A handful of us at our favorite music outpost tonight go back quite a ways with John Cowan...way back a couple of decades to the time Bela and Pat joined him and Sam in New Grass Revival. He's taken us to many memorable places for which we'll always be grateful. But tonight, we saw a comfortably matured J Cow in an intimate, personal performance in spite of and maybe because of the fact he was in the throes of bronchitis. His signature pipes weren't as potent as we're used to, but we were treated to some wonderfully subtle and nuanced renditions of both familiar and new tunes for the band. This "unplugged" approach went as far as having the foursome seated on stage, something they've been trying lately and I must say to great effect. And I couldn't help but notice that we were seeing and hearing something reminiscent of those earlier days. Left to right, it was Tony Wray on banjo, Shad Cobb on fiddle and mandolin, John on bass and Jeff Autry on guitar...the same way Bela, Sam, John and Pat lined up. But this is not a New Grass tribute band...I only counted two NGR tunes, "Steam Powered Aeroplane" and "Callin' Baton Rouge." The rest covered material from John's last few solo projects and even a great take on the Moody Blues' "Tuesday Afternoon." It was softer, gentler set and they may not always do it this way, but it was a treat to witness another side of a consumate performer. And Tony, Shad and Jeff played their tails off. Thanks for everything John. In closing I can't resist sharing this video I saw on YouTube of Bill Monroe introducing New Grass Revival doing "Can't Stop Now" at Fisk University back in the 80's. It's priceless...especially the old Cowan coif. Enjoy.
Have a restful Labor Day Weekend everybody...TT
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