Richard Buckner / Crooked Jades
Bottom of the Hill
April 21st, 2001

Daz has known about Richard Buckner for eight years since he was in that rotating ho-down, The Doubters. He's primarily been a solo artist, first releasing Bloomed and then Devotion + Doubt. Daz is a fan of Buckner's, but not nearly as fanatical as some of the ladies standing around us. "Get your sexy ass on stage, " growled one woman behind Squid as the bearded good 'ol boy started his set, "and take off your pants!" Indeed, Buckner had a spell on the ladies that could best be described as "Kristoffersonesque", but to his credit the sold-out crowd's devotion was really more about his gruff voice and sturdy songs. Accompanied by just one other person who was playing what appeared to be the world's coolest electric mandolin, Buckner treated his faithful to bittersweet moments in his own personal Great Wide Open. There was definitely that warm buzz of a homecoming that beloved solo artists generate when they come to town.

"Old Tyme Is Not A Crime", declare Crooked Jades t-shirts and stickers, and by God, they mean it. The 'Jades are a band dedicated to Old Tyme, or rural musics most prevalent in first third of last century. If the word, "Appalachia" hasn't sprung to mind by this point, it should have. Led by founder Jeff Kazor, (who seems fascinatingly young to have such a well-honed devotion), the Jades perform almost completely acoustically with fiddles, stand-up bass, guitar, banjo, and best of all Dobro. To complete the deal, the Jades brought along a clogging cohort, Martha Hawthorne. That's right, we said clogging. At the Bottom of the Hill. God, we love this town! The entire audience was clapping and hooting and generally forgetting to act cool during every song the 'Jades tore through. We also soaked up musical history provided by banjo player Tom Lucas, who explained that the his minstrel banjo was in fact the missing link between our modern banjo and the original gourd-ish plucked instrument brought over by African slaves. Very interesting. The only downside to this show, ironically enough, is the very thing that sets the Crooked Jades apart: their lack of electric amplification. Almost all of the instruments were only being picked up by mics, so hearing everything being played was hit-or-miss. This was especially unfortunate in the case of the Dobro, which was being played phenomenally by Lisa Berman. We have the utmost respect for this talented, scholarly and damn fun band, and we hope that we can hear them more fully the next time we see them.