On January 23, The Garden Club at Wild Heaven transformed into a darkened threshold between worlds as Club Silencio paid loving tribute to the music of David Lynch’s films and television series. Billed as a celebration of what would have been Lynch’s 80th birthday, the atmosphere ebbed and flowed with a deep knowledge of just how much this music breathes, trembles, and rumbles.
The night began with a Morphine cover dubbed Cure For Pain, which found saxophone player Ben Davis joined by bass player and vocalist David Railey, and drummer Robbie Nelson paying homage to Cambridge, Mass’ once great low rock trio. The group’s set was a well-balanced counterpart to Club Silencio, crafting an atmosphere that was both fun and foreboding while channeling Morphine’s slow-burning fusion of jazz, blues, and alternative rock in songs such as “You Look Like Rain” (featuring Matt Coleman), “Cure For Pain,” and “Honey White.”
Club Silencio drew from the haunted lullabies and skronking unease of soundtracks from films such as Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart, Inland Empire, and, of course, Twin Peaks. Vocalist Meghan Dowlen brought a commanding presence to the stage, her voice equal parts torch song and apparition, while the band—Jeffrey Bützer on guitar, TT Mahony playing keys, saxophone player Ben Davis, bass player Matt Steadman, guitarist Henry Jack, and drummer Sean Zearfoss—proved deeply fluent in Lynch’s cinematic language of mood, menace, and overdrive. “The Pink Room” and Julie Cruise’s “Rocking Back Inside My Heart” from Twin Peaks laid the ground for the band to show off some of it’s own flare while taking on the Lynchian hits: “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” from Eraserhead, Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” from Blue Velvet, and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” from “Wild At Heart.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The evening peaked for me when I was unexpectedly invited to sit down on the stage with Bützer, Davis, and Dowlen while they serenaded me with the painfully sincere “Just You” a.k.a. James’ sappy acoustic love song from Twin Peaks. It was just a few days after my birthday, and for as much trash as I talk about James’ character, the situation was hilarious. Davis nailed those exaggerated high notes with a devotion to the bit—trusting the audience to follow his lead, never spelling anything out—pushing past sincerity and into something beautifully, mischievously funny. After all, humor has always been an integral part of Lynch’s films as well.
Lynch once said that “music is a ‘magical’ tool that can convey emotions and moods faster and more directly than film.” Club Silencio understands this instinctively, and honored the notion by trusting atmosphere, feeling, and form above all else.
Check out a gallery of images from the show below. All photos by Jeff Shipman.
The setlist
“Pink Room” / “Ghosts of Love”
“In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)”
“Love Letters”
“Blue Velvet”
“I’m Waiting Here”
“That Magic Moment”
“Just you”
“Rockin’ Back Inside My Heart”
“Wiked Game”
“Into the Night”
“Song to the Siren”
“Sycamore Trees”
“Locomotion”
“In Dreams”
“Falling”
Check out more releases featuring Club Silencio’s players
If you have enjoyed reading this post, please consider donating to RadATL. Venmo to @Chad-Radford-6 or click on the PayPal link below.
Rad/ATL 