CAMBRIDGE, MA - March 7—My penchant for Shameless Promotions manifests itself most prominently in these pages where reports emanate from Club Passim performances. The Passim Center for the Arts is, simply, my personal favorite venue for seeing Ryanhood.

What could I possibly mention, again, about both the magnificence and majesty that is Club Passim that you haven’t already seen here? So, I’ll deviate instead to something not heretofore said in these reports.

Ryanhood first brought down the house that is Club Passim, at least figuratively (if not literally in some sense), on their maiden voyage to the Passim stage; this was on September 3, 2004. I was fortunate to have been in attendance, along with some initially skeptical guests—one of whom is a professional writer who agreed to chronicle that relatively short set for this Ryanhood Reader (and elsewhere on the Internet). My fellow attendees were apparently convinced that my fervent plugging of this Tucson, Arizona duo amounted to no more than brazen endorsements; in other words, hyperbole. They couldn’t be as good as I proclaimed. The guest attendees, along with everyone else at Passim, were very surprised by how good, new, and refreshing Ryanhood’s act was. Indeed!

The event, as it were, is an annual Labor Day Weekend festival that Club Passim calls the “Cutting Edge of the Campfire.” Aspiring Passim performers (or, at least, some) are given a 40-minute slot in which to perform what they feel is their best material to perhaps the most discerning and demanding audience they’ll ever play to. Competency in and by itself matters for not; ordinary is simply out of the question. The most that “Campfire” acts can hope for is a cordial response. That’s about what the act immediately preceding Ryanhood received—and that reaction was lukewarm at best.

Ryanhood proceeded to surprise a lot of people, including my acquaintances. What followed has been a most enjoyable ‘residency’ of repeated headlining performances throughout the years 2005 to 2008.

These headlining evenings, incidentally, have all sold out; in fact hopelessly so in the past two years. Just ask those who neglected to attain tickets well beforehand. Many fans have had to watch from afar through the windows abbutting Palmer Street because they had to be turned away at the door (much to the regret of Passim management, the finest in my estimation).

Yet again, this performance was sold out, handily, well in advance; and if one didn’t reserve a table then it was best to be at the venue extremely early in order to attain a general seat with a good vantage point. I’ve learned my lesson well from past mistakes.

The Club Passim staff did something this evening that has as yet not occurred at a Ryanhood show. They decided that this would be the ideal situation to urge audience members to become fully-paid members of the Passim Center of the Arts, a non-profit organization (sort of a live performance embodiment of PBS and NPR). The pitch went something like this; ‘welcome to ANOTHER sold-out Ryanhood show… wouldn’t it be a good time to become a member so as to have the opportunity to take advantage of our preference program and not be like those poor potential listeners we had to turn away…because, after all, this act you love ALWAYS sells out Passim…’ and so on. Hit the Ryanhood fans for what they’re worth; they’re a sure bet. I so much enjoyed hearing this pitch; or was it sway? Regardless, it was great to hear it.

Ryanhood at Passim is an effervescent experience, and the Club knows it! This evening was no different. The fellow who accompanied me to the show (and who saw them last when the audience was indifferent at best) noted that Ryan and Cameron kicked up the energy level exponentially, and that the whole set was fantastic. That’s what a great audience will do for performers. Incidentally, this set concluded with yet another standing ovation from everyone in attendance—something that can only be described as an anomaly at this particular establishment.

Finally, a word or two about tonight’s material; it was for the most part synonymous with other performances they’ve done in the Northeast in the past two months. There was one exception. One of the songs played is a new Ryan Green composition called "Mature" that will be one of the tracks on Ryanhood’s forthcoming new studio CD, The World Awaits You. This is the first time I’ve heard it. It’s really good. I would suspect that the whole CD will follow suit. We’ll see, soon.