Pop-up thunderstorms were in the forecast on July 12th all around Live at Ted’s in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. Some storms had already been popping as Wes Collins and his band members navigated their way down Interstate 40 from Chapel Hill through heavy downpours while trying to avoid hydroplaning over pockets of water pooled on the pavement.
Though delayed, they arrived in time for a brief soundcheck before the opening act, local songwriting duo Jeff Reid and John Fonvielle, entertained the sold-out room in a 45-minute set, drawing songs from their two collaborative releases as well as solo albums and other material. Reid played acoustic and electric guitars and Fonvielle exhibited a nice touch on both guitar and mandolin as they took turns at lead vocals while the other harmonized. The songs from their 2022 release, “Mainline America,” were particularly appealing and should attract new listeners to their idealized vision of the America of their youth, contrasted with an awareness acquired through aging.
After a short intermission, Collins unobtrusively appeared with his guitar on stage as his band – Scott Dameron (guitar); F.J. Ventress (bass); Barry Gray (percussion) – made final tuning adjustments. Relaying thoughts about why they were still called simply The Wes Collins Band led to words (every name they came up with had already been taken) led to action, opening with ‘Under My Fingers,’ a midtempo song about having your thought process interrupted by someone determined to engage you in a conversation. The key word in that last sentence is “engage,” for that’s an apt description of how this ex-librarian connects with an audience, though wry observations, relevant to the actual songs varying in the way some puzzle pieces fit seamlessly while others evade being interlocked until the picture is nearly formed. As he pointed out in his preface to the next song, a brand new one ironically titled ‘The Next One,’ “If you can hold on ‘til the next one, the next one’s gonna fill you up again.”
The captivating 75-minute set of folk ‘n roots music was filled with a Baker’s dozen of songs that insisted being played again while the music is burned into your auditory cortex for further enjoyment (Playing the act’s music on the way home is a sure sign the show was very good). To designate which songs from the set were highlights seems unwarranted, akin to trying to determine which cookie from the same package tastes better than the others. But if forced to choose, you couldn’t go astray by naming ‘Cocoon,’ which concerns a goodbye note (I’ll put it under your wiper blade / I guess it’ll have to do). Or ‘Jenny and James’, featuring some sleek electric guitar fills by Dameron over Collins’ melodious finger-picking. ‘Chasing Hallelujah’ has a chorus with that sing-song-y “ah-la-la-di-day” vocable that makes you feel like joining in.
As Collins and the band continued the assortment of songs from his three albums, you could sense the attention of the audience becoming tethered to the performer, hanging on every note and word. People laughed when he told the story of being asked to write a song about surfing (‘Orangeandmagenta’) or related how a librarian manages to quiet noisy people who don’t respond to being shushed, a tactic that eventually led to one of his best songs (The Quiet Part’).
Collins slowed the pace to wrap up a riveting evening of stimulating, witty and emotional music from this Carolina songwriting treasure with ‘I Love You Guys.’ You may need to dig deep to uncover a talent once buried in library stacks, but it’s evident that the lyric “You’re the only ones that get me” will not apply to Collins’ career much longer.
