Well, if you missed JD Crowe over at Christiansburg High School, start kicking yourself now. There were at least a few hundred lucky souls out there in the freakishly cold weather, to see some hard core bluegrass. And it don't get any harder than JD. Heather Berry opened the show, and she was a treat. My compatriot remarked that she could "flat out sing" and that about sums it up. She had a three piece band that included her husband on the mandolin and banjo. And if you never thought much of the autoharp, she might make a fan out of you. When I last saw Heather Berry, it was in the same spot, opening for JD when he was at Auburn High School, and she was more of a bluegrass act. This time out she played some bluegrass, but most of the set was Carter-style tunes that came over well and were well-received.
JD Crowe then came on and played about the set you'd expect - hard driving, with tight harmonies.
Shawsville native Steve Thomas is in the fiddle chair, and John Bowman on the bass. Steve Thomas has apparently been everywhere, and John has too, though he seemed to have picked up some style tips from his time with Doyle Lawson--he was the sharpest dressed member of the band. Ricky Wasson claimed to have a cold, but he sounded good as ever to me on lead vocals and guitar, and Dwight McCall is one mean tenor singer and a clean, clean mandolin picker.
Crowe did his thing, and it was great to see him. Like Doc Watson, age doesn't seem to be slowing the man down. He says he's not afflicted by any arthritis or pain of any kind, and is happy about it. JD must've signed 30 banjo heads at the break. I don't play the banjo, so I picked up a copy of Bluegrass Holiday, and had him sign that, "...to my Best Friend Forever, Chris--Love JD." I'll post it up later. Highlights for me were the Mississippi River Raft, Wild Fiddler's Rag, Blackjack (that got some hoots from the Coffee Mill crowd), Goin' Across the See, You Don't Know my Mind, Rock, Salt, and Nails, Old Home Place, and many more. It was my kind of show where it was song after song after song after song with nary a break. Keep 'em comin!
The real highlight of the night though, was when Tim Mills got his pony tail cut off on stage. Hope some pictures surface of that. Timmy played a solid
1 comment:
Pretty accurate assessment of the show, Chris! I must have been the guy who said that Heather could "flat out sing", cause she could. She was worth the price of a ticket by herself. JD was "gravy on the biscuits." Hope Tim gets some other acts in here along the way. Looks like a big-time bluegrass show in the NRV may be financial feasible.
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