Low volume was not a problem at the Avett Brothers show at the Boulder Theater Saturday night. Oh no, not at all. The Avett Brothers were making a ton of sound for three guys and 16 strings, give or take a couple dozen broken ones.
See, I won these tickets to go to the show. And I was going to give them away because the Avett Brothers are bluegrass and I’m not so into that. Plus, we have a couple of their CDs and, from my point of view, they’re just okay. Pleasant, for sure, but nothing I was really excited about. But I ended up going to see them anyway, and while I’m not sure what I heard Saturday night, it definitely wasn’t straight-up bluegrass.
I’ve never seen Austin’s Asylum Street Spankers before last night’s show at the Allgood Café but I had heard plenty about them; an all acoustic ensemble that plays ragtime, blues, country, jazz, swing and seemingly anything else they can cram into their spirited, genre-defying, multi-instrumental performances.
I’ve waited a while to write this one, I guess I didn’t really know where to start.
I’ve been watching The Drams progress steadily from that first Dallas show at their home-base, The Barley House, up to a recent Labor Day appearance in a crowded, trendy uptown pub and there’s been a definite arc to their sound that bears noting.
OK, so I had no idea what to expect from a Gourds show at Central Market in Ft Worth.
For one thing, I’d never been to Central Market in Ft Worth. I’ve been to the one in Dallas and couldn’t quite envision a band playing there. But there it was – a Thursday night free Gourds show at a grocery store.
To begin with, I should admit that I’m a big Todd Snider fan. I mean, he’s funny, his records are great, and he performs in his bare feet. And when he needs them, based on the photos in the booklet that came with the disc, he’s got a super sweet pair of Chuck Taylor Converse All-Star sneakers (low risers).
If he’s playing with The Nervous Wrecks, he’ll rock the house. But he’s equally good in folk singer mode – just a guitar and harmonica – telling stories, getting the crowd on his side (he always gets the crowd), and playing his awesome songs.
