American Primitive:
Watch out for these boys. Not only will your feet be tappin, you'll be laughing and smiling as they cover fabulous pop tunes (OutKast's Hey Ya and LaRoux's Bulletproof, for example) that you never thought could possibly be "blue-grass'ified." From the charming French lyrics of Les Filles Françaises, to speed-defying violin and guitar solos (seriously their fingers are blurry in the majority of my photographs), and full-drumset-in-palm-of-hand percussion(Brazilian pandeiro), these handsome boys make shakin' up bluegrass with their own style look so easy. With the right amount of pun-infused humorous banter--not too long, and often including a cd giveaway trivia contest--and swapping of singers, they have a charm to their show that makes you feel like you're getting to know them and drinking a beer with them while they're playing. And they can time-travel, too, reverting seamlessly back to traditional tunes like Shady Grove and Freebourn Man with wink-speed.
They play more and more regularly, at the downtown Artwalk, Sunday evenings at BigFoot West in Mar Vista, and often at Basement Tavern in Santa Monica.
check out their new website and facebook fanpage:
http://www.facebook.com/americanprimitive
http://www.americanprimitive.net
Infamous Stringdusters
I never knew I could have weak knees from watching a slide guitarist. It's like one of those little ornaments where the string is pulled via button on the bottom where the little guy's knees fold over and he squashes down. Well, with each rippin slide solo that's pretty much what happens. And i'm not even a die-hard bluegrass or country listener. Good stuff. The infamous stringdusters have a full FULL packed band, and each member is so fantastic that you feel like you want to revert back to high school lingo, "man, that's SOOO UNFAIR!." And with perfectly in tune (but not trying too hard, perfect) four-part harmonies that chime in with the onset of quick instrumental silences, that just makes for some mmmgood. Just like campbell's soup.
