This was the second time that I had been to the Hard Hat Lounge and I gotta say that I really dig the place a lot. It's a small, comfortable bar with super nice, friendly people, good drinks at reasonable prices and really good food. Highly recommend checking it out if you haven't.
Yes, my band, the Swamp Gospel, opened the night and were treated well by the staff and the crowd. Up next was local legend Tarah Grace (who set up the show) and her new acoustic project High Horse. Besides Tarah on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, the group includes Phil Bishop on guitar, mandolin and banjo, brother Rick on bass and this night they added a new percussionist Marita who was a nice plus. Seeing as this was only their second show, the set leaned heavily on covers, but some cool ones, from Johnny Cash to Buddy Holly ("That'll Be the Day") to Otis Redding ("Sitting on the Dock of the Bay") and more. Good stuff and definitely a group to watch.
Anyone who ever reads this blog knows that I am a huge fan of the All Togethers and this night they were especially fun. Relatively new man on the block, Michael on guitar fills out the sound for banjo/mandolinist Ken - looking mighty
O Brother Where Art Thou this night - and bassist Cindy, who is just damn cute as well as talented, and, as they were last, they were a bit, shall we say, "in their cups" by the time they played. But this just added to their vibe and certainly didn't affect their terrific playing. There were lots of great, new tunes, some of the usual covers ("Man of Constant Sorrow", the rap tune they do, etc.) and several from
their CD. They got people up and dancing, drinkin' and having a blast. Totally fun!
Thanks to Tarah for setting this up and tot he Hard Hat for hosting. Looks like they want to make this a regular live venue, which will be great for the scene.
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