Bluegrass etc.

Katie D.

January 18, 2009 - 11:52 AM

This Friday six of my friends and I went out for an evening of Bluegrass music, featuring the Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, the Alder Street Allstars and the Blair Street Mugwumps at the Wow Hall. The real attraction was Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, who I had missed by mere moments when they opened for Flogging Molly on December 30th in Denver. The Big Damn Band is an awesome bluegrass combo of Reverend Peyton on guitar, his brother on drums, and his wife on the washboard. They are hilarious, incredibly talented, and larger than life.

The whole evening was really fun. I love going to concerts, and hadn't ever been to a bluegrass concert before. The two opening bands were both very good, especially the Blair Street Mugwumps, who had a great combination of obscure instruments and an awesome off-beat vibe. They also had antique-looking microphones, which adds some real style points to the whole event. The crowd was so funky, too, with an interesting variety of people from straight-laced middle age couples to shirtless drunk dudes screaming and dancing without shirts on. Lots of overalls and funny hats were also in evidence. Maybe that's just bluegrass, or maybe that's bluegrass in Eugene. Regardless, it hit my expectations of a bluegrass concert scene pretty much dead-center. And had me dancing and laughing for four whole hours of great music.

It's wonderful to have the opportunity to take a break from the weekly routine every once in a while, to listen to some new music in a new place, to see offbeat people acting crazy in their hats and bad facial hair, and to dance around to bluegrass and wish you'd devoted some serious time to the study of the banjo or bass clarinet.

The Big Damn Band was simply amazing. Reverend Peyton is a huge man with a gigantic beard. He's an incredibly talented guitar player, especially with finger-picking that allows him to play both lead guitar and the base line at the same time. They're hilarious, formidable, and completely lovable as a group. And bluegrass is inherently lovable: it's a hand-clapping, foot-stamping kind of music. It was so, so fun.

About halfway through the concert my friends and I decided that this needed to be a regular part of our lives. So the new plan is to go to see live music once every two weeks. That means bluegrass, rock, jazz, beat poetry (well, maybe I'm the only one that would count that), and classical. I'm hoping that it might mean trips up to Portland and Seattle to see the big concerts, and that this new music quest might also take us to coffee shops for local artists, jazz clubs, and the University of Oregon's Beall Hall for symphony concerts. As far as I'm concerned, this is an equal-opportunity resolution. Music event once every two weeks. No excuses, no exclusions.

I was a musician in high school. I played trumpet and French horn in the concert band and in the marching band. I played in small ensembles and in the pit orchestra. I was on the leadership team for marching band and was first horn my senior year. Band at my high school was something that could and did consume all available time, eating away at non-band friendships and activities. Efforts to continue my interests in academics and literature (both reading and writing) meant I was one seriously busy kid for those four years. You could disappear into the band crowd. You dated band kids. You hung out in the band room before school. You went on band trips. Music was a constant in my life, something that I practiced at home and identified with in school and my high school social life (all of this was somehow much less nerdy when I was living it then it sounds when I'm writing it).

I wanted more freedom in college. I was done being a slave to a band teacher's approval, or being responsible for the musical accomplishments of six or seven fellow high schoolers. I decided to spend first semester of my freshman year at college without any kind of music: without band, lessons, or a horn to practice on. The other musicians out there know that putting down a horn for four months basically means you'll practically be starting over when you pick it up again: the knowledge is there but the chops won't be. But I hit college running, with the unbelievable luxury of structuring my own time and interests. I had whole new realms of activities and pursuits, and my time was my own.

That being said, I miss making music. Listening to my ipod nearly every hour of the day does not make up for my lack of personal musical creation. I tried to learn guitar multiple times and have thus far not mastered the whole strumming thing. I've also been working on harmonica, which will totally count for musical instrument playing if I can ever get the hang of it.

But I think getting back into a groove of going out to see music, to hang with musicians and people who love music, would be good for me. It's not the same, really, but I've moved on from my high school music passion. So aside from the opportunity to discover new bands and have something to look forward to once every couple of weeks, I think the consistent presence of music in my weeks will be good for me. It'll be an adventure, a goal, a social event, a therapy session.

Especially if there's some banjo or screaming guitar in there, too.

Go ahead and pass me some of "Mama's Fried Potatoes."

PS: If you haven't checked this band out, you should really hop on YouTube and give them a chance. Here's a pretty good YouTube song, although it takes a while for them to get playing:

There's no video evidence that I've found, but Washboard Breezy did actually light her washboard on fire during the encore song on Friday night. Impressive? To say the very least.