Del McCoury Band – Egg (Albany, NY)
It was a bluegrass weekend in Albany, one that brought King Wilkie, Eddie & Martha Adcock and Frank Wakefield close to town. But even those who’d had their fill of flashy picking and high harmonies couldn’t resist a Sunday night bill that boasted both the Gibson Brothers and the Del McCoury Band.
The Gibsons hail form northern New York, by the Canadian border, but their roots are deep in the sounds of the south. To say they’ve got the classic brother duet thing down is an understatement; they own it. When Leigh and Eric offered up the Louvin Brothers’ “Satan’s Jeweled Crown”, it was as though they were channeling Charlie and Ira. Add those preternatural intervals to The Band’s “Ophelia” and we’re talking shivers (and isn’t wonderful how, in the right hands, every song is a bluegrass song).
The Gibsons don’t lack for their own material. Leigh’s “Open Road” is a two-lane classic, and his ode to home, “Railroad Line”, is wistful, powerful and melodic, all at the same time. Eric also mines a nostalgic vein with “Arleigh” and “Vern’s Guitar”, the latter a tale of finding a vintage Martin for a steal and leaving it behind to keep company with the original picker’s widow.
The Gibsons recently parted with mandolinist Marc MacGlashan, but they’ve found a similarly talented young lion in fiddler Clayton Campbell. He even kept up with Eric’s banjo on the amphetamine hijinks of “Shucking The Corn”, an old Earl Scruggs showpiece.
The McCourys took the stage with their patented good cheer, sharp suits and bad ties. They arrive with fifty fingers, twenty-seven strings, five voices and two microphones. It all adds up to bluegrass magic.
Father Del has become one of the icons of the genre, and not just because he sang with Bill Monroe. He would define the high lonesome sound if it weren’t for the fact that he’s so damn chipper all the time.
Del asked for requests early on and was greeted with a howl of titles from the crowd of 700. He honored most hollers, while still packing the 95-minute set with material from the band’s latest disc, It’s Just The Night. Highlights from that album included “Let An Old Racehorse Run”, “Asheville Turnaround” and “My Love Will Not Change”, which featured the throaty sound of the mandola and a mesmerizing vocal blend.
McCoury and crew also performed favorite covers from their repertoire, including John Sebastian’s “Nashville Cats” and Richard Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.” The latter has become the group’s best-known number, though there’s a sense that Del misses the point of the song.
Mandolinist Ronnie McCoury was given plenty of time to shine, especially on the original instrumentals “Hillcrest Drive” and “Baltimore Jonny”. He also jumped in with a perfect take of Monroe’s “Body And Soul” while Del changed a string on his flat-top.
At the crowd’s urging, the McCourys invited the Gibsons out for an impromptu encore of “Sunny Side Of The Mountain”, treating lucky fans to a glimpse of bluegrass heaven. The match of the Gibsons’ powerful sibling harmonies with those of the McCoury band and their instrumental firepower was simply stunning.