Darrell Scott sings up a storm in Atlanta
As
many of you know I don't tend to criticize much on these pages. I don't
need to. There is enough great music out there to keep JigTime filled
with news of things I think all my readers will like without ever having
to write anything bad about anyone. This doesn't mean I like everything
I hear. It just means I don't have the time or indeed the arrogance to
think that I know what's wrong with something that just didn't suit my
tastes. Having clarified that, there are two things about the Darrell
Scott show in Atlanta that I have to mention in a negative light. One
thing was the system used by the venue for getting the capacity crowd
into the venue. It may work for a small crowd but on a night when you
have so many people coming to see a big name like Darrell it just didn't
work. It caused confusion, more than a few disgruntled customers and
was almost certainly responsible for the show starting late. Once again
I am in no position to complain. Apparently the system works most of
the time and having played at Eddies Attic myself I still say it is one
of the best venues for music in all of Georgia. The second complaint
is about Darrell himself; he didn't play Heartbreak
Town, but more about
that in a minute.
After the initial confusion of getting the eager crowd into the venue
I didn't envy the task of the young Packway Handle
Band to open the show
for the still unsettled audience. I needn't have worried. The Athens
( Georgia ) based bluegrass band took to the stage like seasoned pros
and within one song had the audience in the palm of their hands. From
old bluegrass favorites to jazz infused musical jams they showed why
they had scored so highly at the Telluride Festival. The band has a new
album out and they showcased it and themselves in great style. I particularly
liked the old time gospel song which featured an incredible bass vocal
by fiddler Andrew Heaton, but the rest of the band shone as well. Josh
Erwin is a fine guitar picker while Michael
Paynter is up there with
some of the finest mandolin players around. Tom
Baker made the banjo
sing while Chris Holliday held the whole thing together on the bass.
Each of them looked like they were having a ball playing the music they
love. That's the way music should be. I believe the Packway
Handle Band will grow musically and become a staple name on the big bluegrass festival
circuit.
Then there was Darrell Scott. Now Darrell has a few hits under his belt
by the biggest names in the industry and I am sure financially doesn't
need to tour. But when you see him on stage you totally understand that
it is where he needs to be. He is a performer, and like all good performers,
only truly comes alive when he is in a studio with his peers or on a
stage in front of those who appreciate what he does. Darrell seemed very
much at home on the small Eddie's Attic stage as he sat cradling his
guitar on his knee.
“I usually stand” he said “but I left my strap in a
rental car in DC, so now, I sit.”
Standing or sitting, he plays with a rare power. When he plays one of
the songs you have heard by Travis Tritt or the Dixie
Chicks a million
times on the radio, you suddenly hear the song the way it should be.
The guitars and banjo rang with a gorgeous full sound thanks to a good
house system and soundman. Darrell is, however, one of the most imaginative
and best guitar players I have ever heard. Effortlessly changing tunings
from standard to drop D and some I couldn't work out; he was all over
the neck with chord sequences and solos that caught my breath on more
than a few occasions. I swear he was just making up some of those chords
as he went along.
In the end though, it is Darrell's voice and songs that shine through.
He played most of the hits including “It's a Great Day to Be Alive” “Long
Time Gone' and the amazing “You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive”, which as
always gave me goose bumps. He also led us through some more of his other
greats like “Banjo Clark” which he co-wrote with another great writer,
Verlin Thompson. Despite the late start Darrell was happy to do a set
that ran close to 2 hours and still left the packed house shouting for
more. He finished with the tongue in cheek “Title of a Song”, a comical
simplification of the craft that has made Darrell a good living in recent
years. Despite how simple he makes the process sound I believe it takes
not just a special talent but a genuinely good heart to write songs that
touch the soul. If that is true, then Darrell Scott really is one of
the good guys.
Darrell's latest album is Theater
of the Unheard and is available on
Amazon or at Darrell's own website at:
http://www.darrellscott.com
For more on the excellent Packway
Handle Band check out their website
at:
http://www.packwayhandle.com
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