Noam Pikelny and Friends
Club Helsinki Hudson
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – There was an entire festival’s worth of bluegrass talent on the stage at Club Helsinki Hudson on Sunday night, ostensibly led by banjoist Noam Pikelny, but for the most part shared as a concert among equals.
Joining Pikelny were Bryan Sutton (guitar), Luke Bulla (fiddle), Barry Bales (bass), and Jesse Cobb (mandolin), in what marked a historic collaboration between five of the most celebrated acoustic instrumentalists and singers of our time. The music they played ranged from old-school, Bill Monroe- and Stanley Brothers-style high lonesome to more modern, rock- and jazz-influenced songs.
Bryan Sutton, Barry Bales, Noam Pikelny
Given that this isn’t a working group, it was remarkable how tight the playing was and how the arrangements lacked self-indulgence and flash. It would have been easy for the spotlight to be bounced around from one to another while they noodled around endlessly, as they all can, but they took a wholly different approach, serving the songs and the interplay, which made for an enjoyable evening all around.
Vocal parts were mostly solos, but a few tunes featured gorgeous three-part harmonies. Bouncing around from singer to singer made for a pleasant variety of tones, from old-school high lonesome to hardcore country.
Highlights included Bulla’s composition “The Valley,” which was practically a composition for string quintet (which of course was actually what the group was) in its unusual voicings, harmonics and time changes. “Born to Be With You” featured lovely gospel-style harmonies, and “My Mother Thinks I’m a Lawyer” was a novel diversion.
The group brought it home with Doc Watson’s version of Roy Acuff’s “Streamline Cannonball” and the Stanley Brothers “White Dove.”