The Milk Carton Kids

Concert

Paradise Rock Club
Boston University area, Boston, MA

The two guys who make up The Milk Carton Kids – Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan – were a real standout in Another Day, Another Time. The purity of their harmonies, the deftness of their guitar work and the seamlessness of the interaction of their two guitars, the only instruments they use, were immediately evident in the film.

Not long after seeing Inside Llewyn Davis and Another Day, Another Time, I heard that The Milk Carton Kids were playing in Boston and immediately got tickets. I’m very glad that I did.

Their show at the Paradise was as adept and tight as their vignette in the film, exhibiting not only superb vocal harmonies and integrated guitars, but also an additional degree of improvisation, particularly on the part of Kenneth Pattengale, who seems able to work his way out of and back into the harmonic framework with incredibly facility. He takes chances, which makes the music exciting, and the audience roared in appreciation as he found his way back from his various harmonic adventures to the tonal fold. It happened numerous times and it was great to hear this adventurousness, particularly in the context of folk music, which often tends to be somewhat less improvisational in that regard.

Joey Ryan is a real comedian, a low-delivery, deadpan type, who can draw a laugh instantly. He doesn’t seem to work at it very hard – it just comes naturally – and offers a nice buffer in the midst of the songs. Clearly, he is the support person in guitar work, allowing Kenneth Pattengale to do his quite miraculous viruoso thing. Together, they form a truly lovely duo, both vocally and instrumentally. It’s great to see such talent and musical expertise developing in the younger part of the folk world – they are both in their early 30s – and it will be interesting to see how they evolve.

The long set included some of their catchy numbers from Another Day, Another Time including notably Undress the World, with lyrical vocals and a gently driving beat. There were also some new ones; apparently, they are rehearsing, trying out, and recording new songs during their tour, further indication of their dynamism and energy.

Their friend Brian Wright opened the set with a tight and appealing series of songs. He is an adept guitarist and has a beautiful, rugged voice. Hovering a bit between the folk and the country worlds, apparently he and The Milk Carton Kids had become friendly in Los Angeles before his recent move to Nashville to return to his geographic and musical roots.

The Paradise is one of those clubs without chairs where one stands through an entire concert. It’s not really so well suited to this kind of quieter folk thing, since dancing is not really part of it. It was indeed great to hear these guys, but next time I would prefer to listen to them from a more relaxed perch.

– BADMan