Barn Dance Review - October 1998

From: tejas (tbsamsel@richmond.infi.net)

I hadn't been able to take in a Capital City Barn Dance for several months for various and sundry reasons which I shall not go into. I was looking forward to a rousing evening of non-lowest-common-denominator muzak and I wasn't disappointed with the lineup this Saturday. Anticipation of a new manifestation of The Barn Dance house band with George Reuther on bass, Paul Watson on guitar and cornet, Roger Wright on drums, one of the Slacks on guitar, and Sue Tarr (a fiddler extraordinaire), was high and they provided a masterful blend of county and gospel tunes before and between the acts.

The Flea Bops are a swing/rockabilly unit out of Indian Head, Maryland (just south of Ackokeek!) and these folks led off with a raunchy set of Carl Perkins, Tennessee Ernie Ford (esp. SHOTGUN BOOGIE), and Louis Jordan covers with a number of Flea Bop originals. They also sported a lady doghouse bass player clad in '40s mufti and an Andrews Sisters hairdo. They deserve to be seen more in the Richmond area. And, oh those zany swing dancers! (see below)

Terry Garland came on next with a solo acoustic blues set. He did Whang Dang Doodle & Terraplane Blues back to back, which in my book are solid classics. He's always a pleasure to hear and does the blues more than sufficient justice the times I have seen or heard him. The puro honkytonk band from Chapel Hell, The Two Dollar Pistols closed the show in fine form. I'd seen them before earlier in the year and gave them a stellar review in one of the other local muzak rags that shall remain nameless. They remembered me and said they dug my review. They did their usual thang with up-tempo maudlin laments penned by such country greats as Faron Young, Ernest Tubb and Hank Thompson. They mentioned that they'd recently opened for Merle Haggard and were still basking in his particular Okie/Bakersfield aura. They are a fine, fine band. See 'em next time they come to town and do the Two-step to 'em. I must note that the kurrent kraze of swing dance aerobicity does little to move the audience to dance. You shouldn't come just to watch these frenetic hyperenergized Fred and Gingers; you should come to dance yourownselves. I have spoken.

As I left the Bottom, frat bwais and sorority Sallys were puking in the gutter as is their wont. And there seemed to be some sort of "incident" in the 1700 block of East Main. But I went home.

TBSamsel@richmond.infi.net (also tejas@infi.net)
'Do the boogie woogie in the South American way'
Hank Snow THE RHUMBA BOOGIE