Fort Wilson Riot is Jacob and Amy from Minneapolis. They were in the area for the CMJ Festival in New York and amusingly made a stop in our dingy, little New Brunswick. Old pals, Green Paper, invited me to the show they were playing together and I took the opportunity to snatch a little something to remember them by.
I've been meeting a lot of duos recently. Their music so stripped down at times since four hands will never equal more than two or three instruments. But some of them can do some absolute magic with just two members, eliminating a lot of the noise from multiple instruments and focusing on the raw energy of their music. Amy and Jacob are certainly one of the best out there. Their performance of my favorite song by them, "All My Friends" was top notch especially since it's a song that has only a few guitar riffs, a drum machine and Amy's swimming voice that's both melodic and sexy. They could certainly give Wildbirds & Peacedrums a run for their money. I know they rocked everyone's faces off when they played in New Brunswick, earning them a new group of fans in this unlikely town so far and unfashionable from theirs.
It was certainly a big change for them doing this unplugged Session. How do you go from an almost electro-punk performance to a couple of acoustic guitars and a ukulele? Well, here's the answer.
043 Fort Wilson Riot
Video by: Kevin de Wilde
Filmed in New Brunswick, New Jersey
Fall 2010
This Session is the culmination, the zenith of the thirty minutes we spent together. I walked into the Court Tavern not knowing who they were or even what they looked like. I'm sure we've passed side by side here and there, grazed each other's shoulders as we said our hellos to friends in that small venue. But in the half an hour we spent in the sleepy streets of New Brunswick after their late show, I think we've made good pals of each other.
After the two songs, I plumped down onto the railing next to them. It was 3am. I asked them what it was like in Minnesota having already heard some good things from Nina Yasmineh. They spoke very freely about the music, the art, and the city life. I might pay them a visit in their home turf one of these days. They're one of the nicest and most humble bunch of people I've ever met. We spoke about old friends, old band mates and the point or pointlessness of all this music and travel. They've been on the road for a month and a half by this time.
They gave me a spray painted copy of their new record along with some loving hugs and hand shakes. I couldn't offer them a place to stay. I don't even have a place anymore really. That's my one big regret in this continuous life of mine filled with a revolving cast of musical strangers. Hell, I would join them in their van and go on the road for as long as I can with them if I could.
All this took thirty minutes. Thirty minutes where we built the base for a potential friendship in the future. I'll see them somewhere in the world one these days. Because if strangers are all as great Amy and Jacob, then I'll be a wanderer forever.