Saturday, July 12, 2008

Robert Schneider @ Morris Book Shop (Lexington, KY)

You Ain't No Picasso and some local Kentucky publications alerted me to a little solo, in-store set from Apples in Stereo leader Robert Schneider today in Lexington, my place of birth. The Morris Book Shop was having its big opening, complete with heavily iced cupcakes, cinnamon cookies, a massive bowl of colored goldfish crackers, tubs of Coke and Ale-8-One (a local ginger drink delicacy), and, natch, indie rock.

Quite the family affair, and Schneider seemed more than willing to oblige the soft-drink-sipping tikes with a loose set that included songs about lost ducks, dogs finding a way home, liking vegetables, and the usual Newton-for-Dummies that peppers the Apples catalog. That's not a complaint -- Schneider and his band have carved a large niche in my personal record collection doing just that, albeit with plenty of psych flourishes and double-backbeats. He was pretty engaging and goofy, waving hi to all the kids and trying to explain what "Tin Pan Alley" was about in terms they might understand.

He also did a fair number of Apples' classics, including a spare "Strawberryfire" (surprise there), and closed with a flurry of tunes from their last proper full-length, New Magnetic Wonder: "Skyway", "7 Stars", "Sun is Out", and "Energy". He also even broke one out from his underrated Ulysses project, "Evening Star".

Apparently the rest of the Apples arrive in the Bluegrass tomorrow to prepare for their upcoming jaunt. They won't be hitting DC, but they do have a number of other dates around the country, many with fellow Lexingtonians Big Fresh. Check them out.

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