Last week Greensky Bluegrass and the Kitchen Dwellers brought their sonic mix of jam band and psychedelic musical magic to the northeast. While they didn’t come to the capital district. Red Bank, NJ, Brooklyn, NY, New Haven, CT, Boston, MA and Portland, ME all got down and boogied the night away. Both bands kept folks on their feet dancing and singing along.
The openers for this leg of Greensky’s winter tour, the Kitchen Dwellers and their fans alike, seem to be enjoying having their founding member Shawn Swain back on mandolin. The Montana based band sounded better than ever, falling right into step, rocking both time-tested tunes and new offerings from their latest album Seven Devils which came out early last year. These guys bring an energetic and firecracker spirit to any space they play. Next time they come to the capital district be sure to come out and see them!
Headliner, Greensky Bluegrass brought the fire as usual. Always a barn burner! This band has an amazing enthusiastic fanbase. The guys looked like they were having just as much fun as their fans. They packed music houses in every city on this leg of the tour including the last night in Portland, where there was a massive winter storm shutting down the city and surrounding areas.
In true rock and roll spirit, “the show must go on.” They kicked off the night a little early knowing they’d have to end by ten to get folks off the streets. To a surprisingly packed house, the music kept going once they got started by replacing Dwellers members with Greensky members, one by one, while the stage crew worked feverishly to switch out pedal boards and mic stands. These guys knew how beautiful it was to still fill a theater with the storm that was raging on outside. The juxtaposition of time standing still as the crowd united in their adoration for this live music spectacle roaring on like a freight train was impressive. Performances on this particular evening seemed especially electric. However, the encore was truly a treat. All members of the Kitchen Dwellers and Greensky Bluegrass came out to the front of the stage, unplugged, hushed the crowd and began “My Love Will Not Change” lead by Dave Bruzza the guitarist of Greensky. The once rowdy crowd fell almost silent listening intently to every note. It was well worth every death-defying moment of driving to get to such an incredibly rare and epic performance.
Be sure to catch Greensky Bluegrass, who usually play the Palace Theater when in Albany, or Kitchen Dwellers who have been known frequenters of Cohoes Music Hall. You will not regret it.
