Emmitt-Nershi Band - Smiths Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA (4.26.2010)

I was pumped when I found out the Emmitt-Nershi Band was in town the night of the 26th. I was turning 24 that evening and even though it was a Monday night, I thought I should at least get out there and see some live music for a bit. I had never been to Smith’s Olde Bar before either, and I was curious to see what this place was all about. The scene was pretty decent once I got inside. There was a medium-sized pool room as well as two different rooms set up for music. The downstairs had some open mic gig going on with one lonely couple in the audience who must have been close friends of the awful sounding musician on stage. The upstairs, however, had been reserved for Emmitt Nershi. During the opening band, Saint Francis, I went up to the bar and ordered myself the usual and as I was turning around, I noticed Billy Nershi hanging out near the side of the stage. I went up and shook his hand, welcoming him to Atlanta and I couldn’t help but ask him if he remembered playing a show at Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo this past year. I reminded him that Anders Beck and Paul Hoffman from Greensky Bluegrass had joined them on the stage and he quickly acknowledged what a good time that had been. “The Greensky boys are good friends of ours,” he pointed out. We parted ways and I was left trying to keep my head from drooping as this country-twang slide guitarist moved slowly up and down his instrument in this sluggish, sort of whiney way. The band played a few more decent folk songs but I was glad to see it end.

When Bill and Drew took the stage, the crowd was instantly rejuvenated. This time around, the boys had a tall, kind of lifeless bass guitarist named Tyler Grant as well as a quick-fingered banjo player named Andy Thorn to help round out their sound. As soon as the band began pickin’, the crowd was in delight. Mr. Nershi came storming out of the gates with a speedy version of “Johnny Cash”, a song that he had written during his time with String Cheese. This one had all the Cheese fans in the room dancing around like animals. It is truly incredible to watch Nershi’s hands as he navigates up and down the neck of his instrument. His guitar, much like it’s master, had a weathered and worn down finish that told stories of countless Colorado nights spent sitting around the open campfire singing, picking, and carrying on. Bill Nershi moves around that fretboard like a spider monkey. He has this unbelievable reach that allows has his fingers to sprawl out across what seems like 7 frets. He moves each individual finger vertically up and down all six strings simultaneously providing this extremely chaotic, yet very precise and organized sound. His notes were preconceived by experience and seem to be placed in the absolute perfect spots at the absolute perfect times. It was a joy to hear some of the same sorts of noises that I heard that legendary night at Rothbury 2009.

For the next half hour or so, the band put on an impressive display of bluegrass-driven music that strayed ever so subtly into a wide range of more abundant, progressive styles. There were these blues and jazz inspired undertones that would make David Grisman smile and I couldn’t help but notice how much Drew Emmitt contributed to this progressive “newgrass” type of sound. Drew, of Leftover Salmon fame, was as equally exciting to watch as Mr. Nershi as he flicked his wrist up and down across his tiny mandolin. With his hair hanging down in front of his face and a seemingly statuesque posture, Drew sat and picked everyone’s brains apart until their eyes refused to blink and their mouths were left gaping. Eventually, the band produced a fiddle player as well as a guest guitarist who contributed to an already string-rich experience that had everyone in the room flailing around in a bluegrass bonanza. The ladder portion of the set had a couple of fiery recognizable tunes including the traditional “Long Journey Home” as well as the String Cheese ripper, “Black Clouds”. I could spot this riff from a mile away and I couldn’t help but smile about hearing it live once again. It made me realize how badly I need to come up with a plan to see String Cheese play over the summer of 2010. Maybe… just maybe.

At the end of the night, I had certainly gotten my fix and I took a moment to reflect on the incredible month of music that has been April 2010. It has been filled with outdoor festivals, the sound of strings, and the excitement of discovering something new. I only had one more thing to tackle before April was all said and done… Lotus.