The Seldon Plan - "Ezra Jack Keats" (mp3)
Last Saturday I went to the Hexagon to see The Seldon Plan for the first time since my friend Mat joined as their drummer last year (and since I've got a lot of personal and business connections with a member of the band I'm just posting about it here and not on the City Paper site). I'd seen a previous lineup of the band when they played with labelmates Private Eleanor a few years ago and heard one of their old EPs, but I didn't really hear the band much until Mat started working with them and they released their new album, Lost And Found And Lost, in June. Their stuff is very warm and jangly, with songs that never wear out their welcome.
The Hexagon show was kind of the end of their little tour up and down the northeast, one last hometown show in Baltimore. Not having seen the other shows, I don't know if they had gotten more road-tested and confident or if they always seem to have that much fun onstage but it was a good vibe. My favorite songs from the album, "Fire In Day's Field" and "Ezra Jack Keats," both sounded good live, particularly the latter, which closed the show as it does the album, albeit without the big backup vocal choir on the studio version. After the Seldon Plan played, I helped them load out, and stuck around for a little bit to see the next band, D.C.'s Paperhaus, who were kind of twitchy and jumpy in a way that I wish more bands were these days, and then we all went out for some awesome Korean BBQ.