Barn Dance Review - October 1997

From: tejas (tbsamsel@richmond.infi.net)
Subject: October 1997 Barn Dance

This was the best one yet, buckaroos! Y’all missed a goodern’. The evening’s spirits were dampened a bit for a number of folks were bemoaning the format change of WXGI-AM from rough-as-a-cob geniality to a banal and stultified COUNTRY GOLD, tarnished from the git-go. What a way to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

POI BOY, a lounge Hawaiian group led by local luminary Brian Harvey was impressive. They started the show off with a set of Island tunes and the whole place got damn wistful when these guys slung out AUTUMN LEAVES and a number of other old chestnuts…I was duly impressed. Just a note… it would be nice to use an old F-hole archtop Gibson cutaway rather than a solid-body Fender guitbox. Acoustically speaking, that is; I couldn’t afford one, either.

An impromptu agglomeration of musicians from CCBD regulars and POI BOY’s steel player then backed “Big” Scotty Price nicely on a couple of Hank Williams, Sr. numbers.

Michael Hurley, a previous entertainer at the CCBD was the next act. Backed up by Paul Watson on bass and guitar, Hurley’s lyrical wordplay and “crooked” fiddling was a wonderfully wigged-out specimen of acoustic music at its best. His tune, HOG OF THE FORSAKEN, was plumb inspiring. It was unfortunate, however, that his singers who were to have accompanied him weren’t able to make it due to car trouble.

A pair of long-stemmed chanteuses on bull fiddle and guitar called THE LEMON LILLIES, hailing from Portsmouth, OH played and sang several numbers ranging from Irish to western swing. They were nice enough to let the Turnip Green Queen play the knocker on one of their tunes and seem to be on their way to bigger and better things. You may see them around since they’ve already been opening for folks such as Merle Haggard, Emmy Lou Harris and Alison Krauss.

To close this shindig, Rebby Sharp and THE UNCOMFORTABLE HUNK OF METAL STRING BAND took the stage with blazing twin fiddles and played such old-time numbers as Ryestraw, Old Joe Clark and Forked Deer. These folks are repeaters at the CCBD and for good reason. It’s music like this that makes this all worthwhile, even though the dull throb of the upstairs dance club was a reminder of what passes for music amongst the great throng of the uninitiated. But then, the kiss of death for an art form is “popularity”. Or so it seems.

On a final note, we found that a number of the attendees were drawn by cyber-postings about the CCBD from as far as Blacksburg and Philadelphia. And the entourage from Blacksburg danced! Must be something in the water...

copyright 1997 Ted B. Samsel

TBSamsel@richmond.infi.net (also tejas@infi.net)
'Do the boogie woogie in the South American way'
Hank Snow THE RHUMBA BOOGIE