingly leaving pauses to monitor the audience’s attention level. By the end of it, one could hear a pin drop in the packed venue. The rest of the evening was filled with much laughter, lots of banter with the audience, and some really great original music. In my notes I have written: “Quite possibly, the best solo show I have ever seen.” If I said it, I must’ve meant it … quite possibly, that is. Regardless, this was a four-star performance.
In regard to Bob Schneider’s new release A Perfefct Day, I had a chance to peruse the tracks online, and wanna tell y’all its a solid pop feel-good record that I believe will bring much joy to his fans, old and new.
