Punch Brothers - 930 Club 2/7/2013

I made it back from Chicago in time on Thursday to catch the Punch Brothers at 930 Club, the first of two nights they played in DC. It was a great show, but the original reason I went, and the reason I heard about the show was to see Sarah Jarosz who was supposed to open. Unfortunately Sarah was sick, so did not play. That was a shame.

The Punch Brothers were originally formed by mandolinist Chris Thile, formerly of Nickel Creek. They are bluegrass purists in instrumentation and play a combination of traditional and progressive arrangements. I had never heard of them before buying tickets for this show, but have quickly come to love their music, especially their album Who's Feeling Young Now.

The music was extremely tight, complex, but powered by infectious enthusiasm, especially from Chris Thile. When I showed my twelve year old daughter a picture of Chris, her first comment was 'he's cute'. I think if she had seen him in person, he would have had an instant new fan. The interplay between band members was great, with most everyone soloing and playing instrumental duets at various times. All of the instruments were pushed hard - these are clearly guys who are not afraid to find new sounds from their tools.

I have enjoyed bluegrass probably longer than any other type of music, having been introduced to it by my sister in the early 1970s, and later enjoying Jerry Garcia and David Grisman among others. I am now really excited by some of the contemporary bluegrass from the likes of Punch Brothers, Sarah Jarosz (and closely related Mumford & Sons and Frank Turner) that use traditional instrumentation with more modern interpretation.

You can't take a 'professional' camera into 930 Club, which they interpret as a DSLR, or more generally a big camera with interchangeable lenses. I have used my Canon G10 in the past, but it is horrible in low light, and useless at high ISO. I recently picked up a Sony DSC-RX100 as my new 'small' camera, and especially had concerts in mind. The camera did not disappoint. It is acceptably sharp at ISO 3200 and I was able to get an adequate shutter speed, even at an F4.9 aperture (which is wide open at full telephoto - while the lens has a maximum aperture of 1.8, it decays very rapidly at longer focal lengths). Overall I love the RX100 and actually wish I could put some of its software features in my Canon 7D.

Enjoy the photos, and give the Punch Brothers a listen.

Gary Clark Jr. at 9:30 Club

One of the most exciting concerts I have seen in a long time was Gary Clark Jr. at the 9:30 Club in DC last night. I am a relatively recent fan, and first heard of Gary from an Austin Monthly cover story in March 2012. Since then I have listened frequently to his Bright Lights EP, and more recently to his new full length album, Blak and Blu.

Gary Clark Jr. at The 9:30 Club 11/10/12 (Bill Phelps Photo) — **Gary Clark Jr. at The 9:30 Club 11/10/12** (Bill Phelps Photo)

Gary's musical mentors were some of the legends of the Austin, Texas music scene including Jimmie Vaughn and Clifford Antone. He has been a musical fixture in Austin for the past decade, winning a number of big awards. He first broke big nationally after playing Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2010. Since then he has played almost every festival in the US, and perhaps more impressive played for President Obama at the White House, joining Mick Jagger, B.B. King and other blues icons (video below).

While the comparison I hear most often for Gary Clark Jr. is Stevie Ray Vaughn, he rocks MUCH harder. I personally think he sounds at times like Vernon Reid from Living Colour in his sound, at least in terms of his intensity, often sounding akin to heavy metal. A Boston Globe review of Gary's concert there earlier this week described the heavy sound as 'transformative thunder' and that captures my impression very well. I have been at Grateful Dead concerts when they shook the foundations, and Gary and his band surely achieved that effect last night.

Zapata! (Bill Phelps Photo) — **Zapata!** (Bill Phelps Photo)

One of the main sources of the "thunder" generated by Gary's band was his guitar player, Zapata!. He opened the show playing a wild two necked electric guitar, with a twelve string on top. Zapata! had a large electronic effects board on the stage in front of him, and at times he configured it to lay down a wall of fuzz and reverb. While they are blurred in the photo, Zapata! wore huge rings on the fingers of his right hand, and I am not sure how he managed to play the guitar at all with so much metal on his fingers. The other members of the band, Johnny Bradley on bass, and Johnny Radelat on drums were equally strong, and the drummer especially looked like he was having a blast playing.

My favorite concerts experiences are when I have the opportunity to hear a talented musician who is on fire, and just exploding in popularity. This certainly describes Gary Clark Jr. right now.

I took these photos with a Canon G10 compact camera. The 9:30 Club does not allow 'professional' cameras, defined as any camera with interchangeable lenses. The G10 takes great photos when there is abundant light. The photos here are well outside the camera's comfort zone.

My Old Shoebox

I am a technologist, foodie, photographer, gardener, music lover and political junkie. I have always saved ticket stubs, old business cards, doodles and other ephemera in shoe boxes, scrapbooks or desk drawers. Some things get saved and some are lost over time. I travel a lot, take many photos and try to keep notes of my experiences, whether interesting meals, great bottles of wine, or cool articles I have read. This site is my latest attempt to consolidate this content for the entertainment of my friends and family.