By: Joe Lang
 |
| Spaghetti Western String Company - Promotional Photo |
When a band completely defies the confines and conventions of a specific genre, they are almost always either doing something really interesting, or completely sucking. Place the Spaghetti Western String Company firmly in the former category. Having never heard the band prior, it became quite clear to me why, when people tried to describe the quartet, they came up short. Having heard many of the major exponents in modern Bluegrass and Newgrass, I figured I’d have a handle on what they were doing, but… not so much. I guess I would describe them as minimalist avant garde Americana bluegrass. How’s that for a mouthful? Maybe if a band like Morphine decided to go the instrumental bluegrass direction they’d sound a little like Spaghetti Western. The closest thing I’d head to the quartet at the Stone Arch festival was the unplugged Flecktones’ “Sleeping Dogs Lie,” from their 1998 album Left of Cool.
In the words of Andrea Myers, having seen the group in 2005, “By the end of the evening I completely understood why the audience was so quiet, so gracious of every detail; it was worth every second.” The quartet features Michael Rosetto on banjo and guitar, Nicholas Lemme on mandolin, Ethan Sutton on cello, and a newly added clarinet player, and they played a subdued, simple and melodic set beneath the City Pages stage to a crowd ranging from kids eating ice cream bars to seniors and scenester music fans. Fortunately, due to the hard work of the festival staff (including Howwastheshow contributors and friends Stacy Schwartz, Dave Rachac, and Neil Olstad) the equipment was tip-top and all the nuances cut through and echoed out so that nothing about the performance was missed.
To make things even more complicated, the outfit at the Stone Arch festival sounded little like their 2004 debut, Do Right by People. Unlike most newgrass bands who rely on at least one member of the band to propel their compositions with some blistering chops, SWSC is content to cut off all the fat and focus solely on composition. That isn’t to say the members can’t play; it just isn’t about that. And without the avant sounds of the studio, the quartet relied solely on the clarinet to propel the mostly melancholy melodies as Lemme plucked out slow rhythms and melodic counterpoint to the lead.
According to the band’s website, they are working on their third album for release in the near future, with special guests on record and live. Presumably that means more shows for the group in the near future. So if you like bluegrass, or don’t understand bluegrass, or just like new directions in music and composition, Spaghetti Western is playing and looking forward. It might be worth it if you took a look (or listen) too.
Location Info:
Stone Arch Festival of the Arts
Artist Info: Spaghetti Western String Company
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus