Seattlest: A Kickass Wintergrass

jiff

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:49:37 -0800

$50 is a bargain. What a pleasure to be there Friday with some flat-out world class playing and ensemble singing. Definitely a younger and more progressive variant of grass compared to any other Wintergrass day I've been to. Highlights were Chris Thile and band including Bryan Sutton flatpicking and Jerry Douglas and his band with drums and electric guitar but no vocals. Those three are perhaps the best there is at their instruments. Another highlight, the Thile, Mike Marshall and Hamilton de Holanda on bandolim Midnight Mandolin jam was even hotter than the Thile Marshall Mando Madness from a few years ago. Breaking away from Nickel Creek, Thile has aligned himself with some of the best and taken his music to another level. I liked O'Brien's Friday performance with Seattle's Danny Barnes, musically and with their dry humor. We started the evening with The Infamous Stringdusters with Chris Eldridge on guitar. Very good. Caught Hot Buttered Rum in the dance oriented Ballroom after Uncle Earl finally finished with their square dance. In Copper Hollow, Victoria's Outlaw Social had some good harmonies and included Kendel Carson from The Paperboys.

Terry Woodburn

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:33:24 -0800

Yep, if you order in advance, your ticket price will be roughly half the late-comer price. I know, it's a leap of faith, but Wintergrass just gets better and better. Tim O's Saturday set really took off, after being a bit underwhelming on Friday. And I agree, the "kids" in the Marriot, especially Crooked Still and the Stringdusters, were phenomenal. I really enjoyed Darrol Scott, Pat Flynn and John Cowan's informal song kickaround on Friday, too. A massive display of raw talent collaboration. Can't wait for next year, it is ALWAYS a great time.

kim

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:43:24 -0800

i know the tickets are kind of pricey, and the drive to tacoma can be a pain in the ass, but if you plan ahead, you can get a ticket for half as much. besides, in one day at wintergrass, you can see 5-10 groundbreaking, fantastic bands, which is worth more than $50 if you figure you'd be willing to spend $10/band at a local bar. i'm just saying.

kasa

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:52:19 -0800

Sigh. Maybe someday I'll hit it big on the lotto and be able to afford their insane $50 a day tickets.

Saxtor

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:52:44 -0800

Kickass indeed! Marshall and de Holanda were probably my highlight of last year, and while it was great this year, they definitely over-saturated the festival with their chorro tunes. My highlights this year were: -Tim O'Brien's Saturday church set (Friday night mainstage was lame, and I missed Saturday night's main stage performance) -Hot Buttered Rum -Gibson Brothers -The Mammals > Crooked Still > Infamous Stringdusters > Uncle Earl at the Marriott on Saturday night. I could go on and on about this grouping, but the succinct description is "WOW!" -Lee Highway and Captain Gravel were great for being local yokels. -And of course the best highlight of EVERY WinterGrass...late night jamming until dawn.