Maria Taylor serenaded her fans at the Paradise on Monday, June 23, along with friends Johnathan Rice and Nik Freitas. Like the intermingling indie circle at Saddle Creek, each musician played in each other’s live bands. The music was more stripped down then their recorded siblings, sticking to an electric and acoustic guitar, bass and drums, but it provided for a very personal concert experience.
The opener, Nik Freitas recorded all his albums himself, before joining Team Love Records and Conor Oberst’s Mystic Valley Band. He tracked his latest release, Sun Down at his house in Pasadena, for the most part recording every instrument himself. In accordance with his singular style, Freitas played most of the set alone. It was just him and his acoustic guitar, strapped around him with a belt and coat hanger. He played fast and slow tunes without a pick and with painless precision.
