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The Stray Birds + We Died At Sea

Venue: Grateful Fred's at The Atkinson
Town: Southport
Date: 05/02/14
Website: http://thestraybirds.com
http://www.soundcloud.com/we-died-at-sea

Grateful Fred's winning streak continued tonight. Following the move to The Atkinson in Southport at the end of last year, Fredhead's have continued to enjoy some of the very best in Americana /Roots music. The previous two events, with British bands Chasing Owls and The Toy Hearts were superb and tonight's guests The Stray Birds [from the USA] and support band We Died At Sea [from Leeds] provided yet more wonderful entertainment.

The Stray Birds are one of America's top young bluegrass/country/folk bands and have drawn deserved comparisons with Nickel Creek. Tonight they brought the house down with a stunning display of musicianship in front of another packed crowd in the Atkinson's studio.

The evening began in traditional style with the Grateful Fred House Band, who have now settled into their new home in Southport. It obviously suits them as they become more polished with every performance. Tonight was no exception as Les, Karine, Colin, Ged and Frank gave us assured performances including "The Light From The Lighthouse", "Never Alive" and "Lady of the Harbour". A rather surreal element was added when the audience were invited to accompany the band in playing "You Are My Sunshine" on kazoos, under the direction of kazoo-leader Glynne Callaghan.

How do you follow that? Well, next up we had a highly entertaining young band from Leeds called We Died At Sea whose music can be best described as a blend of ragtime, jazz, hokum and western swing from the 1920's and 1930's.Their four-piece line features guitar/vocals, fiddle, double bass and drums/washboard. The nearest contemporary musical reference point would be, I think, Pokey Lafarge. WDAS have released two EP's. From the first EP we had the title song "Rag Mama Rag" [not the song which The Band recorded]. Especially popular with Grateful Fred is the title track of their second EP "The La La Bird" which they performed with great gusto and verve as they did with the classic jazz standard "The Darktown Strutters' Ball", which was first recorded in 1917 by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band. WDAS are an exciting live band and their sound is as infectious as the "Memphis Flu", which they also performed [this lively gospel song was originally recorded by Elder Charles Curry and his congregation in 1930 for OKeh records and was recently revived by the Felice Brothers].

If you like old time music in the style of the 20's and 30's played with vim and vigour, you will definitely like We Died At Sea.

I have to say that I was eagerly awaiting the appearance of The Stray Birds at Grateful Fred's. Their eponymously titled debut album has been a regular fixture on my iPod over the past few months and I just love its superb blend of bluegrass, country and folk. I am not alone, as a writer in a leading Country Music magazine recently described it as "one of my favourite albums of last year". Quite agree.

The Stray Birds are Maya de Vitry [vocals,banjo,guitar,fiddle], Oliver Craven [vocals, guitar,resophonic guitar and fiddle] and Charles Muench [vocals and double bass]. As well as being superb musicians, this trio can harmonise with the best of them, as they sing around a single microphone in true bluegrass tradition. Just for good measure, Maya and Oliver are both excellent songwriters. Between them they composed all eleven tracks on their debut album.

Tonight the 'Birds treated us to a selection from their first album, as well as a preview of some new songs intended for their second one, which they will be recording shortly. Additionally, we heard a couple of songs from their recently released covers EP "Echo Sessions".

One of my favourite tracks on the first album is Maya's stunning opening track "Dream In Blue". Live this sound sounded sensational, with Maya's magnificent, heartfelt vocals and banjo picking , ably supported by Oliver and Charles on fiddle and bass respectively.

Another favourite of mine is Oliver's cautionary tale of robbery and murder, "25 To Life" about a kid who robs a store, kills a man with a long shotgun shell and gets his punishment in that he will probably die in his cell. Oliver told how this song went down well when the band played it at a prison in Tallahassee.

Maya's lovely song "Harlem"is about wanting to be somewhere else and tonight's performance was glorious with Oliver's guitar providing the perfect accompaniment to Maya's plaintive vocals.

Both Maya and Oliver took up their fiddles for the instrumental set "Give That Wildman A Knife/ Bellows Falls/ Waitin' On Hanna". The first tune is a stunning, fiery piece in true Appalachian style which gives way to the gentler, evocative "Bellows Falls", before speeding up for the final section. The twin fiddle playing was sensational and the audience lapped it up like the cat with the proverbial cream.

The first of the two covers from "Echo Sessions" was the lovely "Loretta"by the Late Great Townes Van Zandt, which featured some sparkling mandolin from Oliver [ who was interested to learn, from me, that Townes had actually played in this very room many years ago]. The second cover was Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel # 7" on which Charles took lead vocals to great effect, really achieving that "high lonesome sound", ably abetted by great fiddle and guitar solos from Maya and Oliver respectively.

The 'Birds finished their fantastic set with a new song called "Best Medicine" which is about a record store which survives against the odds and whose owner believes "music is the best medicine I sell".

After a thoroughly deserved standing ovation, The Stray Birds returned to sing the traditional "white blues" song "Going Down The Road Feelin' Bad". As the audience left to go down the road, they feeling anything but bad after such a marvellous performance from this supremely talented band.

Grateful Fred, you've done it again.

Peter Cowley