Barn Dance Review - July 1997

From: Ted Samsel (tejas@infi.net)
Subject: Capital City Barn Dance No. 4 (Richmond, VA)

Well I'm sorry to see that Tim Timbertoes would rather that denizens of Richmond and environs go see "furrin" music, rather than local OT & BG musicians. But here's my report.

Arriving a bit late for the beginning of the show, I was greeted by some Old Time sounds that cheered my ears put me in the right frame of mind for the rest of the evening. Local picker Rebby Sharp was playing with a fiddler and a fine-frailin' banjar picker and this aggregation calls itself THE UNCOMFORTABLE HUNK OF METAL STRING BAND. Not sure of the provenience of the name, but I was transported by their version of Soldier's Joy which was a work of art. Congratulations all around to these folks. In passing, Michael Hurley opined that they were the "most country act" he had heard at these soirees.

Next was THE SLACK FAMILY, who with a walk-on mando picker (Page Wilson's, by the way...), treated the audience to their brand of local bluegrass. (At this time, I was introduced to local country & bluegrass radio personality from WXGI-AM, "Uncle" Wylie Southworth. Turns out, he and I know some of the same musicians, DJs & dancehalls from the '50s & '60s country scene back in Texas.... we seemed to be tellin' lies as truthfully as we could for a good bit.)

Now the next act was neither Old Time or Bluegrass, but THE JANET MARTIN band was a humdinger. It was my first time to see her, even though my neighbor, keyboard-pounder & accordionista extraordinaire Gary Fralin, had been exhorting me to come on down for the past year. I had heard earlier recordings of hers on WXGI and I had heard the new CD, CLOUD COVER a couple of times at a friend's abode. And my jaw dropped a foot-and-a-half when she donned her wash-and-wear rub-board and proceeded to chanka-chank as the most comely frotteuse that I have seen in a long time. Don't know if there'd be conflict, but I'd like to see if she and Marcia Ball could do some playin' the zydeco with say, maybe Queen Ida. Too bad there was no stand sellin' boudain or fried oyster po'boys....

Ted Samsel....tejas@infi.net
"I want the frimfram sauce with the orson-fay and chifaffa on the side...."