We caught a great concert last night in DeKalb with Sam Lowry, Frontier Ruckus, and headlining William Elliot Whitmore. Sam Lowry was not my style. William Elliot Whitmore was really great. But Frontier Ruckus was the real star of the evening for me.
I had never heard of Frontier Ruckus (MySpace, Wikipedia) before, and I didn't make any effort to know the bands who were playing before Whitmore. But the minute they took the stage, even before they started their first song, I was excited. It was because I saw a trumpet, a musical saw and a banjo. Add to that an acoustic guitar, bass, and drums and you get a rockin' out performance from a young, talented band. After viewing some online videos it appears they were without Anna Burch last night on harmony vocals.
As I'm writing this I'm listening to their album, The Orion Songbook (download, CD). Sometimes hearing a good live band before hearing their CD leads to a letdown. But I'm really enjoying this one.
So I want to introduce you to Frontier Ruckus. Enjoy a few videos...
Such an incredible show and a perfect venue for all the bands involved (though I agree on Sam Lowry—not my style). It was a nice, unexpected treat to see Sarah from Murder by Death playing cello for them, though.
Posted by: B | 05/18/2009 at 12:57 PM
She looked out of place. Maybe that's why. :)
Posted by: Steve McCoy | 05/18/2009 at 01:00 PM
You've probably already seen this, but thought in case you hadn't I'd pass it along. http://beta.wilcoworld.net/records/thealbum/index.php
Thanks for the tip on FR. I like it.
Posted by: Todd | 05/19/2009 at 11:11 AM
Since you said you were excited on account of seeing the musical saw - do you know of the annual Musical Saw Festival in NYC? This year they are attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of musical saw players playing together. Info: http://www.musicalsawfestival.org
Posted by: Michelle | 05/19/2009 at 12:47 PM