Covering the spread...

Since last we posted, a couple of rewarding musical experiences worth noting. Friday was one of those "special occasion" nights out, fairly rare for Ms. D and me that found us at Buckhead's for a nice meal and some well-chosen standards from Richmond's durable R&B icon Steve Bassett.  If you've yet to hear how well he's made the transition from Mystic Soul Bubba and Delbert McClinton sideman to convincing purveyor of Tin Pan Alley classics, you're missing out on one of our town's great musical sidebars.  After a handful of charming collaboration albums with late keyboard stylist Jimmy Black, Steve's become a more than credible interpreter of tunes I first heard my parents sing on long road trips from the backseat of the station wagon. These selections from the great American songbook like "Until The Real Thing Comes Along," "Someone To Watch Over Me," and "I'll Be Seeing You" have been given new life by his seasoned pipes and his infectious confidence in front of a crowd, in this case a small attentive group enjoying fine food and romantic atmosphere by the fire.  Devotees of the stuff Steve's known for weren't disappointed as crack jazz keyboardist Anthony Dowd packed it in after the first set leaving Mr. B to serve up a second helping of soul classics with a requisite number of happy hoofers on the dance floor.  Making memories for the generations...Steve Bassett does it well, and for those who enjoyed his Christmas CD years ago, a new stocking full of favorites is just out for the holidays.   Order yours here. And rumors continue to swirl about a 30th anniversary reunion album in the making with Robbin Thompson.  All in good time.

Don't forget Robbin's upcoming JAMinc/In Your Ear Studio A concert on December 5th. It's almost sold out.
Reservations here.  (Bassett portrait from his Website)

  We'd been looking forward to the next night for a good while...a double-date to Toad's Place with fellow aficionados of Robert Earl Keen's brand of Texas roadhouse story songs.  The pot was seriously sweetened by a surprise visit from our Boulder girl who'd flown in as an early birthday present for her ol' man. I was floored.  It was gratifying to see a full house of REK disciples ready to become the roomful of backup singers he's used to hearing...it's still amazing to see how many folks know all the words to all the verses of so many of his road-tested tunes.  It's also encouraging to see the our two new Richmond music halls, Toad's and The National both seem to be making it with creative booking and a top-notch customer experience.  Our live music scene's come a long way in the past year or so.

Page gets Punched...

Anticipation was running high earlier this week as we were getting primed for the illustrious Punch Brothers and their two-night stand at the University of Richmond's elegant Modlin Center.  All of a sudden the meter pegged as Page Wilson, host of WCVE-FM's Out O' The Blue Radio Revue called up and alerted me to a grand re-opening of his Chickahominy Swamp kitchen...with non other than Chris Thile and his musical brethren as special guests.   We gathered just past noon on Tuesday at Bruce Olsen's  tucked-away Northside studios that I'd always wanted to see.  It's a great space...oriental rugs, Tiffany-style lamps, a 1914 Steinway grand, an assortment of guitars and vintage Fender tube amps...and on this day, a big table loaded down with swamp vittles for the boys including Commercial Tap House spare ribs, vegetarian paella, fresh corn bread and Page's own delectable venison stew.  The band rolled in from their first overnight at the Jefferson (nice digs) and elected to avoid the feed bag until the interview/performance was done.  After extensive tuning, a few runthroughs, and the blessings of their soundman Dave Sinko, Adrian Olsen punched "record" and the Punch Brothers were officially welcomed to the Chickahominy Swamp kitchen.   Page chatted up the talented visitors, had them offer up three tunes for each of the two segments now preserved by ProTools for future airing on the OOTBRR.  We'll let you know when.  Chris Eldridge was like a kid at Christmas with his new toy, a 1937 D-28 on loan from E-Town's Nick Forster.  Chris called it a cannon...an ICBM.    We also got to hear the newest Punch Brother Paul Kowert, Edgar Meyer's number-one student on bass.  He replaces Greg Garrison who elected to leave the road to be with his growing family including a new baby girl.  Suffice to say, Paul's a very quick study displaying a strong command of this dizzyingly complex material.   

So the prodigious power quintet finished up with the 1st movement of Thile's "Blind Leaving The Blind" suite, cased their instruments and dove into the swamp fare with abandon.  Then it was off

to the Camp Concert Hall for sound check and the first of two superb Richmond shows.  The Punch Brothers set the string band bar extremely high.  It will be great to hear what they do for an encore from their new New York home base.

Don't forget Robert Earl Keen tomorrow night at Toad's Place.  A big-time Texas party is in store, promising a night-long standing ovation.

A New Day...

Since the Stringdusters were locked in the green room at AC&T by the shady punk string band Hazosphere on Halloween night, so much has happened that the prospect of starting a new journal entry is daunting. The new month of November has delivered us a new president-elect and regardless of whether your guy won or not, I hope you share my sense of relief that the election is finally over and that it was decisive enough not to be contested. And that both the acceptance and concession speeches combined to give me hope that we could swallow our differences long enough to approach some of the incredible hurdles we face as a nation with unity, creativity and courage. Hope springs eternal.

But back to the frighteningly good night of music served up by the Dusters and their bewigged rivals who stole the second set. I've been watching these guys since the Wheel House days, way before Critter departed for the rarified air of Tensions Mountain and I must say that while they've always been a great band, they've now evolved into a super group that takes its mission very seriously. And young Mr. Eldridge was even on hand for a smokin' duet with successor Andy Falco on "Cherokee Shuffle." Vocally and instrumentally, as songwriters and arrangers, their chemistry is undeniable and the result is a thrill to behold. If you're trying to convince any skeptical friends of yours that bluegrass indeed has merit, then take them to hear the Infamous Stringdusters. Converts will be made. Guaranteed.

Fast forward to last Friday when renowned autoharpist and master yarn-spinner Bryan Bowers returned to his old stomping ground for a couple of lively JAMinc-arranged school performances and a mesmerizing evening in In Your Ear's Studio A. JAMinc's president Wally Thulin and I caught Bryan's second school gig at Mary Munford Elementary. While there, we heard about a talented third-grader /mandolin student by the name of Harper Price who's taking from Adam Larrabee at Key Signatures. Bryan had told me about a priceless 1904-vintage C.F. Martin Style 6 bowlback mandolin someone had GIVEN him and that he had out in his big blue Mercedes van. After the lively assembly show, it made the day for all of us that Harper gently took the museum piece in her hands and proceeded to pick out Bill Monroe's "Old Dangerfield." We felt like we might have witnessed a pivotal moment in a young girl's musical journey.

Bryan Bowers' performance later that evening was captivating as he set up each song with well-crafted context and told stories of love and loss, of counting blessings and giving back, all to the compelling soundtrack of his magical harps. He won lots of hearts that night and he'll steal yours too...just listen to his latest CD Bristlecone Pine or his storytelling project September in Alaska. And don't miss his April encore at the Shady Grove Coffee House in Glen Allen.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday, tickets are still available for a major musical double-header at UofR's Modlin Center as Chris Thile and his powerful Punch Brothers play the Camp Concert Hall. This astoundingly ambitious quintet of virtuosos take the bluegrass template into fresh, exciting and often breathtaking new places. Word is that Page Wilson will be welcoming the boys into his Chickahominy Swamp "kitchen" for conversation and and a few live tunes while they're in town. Tape will be rolling.

Thankfully Texas tornado Robert Earl Keen's road goes on forever and it leads this Saturday night to Toad's Place where we'll all be singing along to his classics like "Five Pound Bass," "Gringo Honeymoon," and maybe an early "Merry Christmas From the Family." Sandy & I are psyched.

Our next JAMinc/In Your Ear Studio A concert will be a home game for rockin' Robbin Thompson with special guest Larry Burnett of the great country-rock group Firefall. We can only seat 80 folks for these intimate affairs so make your reservations soon here.

Get on out and support these musicians and the venues that help 'em make a living enriching our lives...TT

(Thanks to Gary Robertson for the hazy Hazosphere photo)