By: David Rachac
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The Duhks - Photo by David Rachac
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For the past four years, The Duhks have been redefining the boundaries of contemporary folk music – melding traditional sounds from around the world into a unique form that defies easy categorization. Using only acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo and hand percussion instruments, they incorporate melodies as disparate as Celtic fiddle tunes, mariner shanties, old-time gospel, acoustic folk, zydeco and carnaval samba into one unbelievably energetic whole. Imagine the casts of Riverdance and Cirque du Soleil downing Red Bulls while marching down Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday, and you’d have a pretty good idea of what The Duhks sound like.
They started their set off with the high-octane Celtic instrumental “Gene’s Machine” (highlighted by the amazing virtuoso performances of Tania Elizabeth on the fiddle and guitarist Jordon McConnell), and I think many of the 200 or so people at the Fine Line were a little intimidated by the energy of the band – the entire area in front of the stage was devoid of people. But when singer Jessee Havey slowed it down and let her soulful voice shine on Tracy Chapman’s “Mountains O’Things,” people slowly started filling in the space to get a closer look.
They played their new single, “Out Of The Rain,” the video of which is currently charting on Country Music Television. It was one of a handful of songs (“Turtle Dove” being another) that seemed to take a stab at mainstream country, limiting the eclectic flourishes for a sound that might be a little more radio-friendly. While the song sounded nice, it really wasn’t too different from songs by several other folk-festival touring artists (most notably The Waifs), bands who are probably still a little too far “out there” for true country radio programmers to take a chance on. But they quickly came back to their signature sound, following it up with “The Fox and The Bee,” a dizzying medley that included two traditional instrumentals that gave Elizabeth another opportunity to display her serious prowess on the fiddle.
Havey has a truly remarkable voice, she is able to slip easily from gospel (“True Religion”) to light pop (including a cover of Sting’s “Love Is The Seventh Wave”), but when Elizabeth joined her on backing vocals, it just raised the hair on the back of my neck. The (relatively) unsung hero of the night might have been drummer Scott Senior, who for the most part eschewed drumsticks as he played toms, cymbals and a metal box for a bass drum – all with his bare hands.
Banjo player Leonard Podolak got the crowd stomping their feet and dancing with the zydeco-flavored “Down To The River,” and on the instrumental “The Green Fields of Glentown,” both Podolak and Senior were given the opportunity to step into their own spotlights (although I am not exactly sure the world was crying out for a four minute acoustic drum solo), but the focus of the band has way more to do with playing together rather than individual accomplishments. They finished the night with three relatively quiet songs, including a rewrite of the spiritual “Death Came A Knockin’” that left me wanting The Duhks to come back to Minneapolis very soon.
Set List:
Gene’s Machine
Ol’ Cook Pot
Mountains O’Things
Du Temps Que J’epais Juene
Out Of The Rain
The Fox and The Bee
True Religion
Four Blue Walls
Love Is The Seventh Wave
Three Fishers
Down To The River
Turtle Dove
The Green Fields of Glentown
Who Will Take My Place?
Heaven’s My Home
Death Came A Knockin’
Location Info:
Fine Line Music Café
Artist Info: The Duhks
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