On Going to a Concert on a Tues. Night

Last night, instead of staying home and watching the State of the Union Address, I ventured into snowy cold Cleveland for a show featuring Bolo Deluxe and The Mammals. Both groups are ostensibly in a bluegrass tradition, but mix in many other influences. Bluegrass, after all, is not a pure musical form, but instead Bill Monroe‘s lovechild born out of the holy union of New Orleans and Appalachia. It’s particularly fitting that two of the Mammals, Ruth Ungar and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, are descended from musicians that made their own mark on traditional music (the third member of the trio – Mike Merenda – is equally talented in a variety of styles). It was a hot show for a cold night, with songs from Cuba and about Carolina mixing in with ski condos and a didgeridoo.