Wintergrass
Jonobie and I went to a bluegrass festival in Tacoma called Wintergrass. I was really impressed, so much so that it was almost worth the exhorbitant $65 price of admission.
We're not certain if there was a cheaper way to get in. For example, we didn't do any workshops, so we're not sure if there was a cheaper non-workshop admittance. But they certainly weren't forthcoming with said information.
The first notably cool thing about the concert was how much jamming was going on in every nook and cranny of the hotel. Random people seemed to converge and play together, and not badly! There was even a sign next to the bathrooms: "No Jamming Beyond This Point."
Jonobie and I seemed to form similar conclusions about who we liked, didn't like, or wanted to go see, so the whole day was pretty effortless and fun. We saw:
Belle Monroe and her Brewglass Boys: Belle was a great vocalist, and they had good songs and vocal harmonies. Least talented backing band, though.
Cody Bryant and the Riders of the Purple Sage: we only caught the tail end of their performance, but it was enough to be impressed by their fun loving spirit and effortless virtuosity, if not their purple-and-black getup.
Mike Marshall and Choro Famoso featuring Danilo Brito: Choro Famoso is essentially a bunch of americans geeking out over brazilian music. Danilo Brito, however, is a stunningly good Bandolim player. A Bandolim is like a mandolin, but with a clear, brazilian-style tone. Brazilian music isn't my favorite, but I suspect that this will be the performance I remember in two years.
Alison Brown: Financier turned Banjo player that used to tour with Allison Krauss. She played a low-key, jazzy, contemporary form of bluegrass that we found pleasant but ultimately boring.
Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper - This was a fantastic traditional bluegrass band headlined (but not fronted) by their fiddler, Michael Cleveland, whose fiddling skills were outstanding. It was an instance where your assumptions are completely shattered: he was short, fat, blind, and had an excessive southern drawl. But he was both fun and incredibly talented. The rest of the band was also superb, although amusingly, they did each try to get their instrument miked up more than everyone else's during the soundcheck. The cocky, hot-shot mandolinist was the worst offender, though I must admit his skills almost met his level of swagger.
Scythian - Scythian does "speed-folk." They are essentially a rock band fronted by a good fiddler instead of a guitarist, and they do rocked-up folk of various nationalities, including Celtic, Klezmer, and Ukrainian. Oh, and they threw in a killer rendition of They Might Be Giants' Istanbul, as well as the old classic My Son John. They were easily the highest energy act of the day, and by the time they finished I had done a lot of awkward dancing and bouncing up and down.
I actually think the quality of the music at the event was significantly higher than that of, say, Bumbershoot, and the best thing is that nearly everyone there is so into the music, that there's a lot of energy. I think if I go back, though, I will do more advance planning to make sure it's worth the price of admission, perhaps by attending mandolin workshops.
Jonobie has now informed me that I should go to the Seattle Folk festival as well. Sounds cool.
We're not certain if there was a cheaper way to get in. For example, we didn't do any workshops, so we're not sure if there was a cheaper non-workshop admittance. But they certainly weren't forthcoming with said information.
The first notably cool thing about the concert was how much jamming was going on in every nook and cranny of the hotel. Random people seemed to converge and play together, and not badly! There was even a sign next to the bathrooms: "No Jamming Beyond This Point."
Jonobie and I seemed to form similar conclusions about who we liked, didn't like, or wanted to go see, so the whole day was pretty effortless and fun. We saw:
Belle Monroe and her Brewglass Boys: Belle was a great vocalist, and they had good songs and vocal harmonies. Least talented backing band, though.
Cody Bryant and the Riders of the Purple Sage: we only caught the tail end of their performance, but it was enough to be impressed by their fun loving spirit and effortless virtuosity, if not their purple-and-black getup.
Mike Marshall and Choro Famoso featuring Danilo Brito: Choro Famoso is essentially a bunch of americans geeking out over brazilian music. Danilo Brito, however, is a stunningly good Bandolim player. A Bandolim is like a mandolin, but with a clear, brazilian-style tone. Brazilian music isn't my favorite, but I suspect that this will be the performance I remember in two years.
Alison Brown: Financier turned Banjo player that used to tour with Allison Krauss. She played a low-key, jazzy, contemporary form of bluegrass that we found pleasant but ultimately boring.
Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper - This was a fantastic traditional bluegrass band headlined (but not fronted) by their fiddler, Michael Cleveland, whose fiddling skills were outstanding. It was an instance where your assumptions are completely shattered: he was short, fat, blind, and had an excessive southern drawl. But he was both fun and incredibly talented. The rest of the band was also superb, although amusingly, they did each try to get their instrument miked up more than everyone else's during the soundcheck. The cocky, hot-shot mandolinist was the worst offender, though I must admit his skills almost met his level of swagger.
Scythian - Scythian does "speed-folk." They are essentially a rock band fronted by a good fiddler instead of a guitarist, and they do rocked-up folk of various nationalities, including Celtic, Klezmer, and Ukrainian. Oh, and they threw in a killer rendition of They Might Be Giants' Istanbul, as well as the old classic My Son John. They were easily the highest energy act of the day, and by the time they finished I had done a lot of awkward dancing and bouncing up and down.
I actually think the quality of the music at the event was significantly higher than that of, say, Bumbershoot, and the best thing is that nearly everyone there is so into the music, that there's a lot of energy. I think if I go back, though, I will do more advance planning to make sure it's worth the price of admission, perhaps by attending mandolin workshops.
Jonobie has now informed me that I should go to the Seattle Folk festival as well. Sounds cool.