Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Barre Opera House, 3/24/10

March 24 2010
Barre Opera House, Barre, Vermont
On a blustery Wednesday night in March at the Barre Opera House, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band [NGDB] exceeded every expectation. Through two extensive sets, Jeff Hanna, John McEuen, Bob Carpenter and Jimmie Fadden displayed technical agility and musical passion. Beyond renditions of their hits “Fishin’ in the Dark” and “Mr. Bojangles,” NGDB used acoustic instruments—harmonica, mandolin, banjo, and different electric guitars among them—to survey American “roots” music, from Appalachian banjo-stomp rags to folksy ballads that could belong on modern Springsteen records, or could be covered by Norah Jones. At their worst, the synthetic tones from the keys got in the way—nearly mocked— the diligence of the guitars, banjo, and dutiful percussion, leaving some original material to resemble modern country balladeering. At their best, however, after forty-two years of playing together and a number of Grammys between them, NGDB showed the windswept Vermont audience their roots: contemporaries of different generations of musicians, across a spectrum of pop, rock and country. When NGDB was at their best, they showed that they are masters of their craft, and sounded like things to come: accessible mountain music for the masses, simplicity to inspire foot stomping and smiles.
NGDB started in 1966 in Long Beach, California as a jug band, in the same year Bob Dylan went electric and was booed offstage in London, the Grateful Dead played their first concerts in San Francisco, and the Beach Boys released their epic Pet Sounds. Country music in 1966 was fragmented, between contemporary songwriters like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, and a troupe of Grand Ole Opry mainstays dating back to the 1930s, including pickers and players like Roy Acuff, Doc Watson and Jimmy Martin.
After releasing a few commercially-unsuccessful hippie-country records, NGDB sought to unify generations of musicians in 1972, when they invited a host of Grand Ole Opry artists to a studio in Nashville. Over six days, Will The Circle Be Unbroken was recorded: a collection of live in-studio performances that successfully—to a triple-platinum extent—sold old time pickin’ to the both the hip rock populous, the folksingers, and the squares. In my family, where tastes run wildly incongruent, Will the Circle Be Unbroken is universally accepted to be “good music.” Some of the songs by A.P. Carter (“Keep On the Sunny Side” and “You Are My Flower” among them) will resonate forever in my history and my heart. It is a blessing that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is still intact, touring, and as proficient and as influential as ever.
At the Barre Opera House, Jeff Hanna, founding member, played a variety of electric and acoustic guitars, including a remarkable, black Gibson SG, through a wild-looking custom amplifier, and sang lead vocals on most songs. His electric guitars sounded like rockabilly, as though they belonged on a Roy Orbison record; his brash, percussive strumming on the acoustic reminded me of too-familiar John Mellencamp riffs. Bob Carpenter played three keyboards, including the bass line for all songs. He sang from behind his keys, except to sing Hanna’s original song “Bless the Broken Road,” which won a Grammy for Best Country Song in 2005, when covered by Rascal Flatts.
NGDB benefits from two talented multi-instrumentalists. Jimmie Fadden began the show from behind a unique drum kit: six giant cymbals and two resonant toms that he seldom played, a snare, kick drum, and hi hat. He kept a steady country beat flowing through most songs using his feet; he played harmonica, beautifully, accurately, adding organ-like drone tones behind guitar and banjo strumming. In a purple headband to keep the harmonica microphone in place, Fadden was full of life, happy to be playing. During the second set, he performed alone, singing a traditional blues about a train, accompanying himself, and wailing, on the harmonica.
John McEuen played the mandolin, fiddle, lap steel guitar, acoustic guitar and five-string banjo; he played the banjo most, and best. Later in the show, I realized how much McEuen needs a few songs onstage to ‘warm up.’ He reminded me of Mark Knopfler, another axman who, when I saw him in Edinburgh, seemed to need the first third of the concert to get in the groove. McEuen came alive during the fourth song, picking up the banjo and appearing unable to put it down.
It’s worth noting, too, that McEuen is as much a producer as a player, having recently won a Grammy for his production of his high school friend Steve Martin’s return to the banjo, The Crow. During the second set, McEuen played a detuned guitar, and, not unlike his friend Steve Martin, told some fine jokes in between riffs. His back arched, his knees bent, McEuen stood facing the audience at one point and, in the middle of a gentle riff, hit the low, open string and got a surprising amount of tone—and he laughed, enjoying himself immensely. McEuen played with a concentration and technical accuracy that reminded me of Leo Kottke; like Leo, he became wonderfully merzmerized, almost entranced by the sound of his own playing, letting new notes fly into bluegrass progressions. As he played a piece written for use in a film, McEuen showed that he is truly a master of his craft.
NGDB chose their cover songs strategically, reflecting their long history in modern music. Beyond original material, the first set included songs by Willie Nelson, Jimmy Martin, an uptempo version of the Grateful Dead’s “Dark Hollow,” a rockabilly version of the Beatles’ “Get Back,” and a slick blues take on Canned Heat’s anthem “Goin’ Up the Country.” During the second set, Jeff Hanna introduced Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles” as “a song that changed our lives,” and urged the full house to sing the final choruses. Hanna donned a white Stratocaster for the encore: “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” into the odd, but decent classic rock staple “The Weight.” Interestingly, the latest NGDB release—The Speed of Life—includes ripping covers of Steelers’ Wheel “Stuck in the Middle (With You)” and “Goin’ Up The Country.” This summer, NGDB will perform at the Bonaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee, sharing the bill with the Avett Brothers, Norah Jones, the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Steve Martin, among many others. As American pop music continues to evolve, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band will become legendary, with every fresh banjo riff, every harmonica wail, and every American tune.