Playbill: Matt "The Electrician" Sever

By William Michael Smith Sat., Mar. 10 2007 at 5:32 PM

Categories: Playbill

Matt "the Electrician" Sever is one of those Beaver Nelson-ish Austin artists who always get more respect than money. On his fourth self-released collection, One Thing Right, Sever continues to carefully observe his personal life and deliver warm, catchy Paul Simon-esque miniatures like "My Dog" ("Don't tell me and my dog what to do"). The instrumentation -- plinky banjo, minimalist dobro, slow-handed guitar — makes a perfect backdrop for Sever's sensitive guy vocals and gives One Right Thing an even more organic feel than 2004's Long Way Home. Sever succinctly sums up his career on his MySpace site: "started small, getting smaller." He fits in the same niche as local boys like Arthur Yoria.

The Electrician will be joined by Austin singer-songwriter Southpaw Jones, who describes himself as "Whimsicologist Extraordinaire." There's more than a bit of our man Beans Barton's theatrical insanity in Jones, who pairs with Sever every Wednesday at Cafe Mundi in Austin. He describes his current recording, Bedroom Demos Vol. 1: Zero Demand, as being "recorded over a two-year span in solitude and madness." Jones is quick-witted and a master of clever wordplay, so take your thesaurus and an open mind to what will surely be an evening of smiles, guffaws, and belly laughs. - William Michael Smith

Matt "the Electrician" Sever and Southpaw Jones perform tonight at Anderson Fair, 2007 Grant, 713-528-8576.

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