I have been jonesing for some bluegrass since my Del Fest cut short and thank the lord that the Hot Buttered Rum boys booked a date close by in Jersey. \u00a0As soon as I saw that they announced this show I immediately purchased myself a ticket. \u00a0I saw these guys on the most recent NYE out in CO. \u00a0I was thoroughly impressed. \u00a0They have just recently fused themselves with a drummer. \u00a0I first saw this incarnation out in CO. \u00a0I was really impressed how they sounded. \u00a0Their mandolin player just recently left and I was used to him. \u00a0Zac left the band for his own reasons and he sure would be missed. \u00a0They were a straight up kick ass bluegrass band. \u00a0They have morphed the drums into that hootin’ and hollerin’ bluegrass very well.<\/p>\n
I have seen HBR four times over the years. \u00a0There has been one steady characteristic that has really cemented the love that I have for this band. \u00a0All of the members can be seen chatting away with fans before, middle, and after the show. \u00a0The second time I saw them up in Saratoga Springs the band was explaining how their Veggie Oil bus works during set break. \u00a0They are hanging out with the fans like they not even the band. \u00a0It is awesome to see them walking amongst the crowd. \u00a0This time was no different.<\/p>\n
The venue had the tables out for dinner towards the back, but their still was very little room to dance. \u00a0Their was only about 2o to 30 people actually up dancing in the front of the stage, so our small space felt wide open. \u00a0This is the perfect band to see in such an intimate setting. \u00a0You feel so close to them right next to the stage. \u00a0You see their emotions and feel their energy from the stage. \u00a0It is like a wave and it makes me grin from ear to ear. \u00a0I am not too versed in HBR songs, but I will try my best. \u00a0The band started about 9:30 PM.<\/p>\n
It is different trying to listen to them with drums. \u00a0It is kind of strange for any bluegrass band to be playing with drums. \u00a0I saw Yonder with Fishman on drums and it took me a while to get used to the drums. \u00a0They opened up with a couple of their original songs. \u00a0I think they were warming up for what came next. \u00a0I don’t know what it is but Paul Simon sounds real good as a bluegrass cover. \u00a0The Rum boys started to play “Gumboots.” \u00a0One of my favorite Paul Simon songs off of one of my favorite albums of all time, Graceland. \u00a0I was up big time for that song. \u00a0They added their own little twist to the song, which made it more enjoyable. \u00a0I heard another bluegrass band named Cabinet a couple months ago play another Simon song off of that same album. \u00a0That too was enjoyable. \u00a0Next song was another cover and quite possibly the best cover any band can do. \u00a0“Up on Cripple Creek!!” \u00a0Any band that covers The Band are definitely high up on my list. \u00a0From here on the crowd was getting rowdy and the band was definitely feeding off of our energy. \u00a0I am not sure what the last song of the first set was called, but it had something to do with a desert. \u00a0This song was so different than anything I heard Butter play before. \u00a0It was a lot more spacey song and they jammed a little with it. \u00a0This was definitely the highlight of the first set for me. \u00a0The banjo player get so emotional when he sings. \u00a0He was singing this song and it actually felt like we were in the desert as he was describing the song with the lyrics. \u00a0This ended the first set and I was in need of a little hoedown rest.<\/p>\n
The set break was a typical one like usual. \u00a0Some of the Hobos were at this show, so I went over by them to chat with them. \u00a0I haven’t seen them since the last Railroad Earth show I been to which was about 4 months ago. \u00a0It was good to catch up as much as we could. \u00a0I was hanging out in front of the stage waiting for the set to start when I saw the guitar player, Nat, on stage looking for something on the ground. \u00a0I guess someone he knew came up to the stage and shook his hand and started to say how he really enjoyed the new setup with the drums. \u00a0Nat responded, “Yea. \u00a0It is amazing how I am more free now with the drums. \u00a0There is more space for me even though we added all of this equipment. \u00a0In the band before the drums I had to constantly be playing and could not take a rest. \u00a0Now, I can take a rest and no one notices.” \u00a0I thought to myself, the drums do disguise many things with the other instruments. \u00a0The conversation ended and I stayed standing by the stage just minding my own business.<\/p>\n
Nat came over to me and asked me, ” Can I send you out on a mission?”<\/p>\n
I said, “Yea, I am up to it. \u00a0I can do it.”<\/p>\n
He said, “I need you to find two matchsticks for my guitar string.”<\/p>\n
I know really understanding what that was said, “OK, what should I ask for.”<\/p>\n
He responded, “I would start asking for matches from anyone.”<\/p>\n
I said, “OK.” \u00a0I then took off on my mission from the guitar player. \u00a0I could not believe that a member of the band came up to me and asked me to go on a mission for him. \u00a0That is what I mean about how this band is equal with everyone. \u00a0Well anyway I went outside to the smokers to ask for some matches. \u00a0I asked a couple of friendly folks out side to no avail. \u00a0I decided to run to my car to see if any matches were there. \u00a0I looked around and found something I thought it was better than the matches. \u00a0It was a blow pop. \u00a0I though the stick would be perfect for being a guitar pin. \u00a0I ripped the loli pop part off and headed inside to let Nat know that I completed my mission. \u00a0I saw him on the way back from it must have been the bathroom and held it up in the air and gave it to him.<\/p>\n
“Yes,” I thought to myself. \u00a0I was pretty happy for myself. \u00a0I am pretty sure he said something to the effect like that will work. \u00a0Thanks. \u00a0I walked off, got a beer, and waited for the second set.<\/p>\n
They got on and started with a couple of soft and slower songs. \u00a0It wasn’t until three songs into the second set where the whole place started to freak out. \u00a0“Loose Lucy,” was what the boys was gearing up to. \u00a0The familiar notes gave it away and I was ecstatic. \u00a0This is one of my favorite Dead tunes that I rarely hear. \u00a0The crowd was singing along and the band was getting into it. \u00a0The fiddle player was singing and he was getting into it. \u00a0He was belting out the part, “I say thank you, For A Real Good Time!” \u00a0It was sooo good to hear that song being played. \u00a0I was up front singing right back to the band showing them how much I was enjoying myself.<\/p>\n
Now, they ended “Loose Lucy” and went into a straight up bass solo. \u00a0The only person that was up on stage was the bass player who was boogeying with his instrument. \u00a0When does that ever happen especially at a bluegrass show. \u00a0It was a rarity to see. \u00a0The rest of this show was good with the crowd getting their boogey on. \u00a0I really love the banjo player in this band because he reminds me of Andy of Railroad Earth. \u00a0He plays all different kinds of instruments. \u00a0He is usually playing the banjo, but also plays the flute and the steel pedal guitar. \u00a0This allows for bands to sound so different with the just the change of an instrument. \u00a0Makes a band very flexible in what they can do. \u00a0HBR can do a lot because of the diversity of the band. \u00a0Just adding the drums makes it way more different. \u00a0I am happy to see this. \u00a0I really enjoy my Butter with drums now. \u00a0It is a different sound, but good. \u00a0A little more rock feel. \u00a0I do love the old school bluegrass they were, but change is sometimes good. \u00a0I think they can only get better. \u00a0I am looking forward to seeing them again.<\/p>\n
I was real glad to catch this band one last time before I go away for a long time. \u00a0Bluegrass was what I needed since I haven’t caught a bluegrass show in a long time. \u00a0The Encore I \u00a0recognized from past shows. \u00a0“Bit by Bit,” is a song I heard before. \u00a0A nice song to send the show. \u00a0I was so lucky to see these guys and then Yonder in a week. \u00a0I am ending my concert going to straight bluegrass before I head on my adventure. \u00a0I would not have it any other way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have been jonesing for some bluegrass since my Del Fest cut short and thank the lord that the Hot Buttered Rum boys booked a date close by in Jersey. \u00a0As soon as I saw that they announced this show I immediately purchased myself a ticket. \u00a0I saw these guys on the most recent NYE […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[38,70],"class_list":["post-430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-concerts","tag-music"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825,"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions\/825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allaboutmatt.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}