Hopes were realized Wednesday night at the Coliseum when Alison Krauss and her world-class supporting cast played the big room and made it feel like a living room. Concerns about how her delicate acoustic sound would play in the 6th Street Cavern were quickly forgotten as Cliff Miller had his substantial system tuned to the room beautifully. The stage backdrop was a huge map of eastern Tennessee and western Virginia, presumably to remind us of the headwaters of Alison’s music. Rustic chandeliers hung from the ceiling giving it an intimate, homey feel. As good as the show looked and sounded, my only wish was for the live video projection that most of the arena concerts offer these days. For those of us a good distance from the stage, it would have made the experience more personal to have a closer look. And I feel silly bringing binoculars.
Jerry Douglas adds such a powerful element to the band’s dramatically clean and open arrangements and his tasteful fills are thrilling to hear. During his solo shot, he said he loved coming to Richmond because everyone knew what a Dobro was. He mentioned the influence of Josh Graves and the Old Dominion Barn Dance. I was glad JAMinc’s Wally Thulin was with us to see how far AKUS has come since he and Fieldcrest Music brought the band to McVey Theater at St. Catherine’s School in November of 1991. Back then, the group consisted of Alison Brown, Adam Steffey, Tim Stafford and Barry Bales. Tickets were $12. Alison had just won IBMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year, and her first Grammy. She now has 20, more than any female artist ever. Her Coliseum set included a significant complement of bluegrass tunes as she catered to her audience well. Her contribution to the music is immeasurable.
Be sure to check out our own keyboard wizard Daniel Clarke, now on tour with pop sensation Mandy Moore. He gets a lot of camera time in a new special on the Oxygen network entitled “I Am Mandy Moore” which is a great look at what it takes to prepare for a CD release and a national tour to support it. We talked with Danny C in L.A. Wednesday night and he’s his always- enthusiastic self, and soaking up the whole scene. The show first aired early last week but it’ll probably run again. Don’t miss it.
Our long-awaited first visit to Toad’s Place happened Friday night as we headed down to the old Lady Bird Hat Factory, now the latest new venue along Richmond’s riverfront.
For reasons still unclear, even though they’ve been open since June, there’s still no ABC license at Toad’s but a good lesson was learned that you really don’t have to have drinks to have a great time. It’s quite a facility reminiscent of the old Flood Zone but nicer, with lots of concrete, brick and massive beams still exposed, visually pleasing but making the sound less than ideal, given the investment in high-end audio gear. We hope they’ll be able to soften up the hard surfaces in the room to improve the acoustics, given how much good music is planned in the coming months.
Homegrown bluegrassers Jackass Flats did an energetic opening set and got to spotlight their own Aaron Lewis who was the first-place fiddler at Galax last week. Congrats Aaron…mighty fine. Next up was the ever-enigmatic King Wilkie, who are busy working their new CD on Zoe/Rounder called Low Country Suite. It's a compelling snapshot of the band's musical evolution, which has led from their 2003 beginnings as faithful bluegrass disciples to their current, definitely darker, more mysterious place in Americana and including a few more non-traditional instruments like pedal and lap steel, ukulele and even a Shroeder-like toy piano. There's also a key personnel change now underway as lead guitarist and gifted songwriter Ted Pitney pulls away to pursue matters personal. His spot is being filled at least for now, by Adam Ollendorff, one of those gifted Berklee School guys out of Boston on steel. Seemed to be an amicable parting and I just hope Ted will continue to be one of the band's prime providers of great material. Only wish they'd had longer to play and could've worked in "Wrecking Ball, " my favorite KW tune.
Be sure to check out our own keyboard wizard Daniel Clarke, now on tour with pop sensation Mandy Moore. He gets a lot of camera time in a new special on the Oxygen network entitled “I Am Mandy Moore” which is a great look at what it takes to prepare for a CD release and a national tour to support it. We talked with Danny C in L.A. Wednesday night and he’s his always- enthusiastic self, and soaking up the whole scene. The show first aired early last week but it’ll probably run again. Don’t miss it.
Our long-awaited first visit to Toad’s Place happened Friday night as we headed down to the old Lady Bird Hat Factory, now the latest new venue along Richmond’s riverfront.
For reasons still unclear, even though they’ve been open since June, there’s still no ABC license at Toad’s but a good lesson was learned that you really don’t have to have drinks to have a great time. It’s quite a facility reminiscent of the old Flood Zone but nicer, with lots of concrete, brick and massive beams still exposed, visually pleasing but making the sound less than ideal, given the investment in high-end audio gear. We hope they’ll be able to soften up the hard surfaces in the room to improve the acoustics, given how much good music is planned in the coming months.
Homegrown bluegrassers Jackass Flats did an energetic opening set and got to spotlight their own Aaron Lewis who was the first-place fiddler at Galax last week. Congrats Aaron…mighty fine. Next up was the ever-enigmatic King Wilkie, who are busy working their new CD on Zoe/Rounder called Low Country Suite. It's a compelling snapshot of the band's musical evolution, which has led from their 2003 beginnings as faithful bluegrass disciples to their current, definitely darker, more mysterious place in Americana and including a few more non-traditional instruments like pedal and lap steel, ukulele and even a Shroeder-like toy piano. There's also a key personnel change now underway as lead guitarist and gifted songwriter Ted Pitney pulls away to pursue matters personal. His spot is being filled at least for now, by Adam Ollendorff, one of those gifted Berklee School guys out of Boston on steel. Seemed to be an amicable parting and I just hope Ted will continue to be one of the band's prime providers of great material. Only wish they'd had longer to play and could've worked in "Wrecking Ball, " my favorite KW tune.
And then, along came Sam Bush and he instantly made subjects of the nearly four hundred in the crowd as he kicked of his 90-minute set with "King of the World." He rode the "Bluegrass Train" straight back to the source with a most successful sing-along on "Uncle Pen." The band is as solid as ever with Sam's high-school classmate Byron House on bass, Chris Brown and his drums of renown, Stephen Mougin on guitar and versatile veteran Scott Vestal on his stealth banjo. Sam's got so many tools to draw on in building his musical game plan, not the least of which these days is his voice. His lead vocals have become stronger and more assured with each passing year and along with his singular eight-string stylings and his soulful way with a fiddle, Mr. Bush is a serious triple-threat. Make that quadruple as he adds another feather to a full cap as host of the IBMA Awards Show in Nashville on October 4th. He's had my vote for Entertainer of the Year for a long time...maybe one day he'll get his due.
I'll finish up tonight with an invitation to join us at my church out in Goochland County this coming Sunday for our annual bluegrass gospel service. It starts at 6pm at Hebron Presbyterian on Shallow Well Road between routes 6 & 250 and again features Paul & Damian Muller, Darin Lawrence and Buster Sexton. It's free, we don't take an offering and there's an old-fashioned ice cream social after the service. Y'all come...
Have a good week and thank the Lord for the rain...TT
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