Elderly Brothers at the Barking Spider

The Elderly Brothers emerge from winter hibernation to open for Crossties.

When: Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:00pm
Where: BARKING SPIDER TAVERN
11310 Juniper Rd.
Cleveland, OH 44106

Come on out to watch us play, and then stick around to see some real musicians. 

Another Good Day at the KSU Folk Fest Workshops

On Saturday I spent another great afternoon with Brothers Jeff and George, and friends Carl, Tony, and Penny at the annual Kent State Folk Festival Workshops.

Unlike past years, I barely left the sessions in KIVA auditorium, except for a couple of quick laps around the third floor at the Student Center to scope out any good hallway jams. The crowd there seemed thin this year, but I did catch a couple of minutes of some great music by a dulcimer/fiddle duet.

The main action this year was in KIVA. First up was a workshop on song arrangement with Rio Neon, a fine Kent-based acoustic quintet who ran through a set of interesting arrangements of some familiar folk and country tunes, like "Sixteen Tons."

While the musicians in Rio Neon are top-notch, I found some of the arrangements a bit busy.  But the band was in superior form on the jazzier numbers in the set. I'd see them again.

Next up was The Rhondas, hosting the harmony workshop.  The  three lovely young women who comprise the Rhondas sing like... well, like angels, a cliche that is well worth dusting off for these amazing vocalists. Their set mixed sweet romantic ballads with bawdy, double-entendre-laced up-tempo numbers.  This is a great live act, well worth seeing. 

The blues workshop once again featured the All Star Band, and act assembled each year for this event by Blue Lunch member Bob Frank (guitar, vocals). The band includes Blue Lunch bassist Ray DeForest,  Blue Lunch alumni Norm Tischler (sax) and a keyboard player and drummer I did not recognize and whose names I did not catch -- which is a crime because they're damn good.

This year the blues workshop repertoire shifted from the usual Chicago blues to the jazz-tinged R & B typically heard in Cleveland nightclubs in the 50s and 60s.  Stand-out numbers in the solid set  included Gene McDaniel's "Compared to What"  and Bill Dogget's "Honky Tonk."   The band's performance on the McDaniels tune had the kind of spontaneous momentum and energy that can only happen when a band hasn't rehearsed a song to death. Based on the surprised comments from the stage, it appeared that the band may have played the tune largely from memory, an astonishing feat given that the tune is far more complex than the typical twelve-bar blues.   "Honky Tonk," a far less challenging tune than "Compared to What," had just as much energy, and the band was clearly having a good time.

Frank took the opportunity to promote the recently-formed Cleveland Blues Society, and organization worthy of support.

My afternoon ended with what has become an Elderly Brothers tradition: a stop at Woodsy's Music to visit a few guitars and mandolins I'd like to own, and then dinner and drinks at Ray's Place. 

Many thanks to WKSU and the amazing Folk Alley for their continued support of the music and the Festival.

 

Technorati Tags: KSU Folk Festival,music,The Rhondas,Rio Neon,Blue Lunch,WKSU,Folk Alley

Big Fun at Wilberts with the Troubadours of Divine Bliss

The Elderly Brothers had big fun opening for the Troubadours of Divine Bliss this past Thursday at Wilberts. Love to hear those TBD harmonies, and it was a special treat to see fab-fiddler Steph Dlugon sitting in, despite a damaged wing.

Elderly Brothers @ Wilbert's - 5/29/08

The Elderly Brothers will open the CD release party for the Troubadours of Divine Bliss at Wilbert’s in downtown Cleveland, 8pm, Thursday, May 29, 2008.

Contact the club for more information:
Wilbert’s || 812 Huron Rd E, Cleveland, OH? - (216) 902-4663

Robbie Fulks and Grant Tye

Robbie Fulks and Grant Tye
Originally uploaded by Bob Rhubart

I have never heard a Robbie Fulks song I didn't like, but I had not had a chance to see him perform before his extraordinary set on the Black Swamp stage last night.

Fulks brings an impressive literary wit to material that is deeply rooted in the music of Buck Owens, Ernest Tubb, Faron Young, and of course, Hank Williams. If Hank had a Masters in Literature, he'd be Robbie Fulks.

Fulks's perfect voice, elegant wordplay, unshakably catchy tunes, and interplay with his band adds up to great show that never loses its relaxed yet inexorable pace.

Backing Fulks was one of the best 3-piece bands you'll likely to hear, featuring the astonishingly tasty work of guitarist Grant Tye. Tye, playing a battle-worn Stratocaster, squeezed out rapid-fire chicken-pickin' licks, liquid steel guitar whines, and whammy bar quavers with the ease of a man who, one suspects, never puts the instrument down. He's the kind of player that makes me want to pile my gear up in the yard and have a bonfire.

Fulks and company are more fun and more musical than is probably legal in many Red States. Nashville needs Robbie Fulks far more than Fulks needs Nashville.