Pretty awesome:
The Carolina Chocolate Drops are scheduled to perform in New Orleans at the House of Blues on Tuesday, June 15. I'm bummed that I won't be in town to see them. But you should definitely plan to go!
And to see how talented the Carolina Chocolate Drops really are, compare the above performance with the one below. Notice particularly how the instruments have changed hands with no discernible compromise in performance quality. This is one multi-talented musical group.
Good stuff. I thought the girl was a vastly superior fiddle player, and the guy on the left has an interesting technique that ends up playing the banjo more as a percussion instrument, which makes sense when you see him playing the spoons... he's a drummer at heart. This band is begging for a good stand up bass player. But yeah, good stuff.
ReplyDeleteYou might like this band I've been into lately from Alaska, they are called Bearfoot. Twin fiddles, you just can't beat 'em.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sdTuA5O3pI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHCGDdwkOd8
Eric - Thanks for introducing me to Bearfoot. You are right, I like them a lot. I also appreciated their accapella rendition of "Good in the Kitchen" (especially the South Louisiana, cajun, and jambalaya references!)
ReplyDeleteI think it's very clear that there is a definite difference between the rhythm and tempo of the Carolina Chocolate Drops' version of bluegrass and folk music versus that of Barefoot. And I think this difference has something to do with the cultural legacies associated with race. In other words, I think you can listen to the Chocolate Drops and Barefoot without any visual reference and be able to discern that the Chocolate Drops are likely black musicians and that Barefoot are likely white musicians.