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Local bluegrass faves celebrate CD release |
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Written by Eric Francis, Contributing Writer
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Thursday, 31 July 2008 |
 "Tarnation," Webster tells us, is an 18th century substitute for "damnation." In short, it implies bad things.
Well, let's hear it for English being a living language, because in the
extremely localized incarnation as the new CD from local bluegrass
foursome Runaway Planet, "Tarnation" is actually a heap of fun to be in
the midst of.
Last Saturday night at The After Thought in Little Rock, Runaway Planet
put the spurs to their traditional instruments and delivered a
high-energy, high-enjoyment, two-hour set for a full house of fans. It
was the second release party for their new CD; a previous show at
Whitewater Tavern about a week before resulted in a standing-room-only
crowd that drank the bar dry.
More on the jump
The two-party system was a smart move for
Runaway Planet, whose fans include the upper-middle-class (and age)
folks, as well as the tattoo-and-piercing set. The After Thought, with
its cafe seating and jazzy mural behind the stage, is a more genteel
venue and likely to appeal to the former.
Folksy and friendly to a fault, the musicians of RP put their
prodigious skills on display Saturday night. A traditional bluegrass
set-up -- guitar, banjo, stand-up bass and mandolin -- provided a pure
sound as they clustered around a single microphone. Except for the
base, which was plugged into its own amp, that one mic provided the
only electric augmentation for instruments and voices.
But that's all RP needs.
Led by guitarist Greg Alexander's smooth, strong vocals, the quartet
ripped through about half the new album's 12 songs in their first set,
along with a smattering of RP classics. The musicians bobbed and weaved
around the mic, executing an intricate ballet as each moved up to take
their turn for vocals or instrumental solos, always managing not to
whack each other. It's impressive to watch, but more impressive to hear.
These guys are absolute craftsmen when it comes to their playing.
Bluegrass, when played right, is played blisteringly fast most of the
time. I'm no music critic, but if anybody missed a single note, I
didn't hear it. While Alexander handled the bulk of the singing, banjo
player Steve Brauer and bassist Michael Proveaux also took their turns;
only mandolinist Ben Ellis never lead the choir, but he did add backing
vocals on several numbers.
"Tarnation" is full of excellent numbers. Among the best is "Used To
Live By The River," a plaintive song of loss that was penned by
long-time central Arkansas musician Michael Goodrich; in fact, the
audience got to hear the song twice since Goodrich opened for RP with
an acoustic guitar set, rendering it in a slower, bluesy arrangement
that almost made it a totally different song. Among other standouts
from the new album is "Holdin' On," infused with a frantic energy by
Alexander's singing and the staccato of Brauer's banjo and Ellis'
mandolin.
But RP is nothing if not creative, and they served notice of that again
Saturday night. Brothers and sisters, you've never truly heard a
popular song covered until you've heard it covered by a bluegrass band.
In addition to a couple of Beatles standards that've been on their
playlist for awhile, Runaway Planet also pulled a real humdinger out of
their hat when Brauer stepped up to the mic and produced an ironic and
thoroughly enjoyable version of Pink Floyd's "Mother," from their
legendary album "The Wall." And it worked, it seriously worked as a
bluegrass song.
Despite the fact that their crowd waned from full house to half-full
over the course of their remarkably long set, the members of RP never
let up. That's another of their most noteworthy characteristics:
Whether they're playing Riverfest, a local bar or on the front porch of
an Argenta residence (as they did last year), they don't hold back.
That's crucial in bluegrass, a musical genre that will not impress
unless it's infused with prodigious energy. Runaway Planet has that
energy in spades.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 July 2008 )
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July 31, 2008