Outer Banks Onstage

The acoustic musical duo from Ocracoke known as Coyote performed a set on the porch of the Whalehead Club Thursday evening.

The lowering sun hung above puffy clouds over the Currituck Sound on which some kayakers glided as crickets chirped. Its rays spread a pinkish glow on the pale yellow club building as the oblique shadows turned blue.

The stately building sat atop a green field where people gathered carrying blankets and folding chairs. Some walked over from the parking lot, and some were conveyed by golf carts that were shuttling back and forth.

A fine breeze came off the still pool between the club and the sound, carrying a few tame mosquitos past the gathering.

On the porch Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro adjusted and tuned the tools of their craft. The various wood hues of their collected guitars, mandolins, basses and the like nicely complemented the deep red and off-white trim of the spotless club.

Brenner wore a colorful cotton smock over a black shift; Castro a turquoise-and-red Hawaiian-style shirt. They asked for some feedback from the gathering audience as they adjusted their volume levels -- thumbs-up if the sound was too faint, thumbs-down if too loud, or an "okay" sign.

The pair was then introduced by Edna Baden, the Executive Director of the club, as part of its Summer Concert Series; this evening was sponsored by landscapers Corolla Companies, LLC.

After Brenner stepped off the porch a few paces to switch on a small digital recorder, she rejoined Castro who held an acoustic guitar at the ready.

"Let's play some music for the people."

Coyote plays a combination of their own compositions, mixed with compositions from other acoustic types (Gillian Welch, Joni Mitchell). They are not above pleasing disparate listeners with their own arrangements from writers and groups who rarely made music without gigantic amplifiers, such as Jimi Hendrix or Led Zeppelin.

For tonight's easygoing set they focused on their own and others' songs more suited to the drawing room ... or front porch.

Their first was "Maestro" -- "He's a grinning coyote." Brenner strummed a two-four beat on her mandolin as she sang, and a few leads to Castro's guitar. "Maestro" had a loping, moderato tempo and Brenner's voice was clear and sure.

Elvis Costello's lovely "Scarlet Tide," from the Cold Mountain soundtrack, sounded an authentic note, with a dobro accompaniment and a nice harmony vocal from Castro.

"Lighthouse," from a couple of "Ozzie girls," was just as right in the northern hemisphere, in sight of the great brick Currituck Beach Lighthouse across the road.

There were a few new songs written this winter, including "Beautiful Sorrow of Love." Brenner on acoustic-electric guitar and Castro on electric fretless bass produced a full, melancholy sound ... Castro played some leads and a solo on his bass.

Joni Mitchell's great "Big Yellow Taxi" received a fond reading, followed by a song created as a result of a Disciples' Class at the Duck United Methodist Church: "Follow Me" took its inspiration from the Bible.

Weighty matters of life and death were assayed in Brenner's song written from her perspective as a cancer survivor. "Dead Girl Walking" belied its gloomy title; it was a jaunty celebration of life.

A lighter take on disasters was "Hurricane Flood Tornado," inspired by a similar sequence of events surrounding the advent of Hurricane Isabel on Ocracoke. Brenner strapped on a combination banjo/mandolin called, yes, a banjolin. The song was anchored by a bluesy banjolin riff played in unison with Castro's dobro.

Hank Williams' famous "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" was given a sympathetic reading, Castro providing a beautiful backup on the lap steel guitar and warming himself up to the next number, Bob Wills' "Panhandle Rag."

He did a fine impression of the whole Texas Playboys band on that one.

As the light waned, Brenner said, "Think we have time for one more? We could play for you until tomorrow...."

They finished up with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings' "Acony Bell," on two acoustic guitars, a pretty song that mingled the spirit of the Carters' "Wildwood Flower" with the sound of a Doc and Merle Watson duet from back in the day.

And, thanks in part to bands like Coyote, that day will live on.




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