There’s some compelling reasons that KB and I live in SG. The music scene is not one of ’em. The last big act to come through was Macklemore. Right.
So when there is some music playing we try to support it as much as possible. If this means seeing Punk Rock Barbie’s last show on a Monday night and staying up way too late for us old folks, that’s what it means. This past weekend it meant a short drive up to Cedar City to revel in the Groovefest.
I’m a fairly big fan of the banjo. When KB pitched the Groovefest to me I was lukewarm to the idea until I saw the lineup. Not because I knew any of the bands or had any idea what their sound was, but rather the fact that there were pictures of banjos and guys with huge beards. I’m not sure which causes which, but I am absolutely certain that banjo playing and beards have a causal relationship. Either they issue a beard with every banjo purchase or it is impossible to keep one’s facial hair trimmed once banjo plucking is added to your resume. Either way, I approve.
The first band we saw was Blammity Blam who also became the one act I became most excited about. 1. They have a bearded banjo player (see above photo) B. They are a local act meaning that I could probably go see them again.
You see, at the beginning of the year when most people sit down and have those things called resolutions and go running for the first time in years, KB and I sat down and watched some tv. I happen to think this is a horrible time to set goals, so we do it later in the year when it’s warm and we are a bit more motivated to do things. When this finally happened sometime in February or March, we decided that one of our big financial goals for the year would be to spend more money on live music. So far we’ve done mediocrely at throwing our money away in this fashion. So having a local act I want to see may help us out in our endeavors.
Next up was Screen Door Porch from Jackson. I was a bit disappointed at first because no one was playing a banjo and the lead singer was wearing something that looked like it should have been left in the ’80s. If I haven’t let you know, I hate the ’80s. But the sound was good and they could obviously play their instruments. It only took a few songs and the banjo came out of the back.
And let me tell you, this guy can play the banjo and any other stringed instrument you put in front of him. I wasn’t partial to the lead singer, but they won me over nonetheless. Granted, a little banjo pickin’ and I turn into a moldable mess of nothing entranced by the red neck in me trying to escape.
It was about this time that I witnessed an older couple come walking across the grass. She was ahead of him and carrying the stuff. The guy was rocking a cane and it was obvious that he had some disadvantages when it came to be mobile. The guy could barely walk. Both KB and I noticed them and commented that it was good to see people out and enjoying some music. They sat down in front of us.
And then this happened…
Old dude can move. He clearly had some breathing issues as well (I can certainly relate as of late). He would shuffle out to the grass, cut a rug until he couldn’t breath any more and then shuffle back to his seat. He repeated this all night. They were still there when the last band came on and he was still shuffling around and rocking out.
And then a leprechaun came out and played the ukulele.
I mean no disrespect, but really. Despite the obvious lack of a banjo, these guys played a great show and the Uke was railed on.
The next band we could have done without. I won’t waste your time bashing ’em, but lets just say they weren’t our style and all in all were quite boring. We went and bought some fries and zucchini sticks next door.
The whole reason KB had got excited about the Groovefest was the fact that the headlining act played reggae. I don’t get as excited about the island beats as I do the redneck plucking. However, I enjoyed these guys immensely. They were high energy, were capable of improvising and the trombonist.
The trombonist? You ask. Yes, the trombonist. Not only could the guy play, but when he wasn’t playing, he rocked out harder than any one I’ve ever seen. He swung that trombone around like he was dancing swing with it. I thought he was going to lose his slide into the crowd. It was dark at this point and I had put away the big camera thinking that there would be plenty of videos and such online, I only snapped the above photo. After searching for the past thirty minutes for a video of the trombonist, I have come up completely empty. Apparently Stranger has been around for a long time and they have had a varied line up. All the videos I could find were sans trombonist.
(Editor’s note: It’s not often you get to use trombonist four times in one paragraph. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.)
And while it may still not be the best reason to live in Southern Utah, the Groovefest filled our desire for a bit of music and was also a great place to watch some freaks. After all, it is a basic human need to see a leprechaun play the ukulele on occasion.
P. L. and R.
