Elings Ever After 

Johnny Irion never sounds more like Neil Young, one of his main influences, than when he’s playing acoustically, as he did as the co-headliner of the second annual Local Vibes concert at Elings Park – which by the way is still a vastly underutilized facility for concerts and such. This year, thankfully, the glaring lighting behind the stage as well as the field lights were turned off about 15 minutes after they went on after dark, making for a far more comfortable experience for the fans, and a better atmosphere for acoustic Irion, whose voice evinces a sweet and innocent yet haunting quality, cutting through the simplicity of his most recent songs. Irion’s local residency – the former Montecitan now spends most of the year at his home on a farm in the Berkshires in Western Mass – winds up with a very different show, his official CD-release party for the new album Sleeping Soldiers of Love with his rockin’ West Coast band U.S. Elevator at SOhO on October 5. 

Doublewide Kings went the opposite direction from Irion, amping up and adding on for the Elings Park performance. Last year the country-classic rockers brought in the versatile local guitarist-singer Jackson Gillies as a sub for their unavailable missing lead guitarist. Gillies fit in so superbly after just a single rehearsal that they brought him back as a guest this year despite the presence of the full DWK band. All the better for the Kings’ winning take on Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, CSN&Y, John Fogerty, and other classic rockers with a harmony-filled, double lead-guitar treatment. 

Catch both the Kings and Gillies at the Avo Fest this weekend.