Brian Dunne Serves Up Some Clams Casino with a Side of Reality
Fans of Fantastic Cat know Brian Dunne as one of the four singer-songwriters behind the acclaimed band. At the Count Basie Center for the Arts, Dunne stepped into the spotlight on his own, opening for the Indigo Girls with a set built largely around songs from his latest album, Clams Casino.
I've had the opportunity to see Dunne perform a number of times over the years, both as a solo artist and as a member of Fantastic Cat. This performance felt different.
Standing alone with a couple of guitars and a collection of deeply personal songs, Dunne created a connection that can be difficult to achieve in an opening slot. The songs from Clams Casino explore the realities of pursuing an artistic life while watching friends and peers move through more traditional milestones. Tracks like "I Watched the Light," "Play the Hits," and the album's title track carried those themes throughout the set, with Dunne's stories providing additional context along the way.
In previous interviews, Dunne has described Clams Casino as being inspired in part by Bruce Springsteen's The River, but there is more happening beneath the surface. Musically, I heard echoes of the great singer-songwriters of Laurel Canyon. The songs carry the same blend of introspection and melody that made artists like Jackson Browne and James Taylor so compelling, while remaining firmly rooted in Dunne's own experiences.
Looking around the theater, Fantastic Cat shirts weren't hard to find. Dunne clearly arrived with supporters of his own, but by the end of the performance it felt like many Indigo Girls fans had become Brian Dunne fans as well. Later in the evening, he returned to the stage at the invitation of the Indigo Girls to join them for a performance of "Closer to Fine."
Before the show, Dunne graciously accepted my standing offer to create a quick portrait. We crossed the street and found a small neighborhood laundromat that immediately felt right. The simple setting felt like an extension of the songs themselves, resulting in one of my favorite portraits of the year.
