Spring Break
Modern musical mastery makes for entertaining show
WHITNEY KESSLER
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The combination of talent on the 40 Watt stage Saturday night was beyond comprehension.
Local bluegrass ensemble the Packway Handle Band and indie folk group Hope for Agoldensummer amazed the crowd with their abilities.
Hope for Agoldensummer caught the audience's ear right off with raw and emotional lyrics.
The girls' voices glide perfectly through harmonies that you can tell they have sung since they were little: after all, they're sisters.
They collaborate by trading off the guitar when one wants to play a song.
There was a comfortable feeling to their act as they passed instruments from person to person and joked with the crowd about which songs to play.
"Love Like a Sailor" begins with slide guitar and slowly sinks into a beat.
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The vocals are a display of the flawless harmony and unrefined mumble of their sound.
Their use of musical elements also deserved applause. At one point, Claire pulled out an old saw and played the tool with a bow. The effect was an eerie, sweet, high-pitched sound.
The drummer picked up a box of glass bottles to make a beat as he stood swaying in the background during "Hearts in a Jar."
Their ability to create while performing was considerable. They were unafraid to start a song over if they felt that it was not going the way they wanted it to, and they pulled songs out of a book they had written the set list in.
Then, the Packway Handle Band came on stage dressed in suits of different colors and varieties.
These guys are not just good - they are incredible musicians.
A mandolin, fiddle, guitar, banjo, flute and bass were all broadcast through one microphone, as well as the singing.
Their fiddle-playing spokesman dryly introduced each song.
The guys would gather around, consumed with the beat. Their bodies moved in time as they traded solos and verses.
The crowd gathered quickly around the stage to witness the immense speed of the players' fingers.
The band played as if its members hailed straight from a small town in the Appalachian Mountains.
The band played the well-known bluegrass tune "Keep on the Sunny Side" in a minor key, giving it a partly-cloudy feel.
In true fiddle fashion, the fiddler played so hard on one song that his bow splintered into ribbons. And the guitar player lifted himself on a small box to project the guitars swift picking into the audience.
These artists are as organic and original as it gets. From hand-made soaps to flute solos, the bands were a match made in an eclectic music lover's heaven.
