Steve Gunn is hot. On a particularly sweltering autumn evening, this is the first thing the Brooklyn-based musician says when he gets on stage at Murmrr Theatre earlier this fall. Although he teases us while he tunes his guitar by telling us he’s making new music, he abruptly decides not to play any of his new work, and, instead, plays the music he’s already released with what he calls “heat-induced looseness.” Gunn, with more than ten prolific years on him as a solo artist—in addition to his former affiliations with Kurt Vile’s backing band, The Violators—kicks off the night with “Ancient Jewels,” and Murmrr Theatre amplifies his intricate hooks with a pleasing richness. Gunn shreds the whole night, alternating between skilled fingerpicking and playing chords, and it’s truly a treasure to watch an artist so gifted perform.
When he comes up for air, he circles back to his earlier thoughts about New York humidity and ponders out loud when is a good time to remove an AC unit from an apartment window, since it’s too hard to tell in New York. But when he’s less distracted by the heat, he expresses his gratitude that old spaces like Murmrr are being used for shows, and his hope that more old spaces in the city will be utilized. This is something Gunn thinks about a lot, as he passes by Murmrr every day on his way to work, and it’s special to have an artist carve out the time and space in their show to bring such important conversations to the forefront of their audience’s conscious. If it were ever questioned, there’s no doubt that Gunn cares about New York’s history and music community. And for all the stagnant humidity in the Murmrr air, I can think of no better way to spend an almost autumn evening than in a rustic theatre, listening to complex guitar riffs with the smell of Brooklyn Lagers lingering in the air.
—Nicolette Natale, Editor-at-Large