East Hill Bluegrass Band at Acoustic Cafe

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East Hill Bluegrass Band at Acoustic Cafe

Written by John Abbott

Saturday, 22 October 2011 18:32

East Hill Bluegrass Band at the Acoustic Cafe_oct11_1
It was a big crowd at the Acoustic Cafe for East Hill Bluegrass Band. And, it was a tuned in crowd as well. At this venue usually I see more music being the background to eating and conversation. Not so for East Hill Bluegrass on this night. The noise level was lower, you could see lips moving, miming the lyrics. The fans were having a good time, enjoying a band they loved. And, the band was having a good time with it. A great combination for the night!

They say a small town is where you can breakdown a mile from the city limits, and word of your car trouble gets back to town before you do. I would also have to say I experienced a slice of that today as we left for the show. As we pulled out of the driveway, our neighbor walked out to the street to tell us we had a headlight out. Then, eight blocks later, in front of the Snout Saloon, one of their patrons just out of the bar flagged us down to give us the same information. Where else in the world can you hear this much information in so short a span of time?

Mary Bruce plays upright bass with the East Hill Bluegrass Band at the Acoustic Cafe, October 2011

So it all seemed so easy at this point. Alter the route, and instead of going straight to the show, swing by the auto parts store.   Install a new bulb in the parking lot. Drive to the concert. Because getting pulled over after a couple of drinks because a bulb is out would really a stupid thing to do. Easy right. The only part of that plan which worked out really sweet, was when I got the damned thing all taken apart, I discovered the auto parts store had sold us the wrong headlight bulb. We were already right there to exchange it. Otherwise, it wasn't a very smooth experience. It took me a flat blade screwdriver, 10mm wrench, and needle nose pliers to replace that bulb by flashlight.   And, if I would have only had all four of those things, it would have merely been an unpleasant blip on the evening. Thinking about the lunacy of the engineer who design this catastrophe. Instead I had only two of the four needed tools and it was a bitch.

But I really wanted to make this show. I have to confess that I felt like I owed the East Hill Bluegrass Band my presence at the Acoustic. I had reviewed them before, back in June of last year. Not really so much a review, as a paragraph buried in another review. The cop-out for when I don't have time to write. At that time I didn't review them very well. The show left me uninspired.   Looking back, I take at least partial blame for that myself. Who knows, maybe the band wasn't having a good night, or the audience was out of it, but more to the issue is a couple of details on my side. I'm not really an expert on the genre. And, I had just come off seeing Evergreen Grass band a couple of times. --That is a different type of show and I was unfair to have judged East Hill Bluegrass by it.

What I would call the East Hill Bluegrass Band is authentic. And, I say this with the most outsider's persecutive. Because I don't know bluegrass. So most of the program I didn't recognize the songs. They just had for me reminiscent feelings of the movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou. It is porch music. I could close my eyes and see the rocking chairs.   Of course with the occasional 70's rock ringer, and a little Bob Dylan to keep the crowd amused. We got a quick bit of history between a couple of song titles. Since I don't know the music, I don't remember the names of the song writers or the songs.

Bob Bruce, Max Winkels and his brother Greg Winkels with the East Hill Bluegrass Band.

The band totally picked up on the crowd vibe and was energetic and enthused to have such an avid audience. Much of the playlist for the night was dominated with crowd requests. Songs I didn't recognize, but the crowd did. So a good sign for you bluegrass fans. I personally was a big fan of Max Winkels on the banjo. I felt like he did a great job. But it is also fun to see the energy his brother Greg Winkels puts in as well, and really all the band members were doing great and having a good time.

Chippewa Valley doesn't know beans about heavy metal bands, but they do seem to know their bluegrass. East Hill Bluegrass has placed in the top three "Best Bluegrass Band" category of the Volume One Best of the Chippewa Valley Poll. And are worth seeing regardless of if you are a big fan of this type of music. They put on a quality show, and it was a fun to see them.

Musical high points, a song even a bluegrass neophyte could recognize, Moutain Dew. And of course, one of the ringers. What the band amusingly termed, not bluegrass but doobie grass, they covered Long Train Running by the Doobie Brothers. It made for a good set break song and put a smile on many faces. It was well done I thought, in a bluegrass kinda way.

East Hill Bluegrass performs the staple, Mountain Dew.

The Poor Boy Working Blues as performed by East Hill.

A little Bob Dylan, Mama Rock Me

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Last Updated on Saturday, 22 October 2011 18:54