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At the Hillside Stage on Saturday afternoon: some of the Unsung Heroes -- the guys who REALLY make things happen...
Doc the Bus Driver, House Mother, Chaperone... Anybody know where Blacksburg is??? NO? Then what about Zambiland??
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Steve and Jeffrey discuss "connnections..." Now where does that wire go AGAIN??? If ONE more guy asks me for a board patch I'm a-gonna SCREAM!!!
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Mark and Johnny discuss the virtues of putting things back where they belong (parents GOTTA love this...) Banjo? BANJO?? Whaddaya MEAN you can't find MY BANJO???
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My pre-show notes:
I chatted a while with Lyne Bush, Sam's wife. Somehow we got to talking about drums in bluegrass (still a HUGE no, no in the minds of the true believers). She said Sam was the first to use drums at a bluegrass festival -- around 1990, I think she said. (I had thought the NGR had used them at times, but she said no, and she ought to know.) Anyway, a bluegrass festival producer had been after him relentlessly for some time to play at one, and Sam, knowing how strongly negative his style of playing would be received by many there, had resisted. Eventually he gave up, warning the producer once again that there might be problems. As it turned out, Sam was right, of course. Several (I think she said) surrounded the producer while Sam was playing and threatened him with a good-old, Southern-style lynching if he didn't "lose" Sam. I think she said they eventually told Sam to stop and he did. Of course, it's now 1998 and at least at Merlefest things have changed mightily. Not only did LoS make a HUGE hit when they first played there 3 years ago, but this time I heard Pete Wernick and the Live Five, Chesapeake (it was only the 2nd time they'd used them in public), Sam Bush Band, and LoS -- ALL with drums. There were probably more. Maybe they've finally realized that not only do they add a lot in their own right, but they also free up the mandolin from the duty of keeping the beat. I don't think Bill Monroe would mind at all.
Before the show, Jeff confided he was VERY nervous to be playing with legends like Sam and John. Doc, the bus driver, and I assured him he had NOTHING to worry about. To no one's surprise, Jeff did GREAT of course.
Drew & Jeff & Sam Bush & Tye & Vince & Mark
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Mark and John Cowan -- singing, "When a MAN loves a WOMAN!!" Fans are heard saying, "John puts Michael Boulton to shame..." Whoa, check out John's purple batik Leftover Salmon t-shirt! Better get YOURS while they're still available!
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Sam Bush & Tye & Vince & John Cowan & Mark
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Drew & Sammy Shelor & Jeff & Sam Bush & Vince & John Cowan & Mark
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Here's what LoSer Todd Weller <tweller@email.unc.edu> had to say about Saturday's show...
The set was a little longer than an hour.
Rocky Road Blues
Hot Corn Cold Corn
Boogie
Whisperin' Waters *
When a Man Loves a Woman ** (John Cowan lead)
Same Ol' River
Spanish Moon? (funky tune)
White Freightliner Blues
*with Sam Bush on fiddle
**Starting with When a Man Loves a Woman, LoS was joined by John Cowan on bass and Sammy Shelor
on electric guitar and electric banjo
I thought everything sounded incredibly tight. It was just evident that the band really loves playing at this festival. Whisperin' Waters was the highlight of the show for me. It was quite long, with extended fiddle solos by Sam Bush and mandolin solos by Drew. What can you say about John Cowan's voice? I'm stating the obvious, but it's just amazing. White Freightliner Blues was an excellent closer.
Then LoSer Heather Coburn-Herring <hlcoburn@mindspring.com> added:
Spanish Moon? (funky tune) is by Little Feat. Sam Bush seems to love the Feat, I'm sure he was the one who suggested it. This was during the Sam, Sam and Salmon set (Sammy Shelor and Sam Bush being the Sam's)
Well, I'm just in the door from the fest, and it was indeed a blast. Highlight? Chris Thile, 17 yr old virtuoso on the mandolin. [Check out a photo of Chris later on] Esp. when he sat in with the Kruger Bros at the Midnight Jam--simply unbelievable. Today's Salmon set was, I think, the best. Although the stage diver Thursday night -did- make it interesting. Some guy just decided to bellyflop onto the concrete from 8 ft above--he wanted people to catch him, but the crowd was in no way dense enough. So, we simply parted and he pretty much splatted. Drew or Tye said they saw him on crutches the next day... Actually, he broke his hip -- pretty lucky even at THAT!] I bet they don't get too much stage diving at Merlefest.
It was esp. cool to hear them pull out some Stevie Wonder during Sam, Sam and Salmon :) (Superstitious)
Again, from LoSer Ed Crowley <terapin@pop.erols.com> :
Leftover Salmon with Sam Bush, John Cowan and Sammy Shelor hillside stage sat afternoon. Totally awesome. Leftover salmon alone started out the performance and they were hot. Sam, Sammy and John soon joined them and thigs got hotter. Vince named the performance "Sammy, Sammy and Salmon." John Cowan belted out an incredible "When a man Love a Woman." This turned into a Sam Bush and Jonn Cowan show. The huge crowd was dancing the whole performance and the band totally fed off that.
Cindy Vann and Sam Bush backstage after the show. READ MY GRITS! (Girls Raised In The South) Err... That's what the front of Cindy's t-shirt says -- right about where she's a-pointin' to. The title of one of Sam's recent albums is "Glamour n' Grits." Sam's gettin'a big hee-haw out of it. Oh well, I guess you just hadda be there...
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