 |
The Philadelphia-born actor, who has appeared in such films as Apollo 13, Sleepers and Wild Things, has a voice of character, able to reach gritty lows, harmonious beauty and falsetto fun. He is an adept guitar player and adept frontman, chatting up a song or the audience without resorting to cheesy rockspeak or antics. Famous or not, this guy would have a record deal.
Taking to the stage at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern with brother Michael, an accomplished musician whose songs have been covered by Jerry Lee Lewis, Carlene Carter and Perry Como and who now scores films like The Johnstown Flood and A Time For Justice, The Bacon Brothers, as they call themselves, put on a rollicking show with roots-based material remiscent at times of Van Morrison or Canada's own Blue Rodeo.
After performing a full set earlier in the night, the brothers, along with an impeccable five-piece band, plowed through another full set with equal enthusiasm. Starting acoustically with just Kevin and Michael onstage with their guitars, they sung "Here Comes The Rain" in unison -- beautifully.
"This town stays up late," Kevin comments. "It's rough for a couple of working guys and fathers. By this time, we're been sleeping for five or six hours."
"You only need four," came the reply from the crowd.
"Oh, you Canadians are a hearty stock," Kevin quipped back."
"Before I was a struggling singer-songwriter, I was an actor," he jokes, before introducing the next song. "Before I was an actor, I was a waiter. This is about the job I had before I was a waiter."
"Busboy" is a 50s-styled number, and Kevin's vocals are almost Elvis-like. He leaps in the air, a la Pete Townshend, to cap it off and laughs at his own Spinal Tap-ian nerve. "That was a really nice jump," says Michael.
"I'm about 14 days away from giving up that jump -- when I turn 40," explains Kevin, who, dressed in black pants and a crisp, white shirt, sleeves slightly rolled, looks more 25 than the big 4-0.
"No, you can jump after 40," assures Michael.
"Babies Are Born Happy", from The Bacon Brothers brand new album, FOROSOCO, (Bluxo/Sony), leads the way into "Jersey Girls" which has a bit of a "Stand By Me" feel and ends with "sha la las".
Kevin explains that he was inspired to write the next song, "Chop Wood", after he saw a book of that title on his wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick's night-table. "The song has nothing to do with the book," he points out. "It's about fathers and sons."
"Only A Good Woman", also from FOROSOCO, is one of the biggest blasts of the night. "We're very proud that we rhyme sexist with Texas with Lexus," says Kevin. He doffs his guitar and snaps his fingers to the beat. The audience follows. To a sexy, blues groove, he talk-sings the lyrics about a teenage boy asking his dad what it takes to be a man. "You get a good woman and she'll make you a man," is his advice.
The band will "slow it down" for the next number, says Kevin, who goes on to explain how he and Michael had co-written tracks for the films She's Having A Baby and Beneath Perfect (later titled Tremors), but they didn't make it in the movie. The next song, "Live With The Lie" was written for the film Telling Lies In America. "If you see (it), you won't hear the song -- it didn't make it." Too bad, it's a beautiful ballad.
"K-9", yes, about canine love, ends with Kevin barking and yelping. The familiar melody line of the next song elicits shrieks from the crowd, as The Bacon Brothers launch into the Jackson's "I Want You Back". It's an upbeat rootsy version that would have Michael gasping for air in his plastic bubble.
"We're going to check out after the next one," Kevin announces. Michael, then takes over the explanation for the song which he wrote in the '70s. "It's about a word they used to scream back in the bad old days." "Boogie" has a swampy groove, during which Kevin and Michael punctuate the rock 'n' roll segment with Zeppelin and Cream riffs. For the second time, Kevin abandons his guitar and joins the percussion player behind him, syncopating tribal beats until the songs close.
Kenny Loggins' "Footloose", the title track of the movie that Kevin starred in the '80s, is given a better-than-the-original rendering, ends the night. The crowd, on its feet, hoot, holler and bang beer bottles on the tables until the Bros. return for an encore.
"I'm very touched," says Kevin sincerely, as a small crowd of gals gathered at the foot of the stage, wedged between the tables that had taken up the dance floor.
"We decided to do a song that most of the band don't know. It's an old Drifters song ("Saturday Night At The Movies") that I like because it's about the movie business, but we've added a verse to it and you'll probably be able to tell which verse is ours."
"There's lots of sex and violence to keep us coming back...," he injects, along with something about the buttered popcorn giving us a heart attack and waiting a month to see the movie on HBO.
If anyone thought that Hollywood stars couldn't get down to earth, Kevin proved them wrong tonight.