the Freight presents Peter Rowan & Friends
2013-12-13
Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse
2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA
8:00 PM, Friday, December 13, 2013

[8:07 PM lights down, announcements from ?]

1. [8:13 PM] ? (fiddle tune)
2. [8:17 PM] Ragged Old Dream
3. [8:20 PM] Panama Red
4. [8:24 PM, all off but Peter, who swaps to acoustic guitar] Tumbleweed
5. [8:30 PM] Doc Watson Morning, D-18 Guitar Picking Kind of Day
6. [8:34 PM band back, +CR, +LR] Shoppin' Feet (LR)
7. [8:40 PM] Pathways of the Heart # (LR)
8. [8:45 PM] Lay Me Down @ (CR)
9. [8:50 PM] ? “Train don't come here no more”
   [set ends 8:55 PM]

[9:16 PM lights down, announcements from ?]

1. [9:17 PM; JL solo a capella] Shadowfall (JL)
2. [9:22 PM; add PR & Friends] Old Time Angels (JL)
3. [9:25 PM] Tell Me What I Mean (JL)
4. [9:29 PM] I Loved Her After All (JL)
5. [9:33 PM] Throw My Bucket Down (JL)
6. [9:36 PM] the Tiger and the Monkey (JL)
7. [9:40 PM] Headed for the Hills (JL)
8. [9:45 PM] Sitting Alone in the Moonlight (PR/JL)
9. [9:50 PM; JL off] ? muleskinner blues
10. [9:59 PM] Across the Rolling Hills (Padmasambhava)
11. [10:05 PM] ? (fiddle instrumental)
12. [10:12 PM; +LR, CR) Land of the Navajo
13. [10:24 PM] ? “Daddy was a dreamer/my father's son” (LR)
14. [10:30 PM; +JL) the Walls of Time @
15. [10:42 PM] Midnight Moonlight
    [set ends 10:46 PM]
     
    Encore
16. [10:46 PM] Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer (CR lead, in costume, no g)
17. [10:50 PM; -CR] ? (fiddle tune – sounded like Bob Wills to me) @
18. [10:54 PM] Goodnight Irene (Pete pulls Ramblin' Jack up for one verse)
    [show ends 11:00 PM]

• Nina Gerber: guitar;
• Paul Knight: contrabass;
• Ken Owen: drums;
• Peter Rowan: acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vox;
• Blaine Sprouse: violin;

the Rowan Brothers

• Chris Rowan: acoustic guitar, # harmonica, lead and harmony vox;
• Lorin Rowan: acoustic guitar, @ mandolin, lead and harmony vox;

• Ramblin' Jack Eliott: lead vox;
• Jim Lauderdale: acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vox.

What a fun show! We ended up attending after a last-minute discussion over dinner at Saul's, and I'm very happy that we made the choice!

Interestingly, tonight's band was a bit more of a rock-oriented outfit than I expected. Instead of the PRBB we got something like the 2013 version of the Free Mexican Airforce. Nina Gerber deserves special acclaim for her contributions on “hot guitar,” though Peter also took solos here and there just to spice up the mix. Moving the band sound off in a different direct, Blaine Sprouse offered authentic Appalachian fiddle sounds with just a touch of that swirling western swing. The rhythm section performed there function admirably, though I thought I heard a stumble or two – possibly the result of some last minute setlist changes? – anyways, nothing worth dwelling on!

I appreciated the appearances of Chris and Lorin – it's always great to hear those brother harmonies – and most especially so when Peter adds a third part. I was a trifle disappointed that my favorite, Faith, Love and Devotion, was left off the setlist, but the addition of several tunes that were new to me was an entirely acceptable trade-off.

The second set opened with a solo a capella rendition of a new Robert Hunter - Jim Lauderdale composition, Shadowfall. I enjoyed it, but have to admit that my attention flagged somehwere in the middle – perhaps a sign that there were too many words jammed in? Or maybe that I need to continue to practice my uncritical listening skills! Happily, JL remained present for most of the second half, singing lead on the next half dozen, then duetting with Peter on an old Bill Monroe number.

Land of the Navajo was delivered in a startlingly different version than the classic Old and in the Way arrangement, in this case based on a deliberately slow and measured tempo that didn't really pick up until the final coda. Nice for a surprise, but not necessarily a successful experiment!

The stage was pretty full for the encore, and Chris set the mood by prancing out wearing velvet horns and a red-lit nose to lead us in a sing-along version of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Somehow the appropriate follow-up was another fiddle tune I couldn't name. This one seemed to have a bit of that bouncy Bob Wills swing – I expect it's one of his tunes, but can't say for sure. Our send-off tonight, Goodnight Irene, featured lead verses swapped around by the various lead singers, with Peter Rowan pulling Ramblin' Jack Elliott up out of the audience to take one too. A nice surprise to wrap things up!

Back to the calendar!