Tennessee Thunder

That being the name of the band that played with Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby monday night. Fantastic bluegrass show at the concert hall in the ethical culture society building on central park west. Super ensemble, very tight in spite of what they claimed was an under-rehearsed situation. Front men were great too: skaggs probably best known for his pop country stuff and hornsby for his singer/songwriter career (you know that 'jacob's ladder' song whether you realize it or not - step by step, one by one.) But they represented the roots on monday. Ricky on vocals, mandolin, guitar and an old banjo that gave him some tuning problems that he was able to turn into good stage time; Bruce on vox and piano (not much of a bluegrass instrument, he's the first to admit, but damned if he didn't work it.)

The seats are essentially church pews, which is far from ideal, and i was crazy tired, which isn't the best for deep listening, but it was a really good show! Traditional tunes, songs written for this group, reworkings of their back catalog, classics from the stanley brothers, bill monroe, folks like that. And for a bitchen encore, a bluegrass rendition of rick james' superfreak! Yes they did.

As they say in texas, it was a hoot.