At the end of March, The Infamous Stringdusters did a short east coast tour. The band spent much of the winter out west for their Ski Tour so East Coast fans were happy to see them back. We made it to the show in Washington, D.C. The scene at the 930 Club was reminiscent of a Dead show with several fans standing out front holding up one finger, hoping to find an extra one – the miracle ticket to the sold-out show.
The packed house was treated to a hot Stringduster show. Highlights included Three Days in July, written by Jon Weisberger and Mark Simos . The band said they’d had some requests and it had been years since they played it. Phillip made a request at a show in Radford back in 2009. Jeremy Garrett said that may have been the last time they played it. They also did another of my faves == Long Lonesome Day, a good dancing tune with a great banjo line.
The next night, the band played Richmond at The National. I liked this venue better, a little wider and the larger size allowed for more room to dance and/or breathe. It was a fast show with plenty of dancing tunes: Traveling Teardrop Blues, 17 Cents and Sunny Side. They ended with sweet version of the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun for the encore.
The Dusters played “For those Who’ve Gone On” and dedicated it Leithan Grinnell, a Festy alum who passed away recently. Several of Leithan’s friends were in the audience and it was a special moment. My husband, Greg, worked with Leithan years ago. He had lost touch with him for several years. At Festy 2012, we turned a corner on the path from our campsite to the festival grounds and someone called out to “Zip.” That’s Greg’s railroad nickname and it was Leithan! We had a great time with him all weekend. Turns out he was a one of the top barbeque champs in the state and he put on a Festy feast. He had ribs, barbeque and turkey – and it was mmm mmm good!
A note about the venues: 930 club was recently at the top of a list of top 50 venues in the country. It is a cool club but is really crowded at a sold out show. I’d put The National in Richmond on a list of my fave venues.
North Mountain Music 