The Infamous Stringdusters, The Packway Handle Band - The Five Spot, Atlanta, GA (5.19.2010)

As I retired from work for the evening, I gathered my thoughts and began the drive home amidst a traffic-induced quandary. I live four miles away from my place of work yet a 30-minute commute is really nothing out of the ordinary. On any given night I am yanking hair from my scalp in a furious sweat as a result of frustration, impatience, and of course, a lack of air conditioning inside my vehicle. But on this particular evening I had a smile on my face. It had been 18 days since my last show (excluding the Perpetual Groove show on the 7th while the crew was in town… I think we lost the details of that particular show in the bottom of a PBR tall boy). I was antsy to say the least. The longer I go in absence of live music, the more I realize how addicted I’ve become. As for my fix, I couldn’t have been more excited that this streak of mine would be broken with some good, not-so-old fashioned bluegrass. Upon entering The Five Spot, I was caught off guard by the number of people in attendance. For starters, it was a Wednesday evening. And in my experience, bluegrass bands aren’t exactly the type of groups drawing in record-breaking crowds. Although I always like to see people out supporting live music, limited mobility and an overwhelming heat gave birth to what seemed like a bit of an aggravated crowd.

This would be the second time I had seen The Packway Handle Band and I was very curious to see what they had in store this time around. Almost immediately, I noticed how empty of a sound was coming out of the stage speakers. It was like trying to listen to music in your vehicle with one of the side speakers blown out… nails on a chalkboard for me because after having seen this band play at 420 Festival, I knew just how good they had the potential of sounding. As I’ve said before, this traditional “gather-round-the-microphone” style that the PHB implements is something that I am a real fan of. It provides a truly intimate and playful experience that only serves to supplement the band’s jovial personality. But on this night, something seemed off. Standing at the back of the room, I wasn’t even entirely sure if the instruments were amplified at all. Up front it sounded better, but still a bit sparse. Now, I know nothing about the technicalities of this sort of thing; whether the empty sound could be contributed to an inexperienced sound guy, an acoustically inferior venue, or just the nature of the condenser microphones, I couldn’t tell you. But what I do know is that it prevents concert-goers, even potential converts, from experiencing the full effect of the music. I think this crowd would have been a lot more into PHB had they been fully aware of their sound. Despite this misfortune, the band was as entertaining as ever. Packway exhibits an almost theatrical interpretation of their music that I can’t help but immerse myself in. They sing playful, interactive tunes that have their followers laughing, singing, and drinking along. Towards the end of the set, the quintet busted into The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind”, a uniquely amusing take on a late 80’s classic and afterwards, went into a classic bluegrass song called “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss” before jumping down off the stage for a little fun with the crowd. I saw them pull this exact same stunt with much more success at 420 Fest. The outdoor setting just allowed the guys more freedom to roam about. It was entertaining nonetheless.




At the changeover, I headed towards the bar to get my hands on a cold beer. I was keen on the idea of The Five Spot selling Two-Hearted Ale and even had one Georgian approach me and spark up a conversation about our mutual love for Bell’s beer. “Kala… Kalama…” he struggled to finish before I jumped in to rescue, “Kalamazoo!” I shouted with enthusiasm. I pushed my way back up towards the front as The Infamous Stringdusters were taking the stage. I had never seen this group before but their name alone was enough to spark my interest. Right off the bat, the band opened up with a song that I could have never expected; John Hartford’s “Steam-Powered Aeroplane” had me singing along loud and proud, leaving me itching for more. The Stringdusters are a fully loaded bluegrass sextet who came equipped with a barrage of stringed instruments including a banjo, mandolin, guitar, dobro, violin, and upright bass. It was definitely a well-rounded sound and one thing I quickly picked up on was the unwavering proficiency of each and every player in the band. Often times with a bluegrass band you have one or two players who really shine, taking the majority of solos and carrying the rest of the band on their shoulders. With The Dusters, it was mutual madness. The violin and dobro players in particular were pure shredders and the entire band seemed to compliment each other with great ease and dexterity. About halfway through the set, the boys went into an incredible version of “Get It While You Can”, a Danny Barnes tune fresh on my mind thanks to a recent listening of the brand new Keller & The Keels album, “Thief”. The Dusters have this extremely resourceful style of play that allows them to explore the progressive, instrumental side of newgrass music all while adhering to a somewhat loose traditional sound as well. At one point, the Stringdusters brought it down to a barely audible level that had the whole room squirming with anticipation. A lot of times, a truly talented band can be judged not only by the sounds that they make, but by the sounds that they don’t make. The violinist let out these soft little squeals before bringing it back up and ripping out this fluid, howling sound that had the room truly alive for the first time. It was at this moment that I realized what a great job the group had done of slowly building upon each and every song in their set. Although it can be hard to notice, a gifted bluegrass band will sometimes lead off a good portion of their set with some of their more underwhelming material (in comparison), and then slowly but surely gain momentum with increased intensity, prolific picking, and much more extended jams than previously delivered. The Infamous Stringdusters did exactly that. By the end of the set, and without even realizing it, I found myself grinning from ear to ear and unable to keep from moving my feet. I watched the last couple of songs (including a mind-blowing version of “Deep Elum Blues”) while chatting with the mandolin player, Michael, from The Packway Handle Band. He was generally psyched about the sheer intensity of The Stringdusters and neither of us could believe that these guys had only been together for a few short years. They seem to have a truly cohesive connection to one another, which, in the world of bluegrass, is a very strong characteristic to have. It’s official… I’m a Stringdusters convert.