Mando Moon
It’s bigger than a ukelele, but not much— with twice as many strings crammed onto a tiny narrow fretboard half the size. Naive to its charms, I paid it no real mind until Jason Bailey, Birmingham’s own stellar mandolin savant, began to frequent the stage of the original Moonlight as part of one gaggle of players after another, scattering wondrous plinkety-plink skeins of tittering notes in several distinct flavors: folk, country, newgrass, Celtic, even jazz & jam. His ability to get such delicate swarms of melody from that miniature bridge of wires amazed me—- like watching Prince dance madly through a concert in his dainty high-heeled boots.
Mandolins appeared in America before the Civil War in the hands of European immigrants, and by the early 20th Century became almost as popular as guitars are now. The classic bowl-backed baby-lute “taterbug”version morphed into the more violinic models we know today, and before long there were mando clubs at colleges and full mandolin orchestras touring the country. For some reason, prior to The Depression, they fell out of favor, and might have gone the way of the zither and autoharp, were it not for Bill Monroe hisself and the rise of bluegrass culture after The Second War, after which the little tinker was here to stay, taking its prominent place fer good in all these modern musics. It positively shone in the hands of virtuosos in three consecutive shows at Moonlight this week—- and many many more times again after that.
https://www.mandolincafe.com/archives/briefhistory.html
=——=
Friends of The Moonlight---
We offer our thanks to the handful of folks who responded to our wish list last week--- most of our pressing needs remain unmet, so please keep them in mind and contact The Moonlight if you think you might help with ANY of them--
Lotta concerned chit-chat this week about the situation faced by Birmingham's most active and influential music venue, Workplay--- our friends the Hunter brothers have struggled, along with the rest of us, to fulfill the mission of presenting the best live music that can be brought to central Alabama--- the financial rewards of doing so are becoming ever more elusive, especially since those guys are pulling an especially long train in the process. The prospect of having their storied stage now go dark because some loan papers matured is unimaginable, and unacceptable.
It was casually suggested by one of our well-meaning supporters that closing Workplay might translate into benefits for Moonlight and other music venues in town--- to which we politely reply "Balderdash! " The task of advancing a city-wide selection of live entertainment is a perpetual group scrimmage, and the loss of even one player diminishes a team's chances of success. We certainly empathize with Workplay's challenges--- which are identical to our own, though not in scale--- and fully believe they will mobilize the resources necessary to continue their stellar record as presenters. Our very best wishes to them, as we tend to our own little kettle of fish---
SHOWS THIS WEEK--->
Tuesday the 26th-- STEEL WHEELS, $15
Not just a trad-grass band in new-grass posture--- these guys have a bigger picture in mind, one that merrily incorporates their music. They're advocates for sustainable methods of transport, and completed a 300-mile bicycle tour of middle Virginia last summer, two-wheeling their own instruments to seven gigs in a week's time--- an adventure they'll expand upon this spring in Michigan, finishing up at a festival especially planned around the band's area celebrity.
Apart from the recent pedaling promotion, Steel Wheels has earned considerable critical praise for their breakthrough treatments of obscure traditional bluegrass gems and originals, their expertly-blended vocals, and the flash and spangle of their stringwork. Their newest release is "Uncloudy Day", a perfect little EP showcasing the band's core duo. 7:30pm
www.thesteelwheels.com
The Steel Wheels, October 26 2010, 13 present
Thursday the 28th-- MATT FLINNER TRIO, $12
The guy just won't quit plinking that little thing--- Matt's gotten the ear of some very famous people, and the chance to collaborate with an awful lot of them. As the next evolutionary step from David Grisman's celebrated "dawg" style of newgrass, he's pitched in on projects with David Grier, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, Darol Anger, Darrel Scott, Leftover Salmon, and... Steve Martin! The trio tonight is a tight little engine powered by guitar and bass, with Matt front and center hanging the sonic tinsel.
An extra treat will be the expected addition of Birmingham's own mando-master Jason Bailey, who will no doubt be recruited to join in for a few numbers later in the evening... a friendly duel of startling arpeggios is bound to ensue--- a great selection of sample videos is available at the link below---7:30pm
www.myspace.com/mattflinner
The Matt Flinner Trio, with guest Jason Bailey, October 28 2010, 32 present
Friday the 29th-- THE FAREWELL DRIFTERS, $15
Take a very gifted six-piece pop-rock band, and send the drummer home--- then hand the remaining five some traditional acoustic instruments (guitars, mando, fiddle, bass) and let them develop a searing four-part harmony that recalls no one so much as the Beach Boys. The hybrid is stunning, and has delighted audiences roaring their approval at venues, festivals, and even rock clubs up and down the eastern U.S. since early last year. For guys this young to have so energetically melded the tones of '60s folk-pop with their contemporary originals is a remarkable accomplishment.
"Don't call them traditionalists: The Farewell Drifters borrow from Nickel Creek's playbook with clean, graceful tunes that pair pop songwriting with an awful lot of acoustic strings." - Spencer Griffith, Independent Weekly
www.thefarewelldrifters.com
The Farewell Drifters, October 29 2010, 44 present
Saturday the 30th-- MAGIC HALLOWEEN PARTY with WACKY WES, $10
Some time in the latter part of the 20th century, Spook Day was stolen from the children, as an excuse for adults to dress up in lurid outfits and engage in scandalous behavior, off-limits to sub-adolescent trick-or-treaters. Though we would never disparage the seasonal free-expression of stressed-out grown-ups who need to blow off some steam, we offer our more controlled surroundings tonight as a family-friendly setting for the left-behind younger set, under the direction of a non-Satanic illusionist in a derby hat.
We're told that Wes will conduct a 45-minute show of mystifying abracadabra, sleight-of-hand, and legerdemain, especially suited for a school-age audience... parents are welcome, too, of course, to help organize the costume contest, and to help little ones juggle their refreshments. Get 'em warmed up for the real work of the door-to-door goblin gig that comes on Sunday-- it'll be safe, fun, and over with by 9! 6pm start
www.wackywes.com
SNEAK PEEK AT NEXT WEEK--->
Monday 11/1-- OPEN MIC NIGHT, another shot at a fabulous cash prize and international fame, ya gotta start somewhere...
Thursday 11/4-- HARPETH RISING, a mostly-girl quartet of modernized music from another time, you haven't seen this yet..
Friday 11/5-- CLIFF EBERHARDT, a Moonlight favorite returns, the quintessential East Coast singer/songwriter-- the best!
Saturday 11/6-- THE WAYMORES, we bring back three of Nashville's best Americana writers/singers, all in one package
Sunday 11/7-- JIMMY LaFAVE, the legendary Austin-Okie is stronger than ever these days-- let us know if you wanna be there
Monday 11/8-- SARAH McQUAID, she's crossed the ocean to bless us with her world-class Celtic-tinged modern folk tunes
You can get all the more info on these and future shows by visiting our Calendar on the website-- let's see ya out here soon!
=——=