Day 41: High lonesome sound

Wow, what a treat... saw Bruce Molsky live tonight at The Old Queen's Head, a pub in Islington (fairly close to the flats). Absolutely amazing.

I saw him open for Nickel Creek around last Christmas at the State Theatre in Minneapolis with my parents, and I became an instant fan. His talent is amazing, and his passion for bluegrass is evident.

There was an 'open mic' before the show, which was on the 1st floor (well, the 1st floor is the ground floor here in the UK... so this was the American 2nd floor) of a nice little pub. There was a list of who was going to perform, and each person/group did one song each, with only two exceptions I can think of. It varied from a woman who very recently picked up guitar to two guys on guitar and fiddle to solo singers to a guy with a ___box. Can't quite remember the name, but it's somewhat similar to an accordion, but looks like a little suitcase or backgammon box.

Though Bruce isn't one to smile through a whole set, he definitely got into the music and cracked a few smiles now and then. Don't let the face fool you though; he was definitely enjoying himself at this small venue. In fact, this is the first time this venue has had someone back for another show. They have an unwritten rule to not have the same performer more than once.

Bruce also had (along with his guitar, fiddle, and banjo) a hardingfele (pictured above) with him, which is like a violin but with nine strings. Four of the strings are strung and the rest kind of just ring along with them. I think Wikipedia puts this more eloquently (and probably accurately) than I do. Anyway, he had it with him since he'd just headed here (for his only London show!) from a tour with some other people; he usually wouldn't have this instrument with him for solo shows. It was absolutely gorgeous though. He described this Norwegian instrument quite well when he said that the first time he heard it, he thought he was hearing a violin in the snow.

I could keep rambling about this amazing show... the venue was so intimate and perfect (except that I had to stand the whole time), and Bruce was just incredible and was very much feeding off the energy of the audience, which must have had an average age of around 38.

I'll hopefully have some pictures up tomorrow, though I only got a few shots and am not really sure of how they turned out.