Folk Runs Amok.

Imagine, you work somewhere that gives you the opportunity to see up to seven strangely mediocre bands a week. Also imagine that on some days you get to see a band that you’ve seen a couple, if not several times before. Now, before you get carried away and start yammering about how wonderful a job this must be, let me shoot you down a bit.
Every now and then you take a look at the night’s festivities and you see an act you’ve never heard of before. Two key questions pop into your head; what genre are they and what kind of patron will this band bring to my doorstep/facial space?

I will get to both of those questions as the post continues. I want to start by saying that I may now enjoy bluegrass. I don’t want anyone to pigeon hole me, but bluegrass, just like folk and other “mountainy” genres, can have the same punk-rock attitude I look for in music.

Trampled by Turtles blend the “four guitarish instruments and throaty singing” of bluegrass with the speed and fervor of punk rock. Imagine a blazing acoustic guitar mixed with an acoustic bass, mandolin and banjo, all also played at ridiculously high rates. Don’t get me wrong, punk rock isn’t all about speed, passion is also very important. There were times when the lead singer looked and sounded more like Greg Graffin and less like, well, any popular bluegrass singer.
The crowd was very calm as well. No one getting crazy drunk and no one trying to mess with the staff. Always a plus. There was one interesting group of drunken women from Wyoming, or so they say. I want to clear something up for everyone right now. An offer for a free strip show will not get you backstage, fact.

A little word on bluegrass bands though: they apparently don’t have the energy that most punk bands do. While bands like Black Flag and The Deviates could go song after relentless song, Trampled by Turtles had to mix it up a little bit with some slower, more traditional bluegrass songs. They kind of reminded me of one of my new favorite bands, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, in that instead of a bunch of minute and a half songs they changed it up with some slower stuff too.

TBT was very good, and I'm very glad to say that there were at least 200 people in attendance to witness their awesomeness. If anyone gets the chance to see them anytime soon I would highly recommend it. They are playing in Fort Collins Wednesday and Denver Thursday.