The Pine Hill Haints at the Dive Bar, Thursday July 8, 2021

 It's only been a few years since I first saw the PHH (on good pal's Rob Bell's recommendation) but I have been enthralled ever since and have done my best to catch them whenever they come to town and pick up the new album that they have invariably recorded in the interim! This gig was my first since mid-March of 2020 (the longest I've gone without live music in at least a decade, most likely considerably more) and a worthy one it was!

Besides being a fine frontman, vocalist (I really dig his tuneful, southern voice), guitarist, fiddler and harmonica player, Jamie is also a damn nice'n'personable guy who even knows who the Gizmos are! The Haints personnel tends to vary but every time that I've seen them, he has had the lovely'n'talented Katie on his right, accompanying him on mandolin, washboard and as one of the most accomplished saw players I have ever seen! Sparse drums and washtub bass keep the strong backbeat and this time out they had the accordian/trombonist whose name I have never caught, but who added quite a bit to the sound. 

Their self-proclaimed "ghost music" is a conglomeration of Americana, Cajun, bluegrass, blues, gospel, country, Celtic and whatever else they feel like throwing in - maybe some doo-wop or even reggae (oh yeah, they even covered a Misfits song!), if they are so inclined. Whatever it is, it is damn good and it is always a party with this group with the audience always joining in, dancin'n'singin', hootin'n'hollerin' and "feeding the kitty" (their cat-shaped tip jar) to request one of their songs from their impressive catalog. 

Unfortunately, as it was a Thursday night and my first time out in so long, I left before they finished so that I could be sure that I still knew how to navigate the nighttime roads and get up in the morning! Hopefully, we can get this damn pandemic behind us (Please Get Vaccinated!) so that we can get back to shows like this on a regular basis.

Thank you to Nate'n'Angie and the Dive Bar for hosting this fine event!