Poor Man's Whiskey 2007-05-18

Poor Man's Whiskey 2007-05-18 The Mystic Theater Petaluma, CA (Stream and Download)

There are certainly many occasions for dissecting, discussing, and microanalyzing a live show. Occasionally, there is a time where you simply cannot speak for a show better than it can speak for itself. For the first time in my history writing for TheJiveFather, I have found myself deciding to use the latter strategy.

It comes down to this: I could tell you all about Poor Man's Whiskey, but since I've only just become aware of them myself, I'm sure they'll do a better job. I could tell you about my love of Pink Floyd and the Dark Side of the Moon album in particular, but if you're here you're probably either aware or on the same page at least. I could tell you about how awesome it is to hear a bluegrass take on said album, but I simply don't possess the mastery of language to do it justice.

Just listen to it.

Until a band decides to cover my favorite Floyd album, Animals, and do it really well, this will stand as my favorite Pink Floyd cover.

You know the album, but formalities beckon:

1) Speak To Me
2) Breathe
3) On The Run
4) Time
5) Breathe - reprise
6) Great Gig in the Sky
7) Whiskey(Money)
8) Us and Them
9) Any Colour You Like
10) Brain Damage
11) Eclipse

Sound is a B, it's good but the crowd noise is a little too prominent. Taped/Transferred by Eric Walton, thanks for allowing the lunatic to be in all of our heads. Photo credit to the band's website. Thanks to the curators at archive.org for making this a Curator's Choice show, I'd have never found it otherwise.

Blueground Undergrass 2007-04-13

Blueground Undergrass

Boone Saloon - Boone, NC

April 13, 2007

(download)

When Chris and I first started the thejivefather I envisioned scouring the archives like some modern day Alan Lomax. Turning over the heap to find previously undiscovered music. So far, all of my entries have been about bands I have some familiarity with. There are many reasons for this. It is much easier to crank out a post on a band you know than one you don't. I recently started a new job that is not conducive to active listening. Enough excuses. Enough of self reflection. For this review I wanted to discover a band I knew nothing about.

With that said, Bluegrass Underground is hardly an unknown band. They have a catalog of music that stretches back to 1999. Founder Jeff Mosier played with Col. Bruce Hampton, and notes in his biography that he "shared the stage" with Leftover Salmon, Widespread Panic, Vassar Clemens, and Phish. The rest of the current Blueground Undergrass is David Blackmon is on mandolin and fiddles, Johnny Mosier on guitar, Kyle Spark on bass, Mark van Allen on pedal steel, and Vic Stafford on drums. For this review I downloaded their latest release Faces from emusic.com.

Blueground Undergrass mixes the gamut of american roots styles in a very raw and informal way. So many bands shoot for this, but in the process end up loosing their voice. While I found them to be a bit too smooth on Faces, this live show carries enough edge to make them convincing. Take the supercharged bluegrass "Clintch Mountain Backstep" and "Old Joe Clark." I would have loved to be there for those tunes.

There is a bit of old AM radio country in "Lay Beside Your Mother." I should have played it on Mother's Day. Would have looked like a hero. I found the expanded version "Ole Love, Ole Tune" from the live show more meaningful than the pop infused version on Faces. Plenty of tight bass riffs. The cover of Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are a Changin" is way out there. Not to be cynical, but I was laughing a bit during the "group thinking is not thinking" part. Guess you just had to be there. Two other soulful highlights is the cover of "Helpless" and their song "Renee." There is a lot there to enjoy and take in.

The live recording is direct from the mixing board, so the mix is not optimal for home listening. It took me a couple of tracks to become comfortable with it. Thanks to Travis Viars for transferring and posting this show. Sound quality is B+ and runtime is 2 hours and 26 minutes.

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones 1999-04-30

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones 1999-04-30
Merle Watson Memorial Bluegrass Festival
North Wilkesboro, NC
(Download)

Writing about a band like Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is hard. Should they be categorized as jazz, bluegrass, instrumental, crossover (?!?!) classical, country, or world. It's difficult to decide, because the band or its members have won Grammy Awards in each of these categories. Once decided, the writer is presented with the additional daunting task of describing the Flecktones music and abilities.

To avoid sounding too gushing, one could take the position of a contrarian. That, however, doesn't seem very easy either. Just google "flecktones suck." Maybe the best advice comes from the editor of the Wilkesboro Journal-Patriot in introducing the Flecktones for this show, "Just shut up and introduce them." Plus, track four includes everything you need to know about the members of the band.

Intro > Throwdown, Imagine This, Band Intros, Big Country, Enter Sam Bush, Spanish Point, Stomping Ground, crowd, Encore: Cheeseballs In Cowtown

I ended up choosing this show by accident. I was searching archive.org for a Sam Bush show when I ran across it. If the Flecktones are normally missing something, Sam's presence fills the gap. He comes in halfway through the set, right after an excellent performance of "Big Country." He jumps right into "Spanish Point," off volume two of the Bluegrass Sessions album. While Sam and Béla have a long history playing together, it is such a treat to hear him with the Flecktones. It's sets like these that make going to a music festival worth it.

"They think the banjo can only be happy, but that's not true." -Bela Fleck

One complaint often aired from people that do not like the Flecktones, is that their music is too busy. While I'm often quick to dismiss this, the complaint does have some merit. Combining different styles of music like the Flecktones do creates compositions that are challenging and complex. For most people, they've never heard anything like it. In an effort to impose order on music, our brains tend flatten it out and listen superficially. The result is a cluttered wall of sound. I'm not trying to sound like an elitist, but to recognize that most people no longer listen to complicated music. Music that requires your full attention. There are just too many things competing for it. Active listening is a tricky skill to master, one that needs to be started at a young age (link).

For a quick exercise, let's listen to what is going on beginning at 2:24 on "Stomping Ground." The band launches into a call and response. It opens with Victor Wooten on bass laying down a groove, the rest of the band supporting. Jeff responds with his sax, then it repeats with Béla, and then Sam. Futureman stays in support, but he responds to what is being played. After listening closely to each individual instrument, you should be able to pick them up when they are playing together. At 3:03 the band comes back together into a unison. Can you still hear each individual voice? Now listen to another track. The things discovered make getting into music like this worth it.

Del McCoury Band 1969-08-08

Del McCoury Band 1969-08-08
Shade Gap Bluegrass Festival
Gettysburg, PA

A couple of days ago, I went through the agonizing process of moving apartments. So this post will be pretty short, but I want to share this show. I burned it out to CD some time ago-something I rarely do anymore-but never got around to listening to it. When I ran across the CD, I tossed it into the truck to listen to between apartments. This recording of the Del McCoury Band from 1969 became the instant soundtrack of the move.

As many readers of this blog know, both Chris and I are big bluegrass fans. While I listen to a lot of it, I don't tend to spend much time with the folk/bluegrass music of the 1960's. It just doesn't resonate with me. Not my generation. While Del McCoury was on the scene in the 1960's, he has stayed on to be part of the bluegrass music I listen to. How is this possible?

I've often heard that an artist needs to evolve to stay relevant. To keep pushing and testing the boundaries of art. That's certainly one approach, but Del indicates that there might be another. It seems to be one more black and white. Find good music, and keep playing it. For if it's good, people will listen to it. I'm not suggesting that Del isn't innovative, but that there is a certain attraction to carrying on a tradition.

Here is the show, in two sets for your enjoyment:

I Wonder Where You Are Tonight, John Henry, Footprints In The Snow, John Hardy, Bringing Mary Home, Slewfoot,The Crippled Boy, Katie Hill, Blue & Lonesome, Flower Blooming In The Wild, Working On A Building, Outroduction, Introduction, Dark Hollow, Bonnie And Clyde, Uncle Pen, Sitting Alone In The Moonlight, Old Joe Clark, Prisoner Song, Orange Blossom Special, Outroduction

Del McCoury - Guitar
Dick Stabler - Mandolin
Billy Sage - Fiddle
Donny Eldredge - Banjo
Dewey Renfro - Bass

Thanks to who recorded and transfered this show!

Railroad Earth 2006-6-3

Railroad Earth 2006-6-3 Blue Plum Festival Johnson City, TN (Download)

There are lots of reasons why I love living in New England and Massachusetts: The endless history, the fact that the mountains, the ocean, and a number of culturally rich cities are within an hour or two from where I sit right now, and our sports teams of course...!

One of the things I love most is our diverse seasons. In the span of 12 months, most of New England goes from 95 degree highs to -10 degree lows, and back again. There are four distinct seasons and I have fond memories attached to each of them. I think this leads to an appreciation of both the first warm spring day and the first crisp fall afternoon, to both the 24" blizzard and the wicked summer night's thunderstorm. In short, I think we hold an awareness and a wonderment associated with our meteorological surroundings that people in other parts of the country (I'm looking at you, L.A.) don't always have the fortune to experience...

Sunny and 75 AGAIN?!? No thank you.

One result of these drastic seasons is of course dreaming of one while in the midst of another, and during these bitter winter months my thoughts do turn longingly to lazy outdoor summer experiences. At the moment, my mind has me sitting in a lawnchair, barefoot with my toes in the deep green grass, sipping a cold one and listening to some great live music. The band for this post has it well represented.

Railroad Earth is a band I actually have never seen live, I was turned on to them via the nugs.net live music podcast and I've spend a lot of time with their live sets since then. They're out of Sparta, New Jersey and they have been laying down a roots/bluegrass/celtic style all their own for several years now.

(Guitarist Todd Sheaffer) "I’m excited about the possibilities musically. I’ve really been learning a lot, first of all. We’ve talked a lot about the lyrics, but musically there’s been a lot of interesting stuff going on. I’ve learned a lot from the guys in the group and its exciting to me the wide diversity of areas we can explore. I’m practicing a lot on the guitar, more than I have in a long time, trying to expand my musical vocabulary. I’m trying to learn a little bit and get a little better as a soloist. Even trying a little flat picking, but trying to keep it within my own style. I’m really interested in trying to grow as a musician in not just the songwriting but in the playing. A lot of times as the front man, the singer, I’ve had a tendency to say, “You take the solo,” or, “you guys do the musical stuff.” But I’m trying to also throw myself into the mix a lot more."

In this particular show, Railroad Earth takes on the Blue Plum Festival in Johnson City, TN. It's a great set and a great recording which really captures the open air and rowdiness of a good ole' Southern outdoor music fest. Of particular note for me are "Shining Like a Buddah" and "Water Fountain Quicksand", as well as the track that originally captured my interest in the band, "Long Way to Go". A special treat of this show is the freight train ripping right through the recording during both "Old Man and the Land" and "Head". Some people might see this as a detriment, but I think that it really sets a mood for the whole taping. Along with the noise of an engaged crowd and the acoustics of the open air show, it will transport you right to that day in Johnson City.

Often the greatest asset of a live recording is this peripheral activity, this is the very reason why we listen to live shows instead of just collecting studio records.

On to the full set...

intro, dandelion wine, 420, bird in a house, smilin' like a buddah, old man and the land, mission man, peace on earth, head, railroad earth, water fountain quicksand, long way to go, (encore) ragtime annie lee

Sound Quality is an A-, it would be a B+ except for capturing a lively crowd and those freight trains...! Taping credit to David Randle, thanks David! Remember to download these shows at their highest availably quality! Photo credit.

Hackensaw Boys 2003-06-19

Hackensaw Boys 2003-06-19
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
(Download)


The first dusting of snow arrived in Worcester over the weekend, and few things mix more enjoyably than falling snow and acoustic music. So it's in that spirit that this weeks foray stars the Hackensaw Boys of Charlottesville, Virginia. Telluride is a big and important stage to play in the world of bluegrass, and one can only imagine what a thrill it is to play there (check out the banter right before "Black Canyon").

"You see them in the early hours of the morning walking hotel corridors, or boldly traversing rush hour streets. They are sincere, polite but talkative men with instrument cases. They admire the local scenery and appear unfed. By day they seem incapable of action but at night they step onto a stage and with taut fiddle bows, worn cutlery and dirty strings bring you a focused, vibrant and joyful sound. They are the Hackensaw Boys—and they are in your town." - Hackensaw Boys Lore

The Hackensaw Boys, however, were well equipped to impress. Consisting of six members for this show-down from a high of twelve when the band formed in 1999-they have enough instruments and voices to create a sonically rich mixture. They can range from the tight and fast and harmonies of "We Are Many" and "Cannonball Brokedown" to the loose and open "Buildings Are the Cages" and "Parking Lot Song." The set played out like this:

01. June Apple
02. Gordon's Still
03. Cannonball Brokedown
04. Keep It Simple
05. Gospel Plow
06. Blue Run
07. Big Bob Billy
08. We Are Many
09. Nashville
10. Smilin' Must Mean Something
11. Black Canyon
12. Blue Eyed Girl
13. Buildings Are the Cages
14. Ruby Pearl
15. Kelly's Reel
16. Parking Lot Song
17. Kiss You Down There
18. Limousine Lady
19. Sweet Petunia

Run time for the show is 1:09 and sound quality is A. Transfered by: Joe Steffen. Photo Credit.