Hello everybody!
Hope you are surviving the Deep Freeze. It is crazy cold up here. But not even subzero
highs, today and tomorrow, can stop Tour. And today I unleash a tale so crazy
even Dave Kemp MT is interested. For maybe my last time ever, it’s honest to
goodness coal country bluegrass, from the land of epic floods and eternal
underground fires. It’s Cabinet, live at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge,
Dec. 29th, South Burlington, VT.
I knew I wasn’t
going anywhere for NYE this year so when this was announced I was geeked beyond
belief. Since Pappy lives up here, Burlington has been a constant stop on their
tours. Got to the venue super early and hung out with an old school taper.
Through him, meet some other old heads. When I said I moved up from PA in July,
they remarked how they had just been in York to see the Steep Canyon Rangers. They
know the guy who runs the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival. That guy calls Hanover
Klanover lol. Most of them don’t go see Phish anymore because it’s not what it
was… when they would see them in bars in Vermont. Now that is a jaded vet. But
they were all super cool.
I got to talk to
Pappy and JP before the show. They just happened to be out hanging out back
where I was. Both of them remembered the Snail Pie Lounge show in Glen Rock. And
both loved the fact I congratulated them on the hiatus. It is a truly an
enormous achievement to have a band go 11 years. If they are really done, then
they have gone out on top. If they come back in 5 years, their legend will have
only grown. Never even got around to telling JP I was from NE PA.
Serene Green
opened. They are another PA bluegrass act but much more traditional. One mic
and no drummer, the way Bill Monroe intended.
You can stream their
show here
Serene Green, Live at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge,
December 29th, 2017
Clinch Mountain Backstep, Holding You Closely, no Whiskey
Man, To Whom It Pertains, Hop Bottom, Fed and Free, World’s Most Interesting
Man, Cattle in the Can, Diggin’ a Hole, Don’t Let Me Fall, Misery Breakdown
They were the
perfect opening act for Cabinet. Love that traditional sound. Pappy even joined
them for one number.
Cabinet, Live at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge, December
29th, 2017
Caroline, Po’s Real, The Tower, Cut Down Tree, Oxygen, The
Dove, Mysterio, Miss Molly, Pine Billy, Sunday 60 Breakdown, Pig in a Pen, Old
Farmer’s Mill, Susquehanna Breakdown, Cool River, Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow,
Heavy Rain
You can stream it
here
The first 3 are
older tunes and it was like a greatest hits for me. The whole show from start to
end was just fantastic. One thing I have noticed about Cabinet’s evolution is
they are definitely more electric than they were 3 years ago. Distortion on
Todd’s fiddle and Micky playing the electric guitar more. I think it’s a good
thing because no one likes a band that doesn’t evolve.
So there you have
it. It has been an absolute pleasure beyond description to see and listen to
Cabinet over the last 7 years. I have no idea what their future holds but their
legacy is one that will last through the ages. Next up, one of Pappy’s many
side projects, Gatos Blancos in Warren VT on Jan 19th. It will also
be my first road trip to a show in the great state of Vermont. I love it up
here and so glad the crazy year of 2017 sprung me up to the Green Mountain
State.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
No comments:
Post a Comment