I had good reasons to start writing this late. I was out late, I slept late, I had to watch part one of Crisis on Infinite Earths, then the aftershow, then I cleaned out the fridge and took a shower. That took me to 40 minutes ago. I have no excuse for not writing then. I’ll just blame one of you for using your mind control on me. Don’t worry, I won’t name names.
Now I can get on to telling you the most excellent tale of why I was out late. I went to see Crooked Still at Music Hall of Williamsburg. This was my first time seeing the band in five years. Kevin and I had to travel up to Hudson that time to see them in Club Helsinki. It’s been eight years since they’ve played in New York. At that show they announced they were going on hiatus. I made them each swear that this would not be their last show. They did not break their promise, but the shows have been few and far between. Crooked still one of my all-time favorite bands, on the very short list. This was a show to not be missed.
Doors were at seven, I decided to not be super early, I got there at 6:40. I was still the first one on line. Two minutes later I was joined by Jim. I didn’t know Jim, but after talking for a time I discovered that he was Fred’s boss. It’s a very small world. If you go to SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, you can not only earn an MD but you can minor in acoustic music. Alan should have taken advantage of that; then he could join me at concerts not just sporting events. My musicians do a lot better than my sports teams.
The only one I knew when we lined up was Marty. He sat upstairs so I didn’t see him during the show. I knew that other friends would be there. When Kevin showed up, he told me that Melissa came in around the same time. After the show I saw the usual suspects, all musicians, Lily, Hannah, Reid, and Andrea. Not only are they all musicians, they are all, including Melissa, fiddlers/violinists. Were Kevin and Marty my only civilian friends in the audience? Were you there? Were you there and I talked to you and totally forgot? It does go to show you that Crooked Still are musicians’ musicians.
There was an opening act, Lula Wiles. I love Lula Wiles. Their latest album, What Will We Do is one of the finalists to make my Best Albums of 2019 list. They are that rarity in the folk scene, a female harmony trio. That was a joke. This show they were joined by a drummer. It was only my second time seeing them, is that a rarity or the norm? The Cliff? They were good enough that there were shouts of “more” even in a rabid Crooked Still fan crowd. Lula Wiles is rabid Crooked Still fans.
Crooked Still did not disappoint. They describe themselves as “defiantly non-traditional bluegrass quintet.” I describe them as “not bluegrass but people think it’s bluegrass.” The members of the band from audience left to right, are Tristan Claridge on cello, Brittany Haas on fiddle, Corey DiMario on upright bass, Aoife O’Donovan on lead vocals and guitar, and Dr. Greg Liszt on banjo. They started in 2001 when they were still in school. I discovered them in 2004 when they played Falcon Ridge. The lineup was a little different then, Tristan and Brittany were not with the band, Rushad Eggleston played cello. I still think of Tristan and Brittany as the newbies. I still sometimes use my original mnemonic to remember their names, Celts. Tristan was the name of the greatest, Cornish knight in Arthurian Legend, and Brittany is the name of the Celtic enclave in France populated by the Celtic Britains that fled the Anglo-Saxon invasion.
I fell in love with Crooked Still from the first time I saw them. I have seen them at every opportunity since then. I’ve seen all of them but Tristan in side projects, and I’m going to see Tristan’s band The Bee Eaters in February. I’ve seen Aoife, solo, with the Aoife O’Donovan Band, as one third of Sometymes Why, and I’m With Her, and as a duo with her I’m With Her bandmate, Sarah Jarosz. Sarah sat in on few songs last night. This is a small incestuous world. Corey I’ve seen the most often of late as a sometimes member of Low Lily. Greg had a band The Deadly Gentlemen. Brittany I’ve seen in more combinations than I’ll be able to name. Haas Kowert Tice, Hawktail, with Michael Daves, With the Brittany Haas 4-Tet and a duo with Lena Jonsson. I’m sure I’m missing some. A great fiddler is in great demand. Maybe a should say with great fiddling comes great responsibility.
Crooked Still is more energetic than most bands I call Chamber Folk, but they are Chamber Folk. They play serious music, there’s a lot going on beneath the surface. To fully appreciate them I have to close my eyes and pick out the individual parts. Each musician’s part seems unlike the others, but they come together perfectly. As beautiful as it sounds holistically it’s even better when you pay attention to how it is done. This is music that fills the mind, body, and spirit. No part of you is left untouched. You worry that a band won’t be as good as you remember them. They weren’t, they were even better.
Kevin and I hung out afterward to talk to people. I had to talk to get a copy of Hawktail’s new album from Brittany. I’m glad it has a 2020 release don’t, so I don’t have to worry about getting it into this year’s top album list. You will hear more talk about it on Gord’s Gold.
We didn’t get out until around 11:30 and we hadn’t eaten dinner. I told you it was a late night. I suggested my favorite place in the area, Crif Dogs! I’m such a sophisticate. I had the Lil Ma, the bacon wrapped Crif with peanut butter, pickels, & crushed potato chips, minus the pickles. Like I said, I’m sophisticated. I also had tater tots and red birch beer. You can’t get more comfort food than that. The woman that worked there was delightful. We closed the place down.
The L train runs only every 20 minutes on weekends. We waited around 14 minutes. Then I had to wait for the F train, and then the D. The D was annoying. My F pulled into 34th Street and the D was already there, and the doors were open. The train remained there, and I was delighted, I figured I’d run across the platform and have no wait. But that’s not how the MTA saw it. As soon as the doors to my train opened and I had one foot on the platform the D train doors closed. Was the D operator just teasing us? How could he not wait just 30 seconds more so that all of us transferring would not have to wait for the next train? I got home around 1:30. That’s not too bad and even with all the waiting it was less than an hour and a half.
I was going to go out shopping today, but it was wet, and I could last another day without it. I’ll end up spending the day at home alone. At least the company is good.
Wise Madness 