Jake and Taylor Armerding Tearing Up The Cantab Tonight!

My latest shameless plug. Come to the Cantab tonight (2-20) for Jake and Taylor Armerding.

If you’ve just been to Joe Val and saw Taylor perform with Bluegrass Gospel Project, then you won’t want to miss Taylor playing with his son tonight. What makes Taylor Armerding so amazing is that he can play bluegrass gospel over the weekend and bluegrass versions of 80’s pop the following Tuesday. If you didn’t go to Joe Val and live in the area, then you definitely won’t want to miss tonight’s show.

Jake is a star in his own light. He also writes some of the best newsletters around.
This is what he said about tonight’s show:

Tuesday, February 20
Cantab Lounge, Central Square, Cambridge, MA. By now, most Bostonians know the best ‘grass in town is at the Cantab every Tuesday night. We’ll be jamming on our usual fusion of trad grass, originals, and eighties pop. (This week, we turn to those beloved synthesizer cowboys, Genesis.) With Taylor Armerding, Zack Hickman, Neil Cleary and Wes Corbett. 10pm, free ($5 donation suggested).

Jake is an excellent musican with a penchant for telling great stories as well. The musicans with him tonight are also stellar. I try to see Jake every time he plays around here and am never let down.

Hillbilly take me home

January 29th was a cold night in Cambridge but luckily I had the music of Hillbilly Pilgrim(featuring Mark Erelli) to warm me up. I arrived at the Plough and Stars just in time to see the band walk in and begin tuning. I found a seat at the end of the bar and ordered my favorite draft beer: New Castle.

A show with Mark Erelli has never let me down before and this proved to be no exception. The band opened with an instrumental that got everybody tapping their fingers. Mark’s opening banter included him telling us that they were playing without a set list.

After that we were treated to Mark singing “Brand New Baby”, a swinging song about finding the “one” with some socially conscious lyrics thrown in as well:

Boys if you want to find the girl of your dreams
Stop looking in the movies and the magazines
Find yourself a woman with some meat on her bones
Don’t fall for all the plastic and the silicone

“Brand new Baby” was written by Mark and is one of my favorites because it makes me smile and think simutaneously.

The rest of the set included the super fast and super delightful instrumental “Remington’s Ride”. The band quieted it down a bit after that with a Hank Williams cover.

The show was a perfect mixture of fast ( “Devil’s Train”, “Flash,Crash and Thunder”) and slow (the aformentioned Hank Williams, and “Crazy” by Patsy Cline.” There were many other songs whose titles escape me now. Sorry.

The encore of “Crazy” was the song that caused me to miss the last t home and walk nearly a half hour back to my apartment. Just can’t resist a Patsy Cline cover. It was all worth it.

Highlights of the night included Mark laughing out loud during one of the fast numbers, Jerry Miller getting a standing ovation for “Remington’s Ride” and being me one of two people dancing in the bar.

It’s evident from their live shows and album, Hillbilly Pilgrim, that this is a band that truly enjoys playing together. I look forward to them possibly getting together for more shows and if I am lucky another album.

Hillbilly at the Plough Tonight! 1-29

Once again this is a shameless last minute plug for a show I feel nobody should miss. Hillbilly Pilgrim ( featuring Mark Erelli) is playing the Plough and Stars at 10 pm.

Hillbilly Pilgrim is an album Mark did with members of the Spurs in 2004. This is one of my favorite Erelli albums. It’s energy is bright and infectious. The songs are catchy and meangingful which is quite an accomplishment in a pop music age.

If you’ve been reading this blog then I don’t have to tell you how much I adore Mark Erelli. If you’ve stumbled along this blog in some kind of after work Monday night haze then I will say it again. Mark is a top caliber musican and songwriter. His music ranges from rockabilly, western swing and folk. His latest album, “Hope and Other Casualities” was voted number 1 album of the year from WUMB.

Ok so I guess this has become more of a plug for Mark Erelli than the show, but you should get down to the Plough and Stars anyway and warm up your chilly New England bodies.

Tuesday at the Cantab

Tuesday Jan 9th looks to be a promising night at the Cantab. The feature is Zack Hickman and Barn Star ( Jake Armerding, Taylor Armerding, Adam Larrabee( Joy Kills Sorrow), and Jesse Harper of Old School Freight Train. Last time I saw Zack play he was helping back up Jake Armerding. It was a lethal combination. Taylor (Bluegrass Gospel Project) is always a pleasure to see live. Mix that all up with Zack’s vocals and playing and you’ve got a combination that will heat up the Cantab. Listen to “Your very own cowboy” and you will hear why this is a night at the Cantab you shouldn’t pass up.

The Cantab is the perfect divey bar to drink beer and listen to some picking. My only complaint about the Cantab is that people tend to talk too much and it makes it difficult to hear the music. The place can get pretty crowded so I recommend arriving early.

The Cantab is my favorite bar to hear bluegrass in Cambridge because it is the only place in the area that is still doing it on a regular basis. Anybody who tells you that you can’t hear quality bluegrass in New England should check out the Cantab.