Trampled By Turtles @ The Observatory OC (1.18.13)
Trampled By Turtles
For readers new to this blog, I should mention, lately I have been a bit obsessed with the banjo and all music that contains it. Whether it be Pete Seeger, Bela Fleck, Guster, Kermit the Frog or Trampled by Turtles. As such I was delighted when the TBT mgmt allowed me to shoot some photos at their show.
Dave Carroll
Of all the niche areas of blugrass, I have to say speedgrass is a new one. Speed infers punk rockers picking up pennies and grass folksy acoustic instruments. The reality of it is plaid shirted fans jumping and moshing to banjo solos, lots of fantastic beards and good looking women with jobs (not my phrase). It was nice too see all the OC hippies come out of the woodwork again, if only for an evening.
Ryan Young
TBT, doesn't just play fast however though. What makes a good show is balancing speed with slow, happy with sad and light with dark. Coincidentally the majority of the dark happened during the three songs I had to shoot in the pit. I did get a few good photos though.
Dave Simonett
There was just something about this band that made them feel organic. As if they all started playing together just for the hell of it and just happened to strike it lucky. Even though Dave Simonett is the lead singer, it really seemed each was an equal member of the band. Even their stage layout implied that with all five evenly spaced in a row with their own little spot on stage for amp and instruments.
To close the show, TBT played a fantastic rendition of Where is My Mind. Unfortunately I had been tipped off about their cover of it before the show so it wasn't the mind blowing supprise it could have been. Pretty cool with the crowd singing the oohs though.
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% Side Note: HoneyHoney
While the headliner of the show was Trampled by Turtles, HoneyHoney was impressive. Their records were a bit overproduced "meh," but live they were great. Very much enjoyed their blend of country folk and rock. Suzanne Santo's stage personality was fairly adorable as well, but when she was singing it was nothing but soulful country.
Suzanne Santo
With her pipes, HoneyHoney could easily go commercial pop country and be huge, so you have to respect them for keeping it real.
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