Good Music Done Right

What is it about hearing good music in really small venues that is so satisfying? On Saturday, April 14th, my wife and I had the pleasure of seeing a fine performance by the Manhattan Valley Ramblers at the Orchard House Café on the east side of New York City. Bluegrass in the Big Apple? Yes it does happen. And when MVR is on the bill you’ll get good solid old time picking, soulful vocal harmonies and one of the best fiddle players this listener has ever heard. John Saroyan – guitar, banjo and mandolin – and Bill Christophersen – fiddle and guitar – make up this excellent duo.

The two set program leaned heavily on songs of earlier eras. We heard covers of the Stanley Brothers, Louvin Brothers and, impressively, the Everly Brothers. There were fiddle tunes bowed with what seemed like wild abandon. And that only shows how skilled the fiddler really is. I won’t do a song by song review but here are a few titles that stood out for one reason or another. “Turkey Buzzard” “Wild Hog In the Woods” “Big Tiger Special” “Single-Footing Horse” and “Three Thin Dimes” all showcased Mr. Christophersen’s inspired fiddling. The vocal work on “Down, Down, Down” “Summertime is Past and Gone” “Devoted” “Making Believe” and a particularly fine rendition of “Childish Love” exemplified the deep feelings so evident in Bluegrass music. All of the songs selected display the respect and affection that this duo has for all the compositions.

Now back to the first rhetorical question that I posed. A small venue like the Orchard House Café provides an intimate and friendly atmosphere that is so difficult to duplicate in larger concert settings. Here the musicians can look into the eyes of the audience and gauge how the songs are being accepted or rejected. They can change their set list to alter the mood and they can engage in friendly banter with their listeners, and between themselves, which can also get folks loosened up or ready to appreciate a serious point about the origin or story behind a song. It’s a great way to hear music and the Manhattan Valley Ramblers maximized their setting.

The duo has a fine CD of their music available. The title is “Ballads and Barnburners” and I believe if you check out their website you can obtain this item. John and Bill each have their own CD’s from a few years back and they’re also very good. Go to www.manhattanvalleyramblers.com to learn more.

Let me add one more personal note here. John and Bill are two very kind, friendly and personable fellows. Get out to see them and you’ll see very quickly that these are genuine musicians, dedicated to their art and constantly working to improve their already formidable skills.

ERIC GIBSON: Up Close And Personal, The Busco-Dome, Churubusco NY, 11/26/2011

The venue is a vintage looking Quonset building with a generous coating of spray-on insulation lining the interior. Tractor sized overhead doors are on each end of the building and a concrete slab serves as a floor. The place looks very much like a WW II truck repair shop. But down towards the north end of the building is a raised platform. On the platform are some decent looking speakers, a couple of stage light fixtures, a stool and a few microphones. A banjo, guitar and mandolin sit waiting in their stands. Rows of folding chairs are lined up facing the stage, seating for a hundred fifty or so lucky music lovers.

The audience arrived in SUVS, cars and pick-up trucks. Pick-ups seemed to dominate. Young folks, families, not-so-young folks and plenty of geezers, like me, filed in. Many of these people are friends and relatives of Eric and the Gibson family. There was a lot of laughing and hugging going on as folks caught up on the news. There were some arrivals that looked a little wary, not quite sure how red-necked this red-neck bunch was going to be. But they didn’t worry too long as good North Country hospitality set everyone at ease. The mood in this rough hewn country concert hall was happily expectant.

Dick Decosse, owner of the world renowned Dick’s Country Store and Music Oasis (Gas, Groceries, Guitars and Guns) as well as the “Busco-Dome” took the stage. Dick is a businessman, musician and songwriter. He’s also a friend and mentor to many musicians including the Gibson Brothers. He stood tall at the microphone and proudly and warmly introduced his friend and star performer Eric Gibson.

Eric took the stage. He seemed a little bit nervous and he soon admitted that he was uncomfortable without his brother Leigh and his other band mates. He briefly explained, as he strapped on his guitar and checked the tuning, that the evening was something of an experiment and that he’d be introducing lots of new songs as well as singing a few GB standards. He then paused and seemed to reach inside himself and find a place where he was immediately calm and grounded.

And then the music started.

One singer and one guitar is a pretty common combination. But when the musician is an artist, when his skills have been honed through study and thought and when experience has brought him to a graceful maturity something quite wonderful can happen. The audience in that big garage on a lonely stretch of North Country road was privileged to be a part of that rare experience. Real music, honest and pure, without gimmicks or affectation filled the hall.

“I Play An Old Guitar” was the opening song which set the tone for the night. Eric delivered this Gibson Brothers staple with confidence and power, totally in his element. Then he quickly followed with “Farm of Yesterday”, his deeply personal anthem to his roots and an intricately crafted melding of melody and lyrics. His musical maturity was never more apparent.

After some friendly banter Eric introduced a new composition. Just after we’d heard a song that showed the best kind of writing and performing, another possible contender for a future “song of the year” award rang out. “They Call It Music” is the perfect title and its lyrical power is very strong. The song tells a simple story and, again, the blend of lyrics and melody are far greater than the separate elements.

Next came another of those personal songs, Eric’s tribute to his grandfather “Arleigh”. A tribute song is only good if it strikes a chord of commonality with the listener and this one meets that difficult standard. The evening flew on. A new song “Chip Upon My Shoulder” was followed by a twenty year old piece “She Paints A Picture” which was inspired by Eric’s wife. Then another new one, a near rocker called “Tailspin” that had a Toby Keith or Trace Adkins feeling. Next a new gentle, sad tune called “If You Love Me You Would Send Me Out To Sea”.

An instrumental treat followed as Eric grabbed the banjo and jumped back to bluegrass with a fine rendition of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”. That was followed by a lively vocal with banjo accompaniment “Callie’s Reel”. Picking complicated patterns on the banjo is no easy task. Picking those patterns while singing a complex lyric show why Eric is so highly regarded as both a picker and a singer.

Two more new songs, “Of All The Lonely Nights” and “A Truth Too Hard To Tell” should appear on future albums, if not by the Gibson’s then by some other smart recording artist. Next came “Dixie”, Eric’s touching song about Elvis. Hearing the story behind the song was almost as good as the piece itself. “Frozen In Time” followed, a song especially appreciated by the earlier mentioned geezers in the crowd. Then Eric debuted a number called “I’ll Work It Out” that should earn him some product placement cash from the Barlow Knife Company. It too could easily be a hit.

More instrumental music followed as Eric’s son Kelly stepped on stage for a few mandolin solos. Kelly played two original songs, “Phantom Hop” and “Bearded Dragon”, and “Saratoga Racehorse” with his proud dad doing the guitar back-up. Kelly shows a lot of promise and we’ll see more of him as the years go by.

The main show wound up with “I’m A Cowboy”, a touching song about a dad considering the future of his young son. Then Eric belted out “Picker’s Blues” bringing the crowd to a standing ovation.

Eric, on request from some of the audience members, encored his new song “They Call It Music” and then did a Dale Watson tune, “You Are My Friend”. It was a perfect closing to a fine show and drew another well deserved standing ovation.

Could Eric Gibson be a solo performer? Sure. He’s got stage presence, a memorable voice with range and depth and all the skills a musician needs. He writes great songs and “sells” them as well as any performer in the business. But why would he leave one of the finest bluegrass bands working today? With his brother Leigh and the other great musicians in the group there’s every indication that the Gibson Brothers will have a long and satisfying career. An occasional solo show is a good idea, one that brother Leigh might want to consider, not that there would be any rivalry or anything like that. But it would be interesting to see what kind of show Leigh would put together.

Finally, to wrap up this rather long rave review, I’d like Eric to know that the beard isn’t too bad. But I’m still not sold on that jacket.