Another nice
evening of food (Salmon Pacifico, Masitas de Puerco) at the monthly World Folk
Music Association second-Sunday showcase. Had seen local country/honky-tonk
band Ruthie & The Wranglers on numerous occasions at outdoor shows (mostly
at Rockville Town Square), but not previously indoors – was a little worried
about the volume during sound check, but worked out fine. Featuring frequent
solos from pianist Bill Starks and guitarist Andy Rutherford, the band
highlighted a number of their most popular songs over the course of their
45-minute set, such as “All The Honky Tonks Are Closin’ Down”, “A Dime At A
Time”, and the finale “Lost Ball (In The High Weeds)”. They also did a couple
strong tracks from Starks’ recent solo CD (“I See Trouble” and “300 Miles (From
Memphis To New Orleans)”).
I hadn’t
seen the 9-member (!) folk ensemble Shenandoah Run before, but was actually
pretty impressed; their main problem was fitting onto the relatively small
stage. Featuring a full panoply of instruments (banjo, mandolin, upright bass,
fiddle, multiple guitars) and multi-part vocal harmonies on most of their
material, their highlights included the opening “Power And The Glory”, “The
Sound Of Silence”, “Wild Mountain Thyme”, “I’ll Never Find Another You”, “Today”,
and “Charlottesville” (which I thought might have been an original, but was
written by Mark Erelli).
