We went to a bluegrass concert last night at the Berklee Performance Center: Carolina Chocolate Drops. I had never heard of this kind of music or this band. But I saw the movie O’Brother and I like blues music, so it sounded familiar. We loved the concert: songs, ambiance, concert hall (although it would have be nicer to be standing, without seats, so we could dance!). Friends invited us to go and see this concert; they lived in North Carolina when they were in college, so they’re familiar with bluegrass music, which is typical in the South. They’ve been huge fans ever since and especially like this band, Carolina Chocolate Drops (they won a Grammy for best country band).
Bluegrass is a mix between jazz, blues and country, with a lot of Irish and Scottish influence. The songs tell stories of the everyday life, and the music is mostly improvised. I love the strong rhythm: bones, cello playing pizzicato or the audience clapping their hands!
Great thing about this band: they’re passionate about the history of their music and the instruments they play. Everything is carefully explained between each tune: the origin of an instrument (for instance a banjo coming from South Africa), the story of the original tune, who played it first, who taught them (the public ‘whoooed’ them in that moment, in a way to acknowledge them). The band has few original songs, bluegrass reinterprets old themes. The audience is invited to respond and sing with them. It looked like a very friendly village fair. And last thing, they looked very stylish!
You can hear their songs on their Myspace.
