Live Review: Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine - Bowery Ballroom - July 3rd, 2013

Stolen Clip Art.

From the opening chords of “Too Drunk to Fuck” by the Dead Kennedys, smoothly transitioning into the ever catchy chorus from Nine Inch Nails, “I want to fuck you like an animal” in the most relaxed lounge way possible, and even for good measure, Khia’s “My Neck, My Back (lick my pussy and my crack),” Richard Cheese was the consummate professional. A lounge-y, well dressed, vulgar as fuck, lounging against the machine…professional.

He also donned the teacher cap, and taught the relatively middle aged, sold out, audience at Bowery Ballroom that the power of pussy comes in three’s—leading a chant of Prince’s “Pussy Control,” holding the mic out to, yes, “pussy-pussy-pussycontrooooooooool.” That’s a new jam on his latest release, The Royal Baby Album.

I am at the @richardcheese show and we just sang about pussy, pussy, pussy
— Michael (@mbyock) July 4, 2013

The day before Independence Day should ALWAYS be riddled with satire, laughs, too much booze, and the ultimate party host. And, really, what’s more American than all of that?

It seems like every single time Richard Cheese has been in town; I haven’t been able to go. This show seems like the kind of commodity that happens all the time in NYC, but not as often in other parts of the world. It’s why I love the ENDLESS options of living in NYC, but somehow, I haven’t been able to put it together until THIS TOUR. After eight long years, I finally got to see the Richard Cheese and the Lounge Against the Machine stage show!? Sardonic satire at it’s finest. Oh, Lordy what a treat!!

I remember back in dorm life (sigh…) this was some of the funniest shit ever. And, to me, a middle-aged white guy singing the most vulgar and hardcore pop songs from all eras will never cease to lose its amusement, or run its course. The one thing I didn’t think about, and I put this in my head by reading a few reviews prior to the show, will it over saturate itself during the show?

I typically enjoy a Richard Cheese laugh a couple tunes at a time, laugh, laugh some more, and then mosey my way onto something else. It’s always a treat to play for friends that haven’t heard it at the end of a party or something. I haven’t really made it a habit to listen to an ENTIRE Richard Cheese album in one sitting. Some of the reviews, albeit I randomly was reading them off Ticketmaster, fancied the idea that these cheesy lounge songs get old after two hours. Bah humbug!?

I didn’t really have that problem.

Musically, the show carries itself well enough, but what makes the show special is the ability Cheese has to ham it up with the audience. The Richard Cheese show is pretty much a comedy show. Obviously, it’s going to be hilarious, and that’s the point, but one way to transcend the songs and keep everything seamless, is an element of working a room and showmanship you really see out of standup comedians. This is the KEY element!

He had a wireless microphone and would walk around the room at his heart’s desire (he even went all the way up in the balcony) and mock people, banter, make jokes, do stupid shit, and for lack of a fancier team…entertain the masses. At one point, he even had everyone go on Twitter, and the facilitated a Tweeting contest!? Best Tweet including Richard Cheese would win a pretty ambitious music package from the band, including all their albums and so on and so forth. 

@richardcheese I'm at the Richard cheese show and I grabbed your balls on the balcony.
— durk diggler (@minarchist1) July 4, 2013

There were about 100 chairs (up front) at Bowery Ballroom, and sitting in the chairs, more or less meant you were in the show. Most of the front row was heckled on end, by name, the entire show. This particular show, some chick in the front row named Debbie was berated endlessly to the amusement of…well…seemingly everybody. Even Debbie. Her reward? She got to be the “Baby Got Back” dancer. To answer your question…yes.

I am at @richardcheese. I am Debbie!!!
— Queen Justify (@tell_me_why) July 4, 2013

The shtick is pretty predictable, yet impossible not to like. There were four jacket changes, from the neat and tidy tux, to the martini jacket, to the tiger stripped jacket and eventually back to the regular tux. Jazz hands. Self-depreciating humor by the truckload. Lots of talk about drinking. Enough cock jokes to capsize an Apatow or Todd Phillips screenplay. Yet, everything keeps moving right along, as Cheese continued to crank out the "hits." He pretty much played everything I wanted to hear, and made me laugh as much as I wanted to laugh..if that makes sense. For Bowery $35 dollars is an expensive show, but I can’t imagine getting more for my money anywhere else. It’s just an lovely evening of vulgar lounge music!? Like Sinatra on molly! I mean, Sinatra was probably on his generation's molly, but you get the point. 

It's all as delicious as a big block of Dick Cheese. 

Zerfas' Top 5 Richard Cheese Cuts:

1.     My Neck, My Back – Khia

2.     Chop Suey – System of the Down

3.     Closer – Nine Inch Nails

4.     Down with the Sickness – Disturbed

5.     Gimme That Nutt – Easy-E (New addition. Holy shit I was on the floor)

Setlist: 
(87.7% accuracy. Didn’t write it down, I was too drunk (to setlist?), and having too much fun. Order is askew, but for the most part this is how it went down. I may have missed a song or two. I don’t remember “Rape Me” or “Billy Jean” which are Cheese staples. Didn’t mean they didn’t happen!? I’m 97% sure they didn’t though.)

Too Drunk to Fuck (Dead Kennedys)

Closer (Nine Inch Nails)

Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 (Pink Floyd)

We Are Young (Fun.)

Brass Monkey (Beastie Boys)

Beastie Boys Medley (mostly turned into him saying Beastie Boys titles to Lounge Music. Still Funny.)

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Theme (audience request)

Tik Tok (Ke$ha)

Three’s a Company Theme

Buddy Holly (Weezer)

Gin and Juice (Snoop Dogg)

Like a G6 (Far East Movement)

Ice Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice)

Chop Suey (Sytem of the Down)

Sponge Bob Square Pants Theme

Gimme That Nutt (Easy-E)

You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC)

Hash Pipe (Weezer)

Pussy Control (Prince)

Down With the Sickness (Disturbed)

Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-a-Lot)

Fight for your Right (Beastie Boys)

My Neck, My Back (Khia)

Creep (Radiohead)

Live Review: Born Ruffians - Bowery Ballroom - April 16th, 2013

It felt like midnight Tuesday at Meijer as Born Ruffians took the Bowery Ballroom stage long after the sun came down, and shortly after I’d had a few (dozen) PBR’s. On this particular Tuesday, the bands’ third LP Birthmarks unveiled itself in concert, and for take out. As one would imagine the boys were in a festive mood. It had the feel of a low-key release party with the band confidently striding through a set of mostly new, intertwined around fan-favorite classics, to keep the sold out crowd frenzied.

The quirky quartet from Toronto doesn’t really take themselves too seriously, even though over the course of almost a decade their music has evolved exponentially. Any band that opens their set with a song called “Badonkadonkey” is to be given some slack in the seriousness department. It was an excellent choice by the way. Throughout their set though, there were traces of a band that’s coming together, forming a catalogue of deeper diversity, while still maintaining that zany dance party vibe. It’s really the perfect kind of show to let loose and kind of act like a fool, while maintaining some indie-pop cred for finding tasty rock goodness in the city.

Birthmarks opens with a remarkable song, the band used to close their set, “Needle” that showcases the bands’ ability to boil their sound into a bare-bones folk croon. The vocals sound eerily like that of the Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, and when the song gains momentum it cascades into a bursting Vampire Weekendish excursion. In fact, there are many times during Birthmarks I feel the channeling of Vampire Weekend, though, without the patronizing hipster-hater circus that comes with ALL THAT stigma. My apologies to Born Ruffians, but I view it as a good thing, a great blend of synth-riffs that crescendo into beautiful worldly sounding harmonization.

Born Ruffians seem to have a firm grasp on their audience. They were greeted with a berserk knee jerk reaction after opening with two classic numbers from their highly acclaimed debut LP Red, Yellow & Blue (2008). Then, they launched into a handful-and-a-half new songs were received well, with the crowd even singing along to the seemingly untested hymns.

Admittedly, after the debut masterpiece, Born Ruffians had kind of dropped off my radar. I missed their follow up, Say It in 2010, which only accounted for two of the performed songs, and didn’t come across Birthmarks until a friend pointed me in the direction. I’m glad he did. And, although the new album isn’t necessarily a classic like RY&B, but it’s certainly a worthwhile listen with a steady dose of quality songs, again, extending the sound and reach of the band.     

One particular song, “Cold Pop” drives hard with a synth heavy not-so-subtle sexuality declaring with dubious debauchery, “I’ve got nothing but lust for you…” It takes many twists and turns, without losing its effervescent momentum. I’m also a raving fan of “Rage Flows,” an off-kilter mid-tempo electronic dance-y song that features handclaps, toy sounds, monotone vocal loops and a multitude of timing changes. It’s a ride that I finish, I’m not quite sure what happened, but I feel ultimately I’m better for the experience. I wouldn’t play it at my next house party, but maybe I would—if there were enough drugs. Ingested. People would have to be fucked up for me to have the guts to play this song. Title fulfills prophecy…chuuch.

The encore was another case of embattled perfection. They opened with my favorite Born Ruffians song, “Little Garcon.” It’s just a cute little ditty that starts out as a folk riff, like a more romantic Lumineers, and blossoms into a layered clap along, whirling tambourine, hootenanny, nestling around your heart’s desire. The quintessential set closer is “I Need a Life” which is a rollicking number that senses set perfection as it gains life throughout the song, climaxing on a call and response sing-a-long, bringing the evening to a majestic close. It’s certainly Born Ruffians’ “Everlong.”

Their music has matured, but the dance-crazed fun doesn’t have to. Where’s the after party?

Setlist (I’m 94% confident about accuracy):

1. Badonkadonkey

2. Kurt Vonnegut

3. I’m One of Those Girls

4. Ocean’s Deep

5. Rage Flows

6. Too Soaked to Break

7. What to Say

8. Merry Little Fancy Things

9. Retard Canard

10. With Her Shadow

11. Cold Pop

12. Barnacle Goose

13. Needle

14. Little Garcon

15. I Need a Life

 

Live Review: Punch Brothers, Bowery Ballroom, NYE Show, SUPER PASS Day 3

Some things just have a feel. Monday has a feel. Football season has a feel, as you can smell it coming over the coast of Lake Michigan in late August on that first (and perhaps only) day when it’s not sweltering hot and humid. The Punch Brothers NYE show had a feel. To give it a little extra zing, the band even dressed in tuxes! Time seemed to have a bit more of a crunch as the show was an hour later than the previous two and had that impending countdown. A glass ceiling of happiness above us!

Throughout the beginning parts of the set, Noam “Pickles” Pikelny (the banjo player, with eternally dry wit) would passively say a number. It took a few to follow what he was doing at first. I mean, the guy is so DRY one can just never tell what he’s up to. Well, I guess you can, but it was a nice gag, starting in the thousands, periodically, throughout the evening.

From the way the setlist was written, and executed, it’s clear there was a plan to slay the audience with upbeat songs, then just before midnight unsheathe the final “Surf’s Up” (covered extensively in Day 1) and have an all-out calamity jam of “Watch ‘at Breakdown” while the clock strikes 2013. The setlist (as pictured below) even spells out the specific time to the second (aren’t these guys cute?) that those two songs were to be played. This strategy was a dead give away when the band uncorked “Rye Whiskey” as the second song. Everyone was stomping and the night just had that extra boost of energy you’d expect. Each night, and each song, I felt gained steam throughout the three nights. Perhaps, that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, but hey, it makes logical sense.

I always love to see “The Beekeeper” (watch Thile's solo from 1:07 to 1:52...wow. Unreal.) on the setlist. I think that’s a song you can play for anybody that doesn’t understand how good this band is. The swirling sounds Noam gets out of his banjo as well as the Thile bridge are astouding. It’s just a mind blowing experience. I specifically wondered if they would play it, as I’m not sure exactly how popular it is. I was also elated to get the title track off WFYN and a favorite tongue-in-cheeker off Antifogmatic “Next to the Trash.” If you went to all three shows, you started to check off some of the songs you hadn’t heard yet, wondering if they’ll leave them behind. Those three specifically were clutch in my book, including the Gabe Witcher (fiddle player) sung “Hundred Dollars.”

Chris came out before the opening set to personally introduce Michael Daves, which, I’ve always thought is a neat touch. At that point, you saw the tux, and the NYE spirit began to spread its way through the Bowery Ballroom. As always, they brought him back out for the encore and had a wondrous hootenanny and jamboree. Daves is a joy to watch, because he has such an upright rocking posture. As opposed to Thile, who kind of gyrates in a cyclical dunking bird pendulum, making faces as if he’s being possessed by mandolin ghosts (perhaps that explains the talent), Daves seems to put his head down as if aerodynamics are a factor and just shred. They are a delightful combination. Daves by himself might be a little to “classical bluegrass” for me, but I’m glad I got to see him play. He’s a super nice guy and the perfect fit for where he was slated amongst the nights.

Chris Eldrich (the guitar player) looks like Gabe from The Office. Especially when he goes on his own jam rage(s) of concentration. It reminds of that scene when Gabe wants to get under Andy Bernard’s (Ed Helms) skin keeping him away from Erin. He plays guitar kind of like that, under pressure, and when you jam like the Punch Brothers do, there’s no shortage of pressure situations.

It was certainly a great year for the Punch Brothers. WFYN is one of the top albums of the year. Chris Thile won the MacArthur Grant for $500,000 as part of their “genius awards” giving an unaccountable ledger to pursue a vision of creativity. They toured their asses off and successfully blew the doors off the Bowery Ballroom three straight nights to sold out audiences—many of whom attended all three shows. Love the addition of backing projectors and ceiling lanterns. SUPER PASS!

I thought they were spectacular in 2011 with Antifogmatic and a slew of P-Bingo Nights. 2012 was even better! The one thing these shows didn’t have was a double encore. How about that for a New Years resolution?

I just can’t get enough.

P.S. Occasionally throughout the evening, the band would attack each other with a little stuffed hippo. That's all. 

My double encore: Highs and Lows over the three nights…

Highs:

Covers – I heard many of the covers I wanted to and was astounded by the zeal put into properly pulling off a THE Beach Boys.

The Energy – It’s good to see with all the touring that these guys seem to like each other and SEEM to be genuinely having a good time. That’s always my favorite thing about a show, and a band that I adore and look for. I love the Thile gyrations and giddiness towards music and life in general. These guys just get it.

Aoife O’Donovan – Be still my delicate heart. Induct “Soon or Never” into one of my favorite all-time songs. Also, listen to more Gillian Welch.

Rye Whiskey – That song makes me want to be a classier drinker. Perhaps in the 2013, I’ll find my way to sipping on whiskey, rather than downing so many beers. It’s a hell of a stomp, man.

Lows:

Setlist shuffling – Call me a perfectionist, but, I would have been fine with a LITTLE more variation. Ryan Adams played three consecutive Town Hall shows in ’06 without repeating a single song. I can’t imagine not hearing “Flippen” or “Rye Whiskey,” but there were a few things I could have done without every night. In this instance, there is no way to please everyone.

Blind Leaving the Blind – They played the Third Movement twice. I would have liked to hear them all at some point. Perhaps, to hear it played in its entirety. I’d imagine there is only so many 15 minute songs a band wants to relearn for a three-night concert stand.

Drunk – I probably didn’t need multiple vodka-Red Bulls for the NYE show. Especially after midnight. I am a gremlin. I hope the section of the show I can’t remember I didn’t act like others did previous nights when drunkards were annoying me. Night One especially, there were many people that were being rude. That comes with the territory of being at Bowery, with alcohol, and the show being late, I was just surprised.

Three Nights – I know it was probably perfect, but why did it have to END? I could have done seven.

Setlist

Boll-Weevil (Traditional cover)

Rye Whiskey

Who’s Feeling Young Now

Bailey (Punch B-Side)

I Know You Know

Patchwork Girlfriend

Dark Days (Hunger Games Soundtrack)

Beekeeper

Next to the Trash

Surf’s Up (Beach Boys cover)

Watch ‘at Breakdown

Hundred Dollars

No Concern of Yours

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 (Bach cover)

Reptilia (Strokes cover)

This Girl

Flippen

Brakeman’s Blues (Jimmie Rodgers cover)

Too drunk to remember the encore

Day 1
Day 2

Live Review: Punch Brothers, Bowery Ballroom, December 30th, 2012, SUPER PASS Day 2

Can SUPER PASS Day 2 retain the excellence of the first round? 

A good way to start is opening with my favorite song off of Who’s Feeling Young Anyway? a little ditty titled “Don’t Get Married With Out Me.” Yes, it’s as cute as it sounds. I love the falsetto hook to “let’s not fool ourselves/taking a break is dragging a break up too long” and following it with a poignant “help yourself to whatever you like with whomever you like/but don’t get married with out me.” Delicious. 

I think even the biggest Chris Thile fans tend to discount how great of a lyricist he is. It’s an easy mistake to make when you factor in musicianship, charisma, general likeability, etc, etc. But, on some of these relationship songs his style reminds me of Ben Folds—to the point, without poetry, and just blatantly honest words. There’s such a craft to doing this without feeling forced. I just listened to a Folds interview when he critiqued his own process and self-awareness and going through some of the songs on WFYN it’s hard not to feel it’s pretty similar all around for Thile.

This show, out of the three, was by far my favorite. It featured the most outlandish jams in all their perpetual persuasiveness, the best collection of covers and little moments of delicate crooning grandeur that melted me into a Bowery Ballroom puddle. Don’t slip over me on the way out!  

The cultivation of a setlist continues to be the most fascinating thing in the world to me. I was really sucked into this performance of “Flippen,” I believe it was the first night, but it could have been this night when Thile gushed, “God! We LOVE that song!” after playing it. Either way, things like that tend to stick with me and it was neat to see how differently they played it from night to night.

I have to personally gush about Aoife O’Donovan. WOW! I was blown away by her. Obviously, I’m a sucker for a woman that can sing/song write as well as drink (You gotta have standards, right?). And Aoife told stories and wrote songs, much in the way the Punch Brothers do that involve an adult beverage or seven throughout, which tends to tug at my soul oh so gently. Keeping me eternally warm and fuzzy. That’s why I love Carina Round (listen to her new album "Tigermending") so much, and in this very same way, after this set, I can firmly put Aoife into that category. I wouldn’t say she’s “actress hot” but at this particular show, she was looking gorgeous under the Bowery lights, an All-American beauty with perfect blonde hair and a sleek dress. She seemed like a great deal of fun. Boys have I ever told you about the time... 

She came back out mid-set after a classic introduction from Noam to play “Here and Heaven” a song she co-wrote with Thile for the Goat Rodeo Sessions (a project with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan and others) and a drop-dead heart melting version of WFYN’s “Soon or Never” another one of those no-nonsense Thile love ballads. The song is delicate and pure rising to a momentous opus declaring, “I rise as the sun goes down and pray my true love and I find a way to each other soon or never.” Their voices blended together so beautifully, it just made me want MORE OF THAT! I was certainly sent to a chilled shock by the swinging chair magnificence. The song to me, has this tremendous swinging waltz, yet, it’s so patient and calming.

Aoife came back out for the encore for another Gillian Welch tune (the band’s second song was “Wayside”) to which I’m not 100% certain which one it was. I knew the tune, but again, I found myself taken back by the beauty I almost didn’t take in exactly what happened. Kind of like when you talk to a girl and you’re really nervous, you have a conversation, but you have no idea what she said? Then, you’re nervous to talk to her again, because, you may have already talked about things you might talk about. Does that happen to anyone else? Well, it happened to me, and I can’t recall. I THINK it was “Dear Someone,” but some of that therein lies that Thile plays that one from time to time.

Non-album covers of The Band’s “Ophelia,” Radiohead’s “2+2=5,” and Beck’s “Sexx Laws” are as dynamic as you’ll see at any show…EVER. It’s the kind of thing that makes you channel Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid saying, “Who are these guys!?” I’ve personally seen them play all three of these covers, but dare I say there was a slight extra punch (apologies to making THAT pun) to them this particular evening like a Punch Brothers greatest hits, only the favorites. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, they also did “Surf’s Up” by the Beach Boys (which I covered in great detail in my Day 1 piece).

Chris Thile just steps on the gas for the closing FREAK OUT of Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief opener. That’s always been one of my favorite Radiohead songs, if not my absolute favorite. I'm still amazed at how the PB's can recreate those electronic sounds with real instruments. Who are these guys? 

There were so many superlative moments from this show, it’s honestly hard to document them all without going on forever. I’m trying to pick-and-pop through the high points (through the three nights) and hope the overall scope casts enough of a light that you too, will change your plans the next time these guys play a show in your town.

Perhaps I’ll see you there!

Setlist

Don’t Get Married Without Me

Wayside (Back in Time) (Gillian Welch cover)

You Are

Flippen

Ophelia (The Band cover)

The Blind Leaving the Blind: Third Movement

Here and Heaven (Goat Rodeo Sessions, with Aoife O’Donovan)

Soon or Never (with Aoife O’Donovan)

2+2=5 (Radiohead cover)

Piney Woods (Noam Pickelny & Friends cover)

This Girl

Woman and the Bell (Antifogmatic B-Side)

Rye Whiskey

Surf’s Up (Beach Boys cover)

Watch ’at Breakdown

Gillian Welch cover (with Aoife O’Donovan) à (I think it was “Dear Someone”)

Mississippi Valley (John Hartford cover)

Another song? (I can’t remember? Seems like there were four.)

Sexx Laws (Beck cover) 

Ahoy Series: 

Aiofe O'Donovan Series (a few without her): 

Day 1
Day 3

Live Review: Punch Brothers, Bowery Ballroom, December 29th, 2012, SUPER PASS Day 1

My title is brought to you by...Fiona Apple. 

2012 has come to an abrupt, yet if you’re like me, welcomed, end, and in the great city of New York there is no shortage of things to do. When the Punch Brothers announced they were closing the year with a three-night run at Bowery Ballroom (the city’s best venue) I knew I had to be there. 1) Three shows, with a wide variety of setlist choices, covers, opening act shenanigans, etc, etc 2) Riding the coattails of their beautiful album Who’s Feeling Young Now? and road warrior mentality The Punch Brothers might just be the hottest band of 2012 (my official list will be out shortly) 3) These guys are so insanely talented and inspiring, I have to have a great excuse NOT to see them if they’re in town. Anytime they’re in town. ESPECIALLY if it’s a “special” ordeal…and we all know I’m a sucker for superlatives and spectacles.

The band took the stage relatively promptly at 10:07pm for a near two hour set that ran the gamut of the expected and the “expected unexpected.” The doozy of the evening (and subsequent nights to follow) was a vocal firework of a cover, “Surf’s Up” by the Beach Boys. Perhaps it’s not a deep cut, but, I consider myself a pretty big Beach Boys fan and I haven’t heard the song in years. I recalled the tune, but didn’t have the relationship with it I will from now on. Honestly, one of the great things about PB shows, they’ve introduced me to such a wide array of tunes I’d never discover otherwise, as well as, making me better appreciate some of the songs already in my catalogue.

I used the term vocal firework for their version of “Surf’s Up” because it kind of exploded everywhere. I mean this in the majestic sense, not the angry film critic sense. Vocally, the Punch Brothers are mostly a pretty reserved band, unless doing an obnoxious cover like Mclusky or the raging ending to Radiohead’s “2+2=5” (to name a few), but when doing “Surf’s Up” everyone sang. Even Noam. It was pretty neat, because I’d never seen them do anything of the sort. I just kind of sat there with my mouth ajar while Thile torched through the near comical falsetto parts, blending seamlessly with fiddle player Gabe Witchers’ more rustic Wilson voice (Dennis?) and, again, blossoming into a layered "sort of" five-part vocal harmony.  I became even more warm and fuzzy with the energy and smiles the band displayed as Thile giddily raised his fist in the air saying, “Brian FUCKING WILSON!” to close the goat rodeo triumph. I would never ask for it, but it worked, so hurray for everyone that got to see this. Will it stay in future setlists?

The opening choice “Another New World” had a very theatrical beginning and was off their new EP, and opening greeting, Ahoy!, a little running gag through the three-nights run Thile used to pump up the crowd. Usually, the “Ahoys!” would come in rounds of three, gaining steam throughout each evening as the crowd became more and more self-aware. After all, with everything the Punch Brothers do for you, it’d be a shame to let them down on a simple call and response gesture. 

The Punch Brothers seemed genuinely happy to be back home in New York. They’ve toured brutally “grueling” on the Oregon Trail scale. To which they sent some love to NYC by playing “New York City” and following it with the Strokes’ “The Heart Beats in its Cage” to which Thile said the songs, “belong together, always.” It’s hard not to be charmed by the dry banter. 

Later on, while debuting Hunger Games soundtrack song “Dark Days” Thile and banjo player Noam “Pickles” Pikelny carried on a dialogue about what it means to “debut something” that would make even the healthiest of Christmas tree’s wilt. It ended with an emphatic high-five and one is glad to see all the touring hasn’t sucked the life out of a tight-knit band of (punch) brothers.

Just when Noam begins to speak, I start laughing. The guy has this ridiculously deceiving deep voice, and slow timing that slays me. He could read a book and I’d think it’s the greatest show ever. He serves as the perfect compliment to Thile’s nerdy professor meets Jude Law playing a (somewhat inebriated) spy-with-a-mandolin stage persona. It’s just a great compliment of guys with an off-the-chart chemistry. They jam enough that everyone gets their run by the end of the evening. Kind of like a team passing the ball around. Thile will often jostle back and forth from person to person giving subtle non-verbal cues as they hot potato their way through the jam. It’s mesmerizing. There is not a weak link amongst the group. They hold their own, and you get the idea working with Thile—they’d have to.

The encore began with Thile solo literally prancing, or in this case, I guess you’d say waltzing, through Bach’s “4^th Movement G Minor Sonata.” This has always been one of my favorite things to see. I don’t know much about classical music, but when watching Thile play Bach on the mandolin, it seems like you’re not supposed to actually play Bach on the mandolin. It feels counterintuitive and facetious, but again, one of those moments during a Thile show when you can’t fathom there’s anyone else on the planet that could recreate what you’re watching. When you close your eyes, you can REALLY take in the acoustics at Bowery Ballroom during this classical ditty. Thile often steps away from the microphones when he does this, but this time it was loud, proud and a real testament to a brooding, confident, bluegrass-rock show.

I missed the Jeffrey Lewis opening set, but they brought him back out. Another shining example of how genuine these guys seems to be—they always bring out the opening act to cook up a little something special. I can’t recall a time when they didn’t. It seems like they find people they respect, want to work with, and have fun melding the exquisite pieces together. In this case, Jeffrey Lewis has a knack for cartoons and singing songs in an almost rap cadence. They brought out a screen for his transitioning comics, and the band stayed to the side in the dark, playing fast moving, eerie, bluegrass music while Lewis sang a song about a “creeping brain” to a series of overtly awesome drawings. It reminded me of a steroid infused version of the comics Tom Green used on his show. Hilarious, but really musical. Something I’d certainly love to see more of. Everyone in the band seemed so happy and side-spliten (past tense of side splitting?) when the stage lights came back on. Again, genuine and fun.

They closed the set away from the microphones with a delicate version of “Moonshiner” presented as one of the bands’ favorite Christmas songs (also available on Ahoy!). One could hear the floorboards creak when people’s weight shifted. It was delicate, precise and perfect. What a wondrous way to end a set…and to kick things off.  

If you have tickets to the following two nights, you’re feeling pretty damn good right now.

Setlist

Another New World (Josh Ritter cover)

New York City

The Heart Beats in its Cage (Strokes cover)

Song For a Young Queen (From “Not All Who Wander Are Lost”)

Down Along the Dixie Line (Gillian Welch cover)

This Girl

Dark Days (Hunger Games Soundtrack)

New Chance Blues

Don’t Need No

Surf’s Up (Beach Boys cover)

Flippen

Through the Bottom of the Glass (Seldom Scene cover)

The Blind Leaving the Blind: Third Movement

Movement and Location

Rye Whiskey

4^th Movement G Minor Sonata (Bach cover, Thile Solo)

The Creeping, Creeping Brain (Jeffrey Lewis cartoon-y song)

Patchwork Girlfriend

Moonshiner (Traditional, Bob Dylan) 

Thile opened the encore solo with, "a little bit of Bach." 

Day 2
Day 3