Punch Brothers hit the bluegrass mark
Change eventually comes to every style of music: Bach eventually begat Beethoven and Stockhausen; Louis Armstrong’s fiery chops gave way to Miles Davis’ cool jazz; Chuck Berry broke ground for AC/DC; and blues, rap and gospel all moved past their roots to some extent.
Bluegrass music is as susceptible to change as just about any other genre, and every generation springs forward with ever more talented musicians looking to make their mark. Chris Thile and his bandmates in the Punch Brothers are among some of the more prominent youngbloods taking Bill Monroe’s speeded-up version of old-time country music and accelerating it into another century.
Thile, a ferociously gifted mandolin player, has even taken a stab at blending bluegrass and classical music forms with a four-movement suite called “The Blind Leaving the Blind.” Whether this work is one that will stand the test of time remains a question, but the audience at Monday night’s Punch Brothers concert certainly got into it.
Then again, given the band’s technical skills, they could take just about anything and make it work. While Thile was the main attraction, there were plenty of other reasons to pay attention to the other guys. There were no slackers on stage.
Both fiddler Gabe Witcher and guitarist Chris Eldridge are masterful players, while the group’s new bassist, Paul Kowert, has a beautiful tone to go along with his fleet fingers. However, banjo picker Noam Pikelny is the real revelation (other than Thiele) in the band. His playing in “The Blind Leaving the Blind” was revelatory and a perfect counter for Thile’s high flying skills. The band played all of the material on their latest album (“Punch”), in addition to a few selections from Thile’s prior solo release, “How to Grow a Woman From the Ground.” Especially well received were tunes originally performed by the White Stripes (“Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground”), Gillian Welch (“Wayside”) and one non-album cut, the Band’s “Ophelia.”
Concert Review
Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile
Monday night in University at Buffalo Center for the Arts, Amherst.
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