My friend told me that she had responded to a notification about a house concert that was going to feature one of the musicians that we follow. Paula Nicewanger, co-owner of this publication, said that she included me in the invitation. On Monday, June 29th, we went to a Clear Vibes House Concert at Kati Taylor’s house to hear guitarist Charlie Ballantine and bassist Quinn Sternberg.
The temperature was 4,000 degrees when Paula picked me up; we brought camp chairs and a cooler, for we did not know if the concert was going to be indoors or outside. Paula made it plain that if the concert was outside, we would not be staying. As we neared the address, we saw that many cars were parked in front of the house. We climbed inside with our coolers and chairs and found ourselves in an intimate and inviting environment.
Guests were seated on a screened-in front porch, in chairs and on couches in the living room as well as in a room off the kitchen. In front of the living room fireplace, two great speakers posed stork-like over a bass that lay on the floor; close by, was a chair that was fronted by a microphone. A dog cruised about the space, casually — albeit carefully — stepping over the bass in its passage. Paula and I snagged two chairs at stage right, with a perfect sightline on “The Man Who Plays Guitar,” (The Weekly View, April 3, 2025).
I first saw Charlie Ballantine in January 2016, when I attended a “Sweet Thursday” event at the Coal Yard Coffee House when it was on Bonna Avenue in Irvington. (A recent memory on my social media page notes that on July 5th, 2018, Charlie was going to be playing at the Coal Yard with Even Drybread and Pat Petrus.) Since that 2016 date, I have seen him in various Indianapolis concert places on many occasions, including concerts on his lawn in Rocky Ripple. The June 29th concert was unusual in that it was an acoustic affair. When the time was right, Quinn Sternberg lifted his bass from the floor and Charlie curled over his guitar and they opened with a piece called “Yellow Horses,” Charlie strumming his guitar and Quinn spanking his bass. Paula and I sat in silent appreciation of the skills the two musicians brought to the gathering, and at the end of each song, I delivered a loud cry of “YES!” and contributed to the enthusiastic applause from the rest of the audience. Between sets, Paula told me that the home we were in was a Justus home, a style which is much like her son’s home.
Charlie told the audience that he and Quinn Sternberg were long-time collaborators, and as I watched them play, it was obvious to me that they were, as they seamlessly “handed off” solos to each other. As he played, I noticed that Quinn’s bass was scarred by years of enthusiastic slapping. I remembered taking my son to St. Louis to see the jazz bassist Stanley Clarke, and heard in Quinn’s solos, echoes of the “bassmanship” that Clarke had delivered. As for Charlie and Quinn, their musicianship delivered to the audience “Love Letters,” and “Off Minor,” and “Like Never Been in Love Before.” When they took a break, Charlie said it was because his hand, unused to extended acoustic time, needed to rest.
Kati Taylor and Clear Vibes House Concerts gave a willing audience a chance to hear Charlie and Quinn. I hope that I am not alone in saying, “Thank you” for the good vibes.
cjon3acd@att.net