Infamous Stringdusters – The Old Town School Of Folk Music – 2009-12-31

by happycat! >^.^<m~ | Jan 22, 2010 | Uncategorized

Infamous Stringdusters – The Old Town School Of Folk Music – 2009-12-31
The Infamous Stringdusters
 2009-12-31(early show)
Old Town School Of Folk Music
Chicago, IL

Eight Channel Matrix Of:

Neumann skm184(DIN/Table W/6′ High) > Sound Devices Mixpre > MOTU Ultralite mk3 > PC(Sonar 7 16/48)
Nak300’s(~NOS/Table W/5.5′ High) > MOTU Ultralite mk3 > PC(Sonar 7 16/48)
Shure ksm137’s?(sm. diaphragm condensers/on-stage/DFC/2′ High) > MOTU Ultralite mk3 > PC(Sonar 7 16/48)
SBD > MOTU Ultralite mk3 > PC(Sonar 7 16/48)

>>> Tracked to 4 stereo tracks and post mixed on PC(Sonar 7 16/48[mix/resample to 44.1]) > CDWave(Tracking) > FLAC(16/44.1)

Recorded By: John Fairbairn
Mixing By: John Fairbairn

Set 1
=====
1. Intro
2. I Am A Stranger
3. Gettin’ Down The Road
4. One More Bridge
5. High On A Mountaintop
6. Blackrock
7. End Of The Line
8. Deep Elem Blues
9. Long & Lonesome Day
10. Wichita Stomp
11. Well, Well
12. Blue Moon Of Kentucky*
13. Walking In My Sleep*

* w/ Uncle Earl

http://www.archive.org/details/is2009-12-31.flac16.8ch

This show, is off the hook (to say the least). The dynamics and sound this band produces is just so crisp, you MUST love them. All of these guys LOVE their job, and their band mates who are all good friends to them. They really do produce the best bluegrass around in my honest opinion. Jeremy Garret on fiddle, has such a soothing voice, and can blow your mind with his fiddle, a Falco can tear your brain with his dobro playing, Andy Hall is one of the best bluegrass guitarists to come out recently, Travis Book is also the best bluegrass bassist in my opinion, Chris Pandolfi; the prince of banjo playing, and to round out the group, Jesse Cobb melting your face with the mandolin.

I decided to review the 2010 NYE instead of the 3 shows I have been to just because the sound that this matrix provides is just beyond comprehension, it just soothes the soul to say the least.

First the Stringdusters pulled out a tune I Am A Stranger, with beautiful harmonies, and picking to match it… Then The Likes Of Me comes up, and it’s time for some funk to be throw down, the instrumental conversations the guys produce are really impressive, and helps the crowd get on the dancefloor and doing just that; dancing. I love the elongated jams that this band produces, showing  that they can expand their bluegrass label and jam just as much as anyone can. A very pure bluegrass esqe song One More Bridge comes up next, and is very tight, as all of the pure bluegrass these guys do is.

High On A Mountain Top; a very slow, but jam packed tune is up next, Travis Book (bass and vocals) sings this very hypnotic song, and the other band members come in for the chill-giving harmonies. I love the dobro part on this tune, as well as what the other guys add of course, the conversations between the instruments show that these guys can do what the Allman Brothers do, just accoustic style. One last note I want to make on this tune is that Chris Pandolfi (banjo) throws down with some of the best banjo playing I have ever heard. Blackrock is up next, another catchy jam, I love it. That’s all I can say, but what’s not to love about this band? This is definitely a favorite of my Infamous Stringdusters jams. A short tune called End Of The Line is up next, very pleasant bluegrass.

Next a classic tune that Jerry Garcia used to do, Deep Elem Blues, which is just amazing for the fact that Jerry did it, and the tune allows a lot of great jams. Long & Lonesome Day and Witchita Stomp both follow which were great versions of the tunes.

Following that, is my favorite Stringduster tune, Well Well, it’s a song with everything in it; jamming, harmonies, a story, and just great musicianship. For the final two songs, Uncle Earl comes on, and they have a group jam, wow, what a show, must have been amazing to be at.