Railroad Earth’s Patchogue Pickin’
In a game-time decision, I took the LIRR ou to Patchogue last weekend to check out the Great South Bay Music Festival. Loaded up with many local bands and some up-and-comers, the main reason for my travel was to check out Railroad Earth’s hour set right before the headliners, Umphrey’s McGee. The festival was beautiful; situated right on a park on the water, and featured a main stage as well as a smaller tent where other bands showcased their talents. Bluepoint Brewery sponsored the event and had a few beer tents set up for us to indulge a bit, and the vending offered everything from great carnival food to hippie apparel (I snagged a nice Weather Report shirt for all you Dead-heads out there). I even ran into RRE’s Tim Carbone on my way to snag a hotdog.
Railroad Earth’s set was a solid hour of quality bluegrass pickin’. The highlight was a stunning rendition of “Head,” featuring great interplay between Tim Carbone’s fiddle and John Skehan’s mandolin. I felt they did a nice job mixing in newer cuts with older material, to deliver a set that really captured their career as a whole. The band seemed very relaxed and loose, which was evident right from the set opening “Long Way To Go.” Great renditions of the instrumentals “1759” and the set closing “Fiddlee” also deserve special mention. I had great positioning up on the front rail in front of Tim. At one point I yelled for “Mess.” Tim and Todd acknowledged, and Tim smiled and quietly mouthed “not today.” Looks like I’ll have to wait for another show, which is fine by me. In my opinion, these guys are one of the most exciting bands around and I’ll catch them any chance I get.
Saturday July 16, 2011 Great South Bay Music Festival, Patchogue, NY
Long Way To Go, Lone Croft Farewell > Head, Where Songs Begin, 1759, Potter’s Field, Black Elk Speaks, Fiddlee
