In the six years that I’ve been seeing the Deadstring Brothers band the only constant has been lead singer and songwriter Kurt Marschke. The line-up even changed in the week between the Bloodshot Beer-B-Que’s in Minneapolis and Boston,. Tonight I wasn’t quite sure who I had seen before. The bass player was probably the most familiar of tonight’s band, for the first time only a four piece. It used to be that the drummer was the other constant, but tonight we were surprised that the tall, skinny, well-dressed dude who definitely looked like a guitar player was sitting behind the kit. Apparently so was Marschke. He kept commenting on how great a drummer he was since he was used to seeing him on guitar and lap steel. When he spoke up with a British accent, I realized he must be part of the UK contingent of Deadstring Brothers members. I missed the sassy violin and backing vocals from the new, new girl who had replaced Masha’s replacement. Next time I’ll have to bring a program, it seems to be the only way to tell the players.
Next time isn’t far off. Along with half the musicians in the US, the band was on its way to SXSW in Austin where it will play Bloodshot’s day party at Yard Dog on Friday as well as several other shows. Since Ha Ha Tonka will be also be at the party, I will be too. I’m hoping for something a little more inspired than the forty minute set they played tonight. Not that it was bad necessarily, but they seemed to be just going through the motions. Sure, there weren’t a lot of people there, but it was a Wednesday. A killer set could have won them some new fans among the Blueheels supporting crowd. Their new record Sao Paulo just released by Bloodshot last month is a big step forward from their previous release, the lackluster Silver Mountain. I’d always preferred their prior record Starving Winter Report which diluted their heavy 70’s Stones sound with a healthy dose of Dylan. In addition to that record’s best songs “Talking Born Blues” and “Get Up Jake,” tonight’s set contained a fair amount of Sao Paulo.
Inexplicably, the Deadstring Brothers have never drawn well in Madison. Other than the Bloodshot BBQ which was technically sold out, they’ve played to some pretty paltry crowds in the past. Still, I hope they don’t give up on us, because Madison does seem the perfect venue for their bluesy hippy vibe. Next time I just hope they are a little more excited to be here.
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