Live and Local: Nate Myers and the Aces

The last time Nate Myers and the Aces played in Gettysburg was over a year ago. Those were simpler times… the Yardbird was still gone from the cocktails board at Ploughman, but it was a much more recent memory, still lingering on the palates of adoring fans, helping them remember the artistic mastery of the late Jeff Beck…

But I digress.

The last time Nate was there, he ended up playing inside at Ploughman due to weather, and  - oh momma – he rocked the place. I had seen him one other time, about 8 months prior, out on the square, but I’d only caught a part of his set and was lucky enough to get to meet him. He was a class act, though he was foolish enough to suggest I go home and get my telecaster and play with him. No one actually wants to hear that, but it was gracious of him, to be sure.

So I was looking forward to it when he came back, and he did not disappoint. It was so great, in fact, that I have not stopped pestering Rob Leib and the rest of the Ploughman team to get Nate to come back.

And they did! He was at Ploughman last Saturday night (again, indoors because of the chill). Nate’s not background music you might run into at a bar… if he’s in the room, you’re paying attention. He sings like an old blues man, and oh, can he play blues…but he can also bring it with funk, soul, and even country. His set is the fastest few hours you can imagine. It’s probably why Rob booked him twice, just so I’d shut the hell up about it for a few months.

One doesn’t get to see Nate in Gettysburg very often because he hails mostly from Harrisburg way. He’s been doing this for about 20 years, and he’s a masterful songwriter and musician… but that’s only part of the story. You have to see this guy live. He’s got that incredible magic front-man presence that you can’t look away from. Anything he does up there, you’re receptive to and going along with him because you cant help it.

The Aces are also a great band. His guitarist with a TV yellow Les Paul Jr with P90s lays down the melody and solos like a true pro. His bassist appears to be a badass, because he’s playing a nasty Precision Bass with a pickup cover…and it turns out he is, in fact, a badass. He’s a creative bass player and never lets you forget he’s there, but at the same time, he lays down the rhythm with their drummer like a metronome.

Nate plays a Martin with a pinstripe job like you might see on a 58 Chevy Biscayne or an old Lowrider. And the harp…sweet toasty jesus on a Segway, that damn harp. He’s a magician and the solid base the rest of the aces lay down lets him go off like a damn acrobat and get the whole room stomping and nodding along until he brings it back home and croaks out the next chorus.

I’m telling you, there’s nothing better than this. To relate it to local bands you’ve probably seen, it’s like when Gena is up there and Peter climbs up, adjusts his hat and start to RIP that harp while Gena makes magic happen on her Tele, and you can feel the whole place just bouncing… or when Mandolin Mike sits in on someone and that little switch between his eyes goes off an he takes that thing out off the leash before he comes back to his senses and he looks out and we’re all staring up like “the hell just happened??” before we burst out in applause.

Those moments are why we come out. They’re why I write and you read about it, and why you come out and walk by a band playing on the square because you have a reservation for dinner and you’re on your way over…but…well… hey, isn’t that a Willburys tune? Hang on, let’s just check this out…

Nate embodies that, he’s unique and getting to see him now and then is proof that I’m doing something right in my damn life. The Aces bring it like nobody’s business, the blues are the best things we’ve done with the American experiment.

If you’re interested in saddling up and taking a trip, you can catch Nate every Tuesday and the Enola Pub in Enola, PA. I’ve only made it there once, because I’m too lazy to drive up there on a Tuesday night generally. But I can tell you it’s worth the ride.

So get out there. Get his music out on the streaming spots, catch him again when he’s here in September. Jazz is good for your head, but the blues is good for the soul. You listen to Nate Myers and the Aces, or even better, see them play, your whole week is better. Go look him up and find out where he is next. Then, after you do, tell someone else about it. And get them to tell you about someone else THEY heard that makes them feel the same.

Thanks, Nate. And thanks as always, Rob, for putting up with me pestering you, with more grace and patience than I deserve. I hope you think it’s worth it once in a while.