Mother Falcon will fly into your heart, head and ears

Mother Falcon onstage at Brooklyn’s Littlefield on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Violinist Todd Reynolds to be guest on the orchestral pop band’s ‘Symphonic Sundays With Mother Falcon’ program at Joe’s Pub this Sunday

I’ll admit that I’m a little late to the party where Mother Falcon is concerned.

But I knew I’d fall in the love the minute I started checking out the orchestral pop band’s music on the recommendation of a friend — somebody who’s more often asking me for bands to check out.

Mother Falcon (Nick Gregg on mandolin) onstage at Brooklyn’s Littlefield on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

It didn’t take long for the upbeat, passionate sound to reel me right in.

But I learned at Littlefield in North Slope, Brooklyn, last night that their recordings pale in comparison to their live performances. There were 12 members of Mother Falcon (the band, always big, varies in number as I understand it) on Littlefield’s generous stage. Every one of the players obviously put heart and soul into the set.

Mother Falcon is irresistible, no-bull, musical fun. The sound, built on standard pop instrumentation of  guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards, has an orchestral bent — with violin, cello, saxophone, flute, trumpet, pedal steel guitar, and accordion in the mix, too. The players even adhere to a dress code, much like an orchestra — with everyone wearing black. Wile the band formed around vocalist/guitarist Nick Gregg, it functions as a collaborative, with every member to having a say. While there were 12 players onstage Tuesday, the band at any given moment is “some variation of “ a pool of 22 musicians, according to the list on its Facebook page.

The Family Crest opening for Mother Falcon at Brooklyn’s Littlefield on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Mother Falcon wasn’t the only good thing at Littlefield on Tuesday, though. The opening band, San Francisco septet  The Family Crest, set the bar really high with its own infectious brand of rollicking pop.If you weren’t a Littlefield on Tuesday, I forgive you. But if you’re in the New York area this weekend and don’t have an unavoidable conflict, I insist that you mark you calendar now and get tickets to see them on Sunday at Joe’s Pub in lower Manhattan.

Mother Falcon’s Claire Puckett at Brooklyn’s Littlefield on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

Sunday’s show is the final installment of a June residency at Joe’s called “Symphonic Sundays With Mother Falcon,” that puts the band onstage with a series of collaborators.

Liam McCormick of The Family Crest at Brooklyn’s Littlefield on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)

This week’s guest is Todd Reynolds, a bad-ass violinist I’m proud to count as a friend. He a New Music genius, an amazing play, and an electronics wizard.Todd spent 10 hours with Mother Falcon members on Monday, preparing, rehearsing, and, yes, eating ramen in Chinatown. But it was only after hanging out at Tuesday’s Littlefield show that Todd discovered he and tenor sax player Sterling Steffen had crossed paths before. Sterling was a student in a Soundpainting live composition seminar Todd gave in Boulder in 2009.

IF YOU GO: Mother Falcon with Todd Reynolds, 7 p.m. Sunday, June 29. Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., Manhattan. All seats are reserved and there’s a $12/two-drink minimum per person. Tickets are $15, and available by tapping or clicking here.

Laura Bergman of The Family Crest at Brooklyn’s Littlefield on Tuesday, June 24, 2014. (© 2014, Steven P. Marsh/willyoumissme.com)