Appalachian Grass Was Again at MUH

Downtown Hamilton was livened up to the rafters Monday night, with yet another packed house of bluegrass fans! You could feel the energy of the crowd as the band played and the red clothing from the band helped to kick that up a notch. They all looked smashing!

If you have not seen Appalachian Grass perform, you are truly missing out on one mighty fine group. Not only are they gifted  musicians, but they have such fun on stage, sound so fabulous, that you  could almost forget how hard they are working to entertain us all. They say great musicians make it look easy.

It was only my second time hearing them (Where have you been, Soph?) but I think many regular fans were there at the event, as it almost felt like a big family reunion....of a family you haven’t yet met.

Vernon has a great sense of humor which adds to the fun and watching Kitty dancing around from the mic in the middle of the stage to add harmony, then back to the end of the group is a fun scene. She is one very talented fiddler.  She should get a pedometer to wear as I bet she walks a good distance during the performances.  I got a few photos but really, you need to just need to go hear these guys. They're individually rich in their musicianship and all together, are a powerhouse.
*Click on photos to enlarge them. The pictures are a little dark and grainy from film speed but mileage may vary depending on your monitor's brightness settings*

Vernon McIntyre on guitar, the band's leader.

Mike Elliott was on mandolin and dobro.

Tammy Powers in the middle on the bass  fiddle. 

Robert Campbell

Bluegrass Festival Season is kicking up and they will be busy! Make a point to see them as I promise you, a great dose of Happy Music Therapy.

During the break a photo of the bass, finally.

Here is their website. They also give lessons and do instrument repair and you can find band contacts there.  Get on Kitty's email list to keep  updated with their schedule. fotmc.com

~~Thanks for reading and feel FREE to leave a comment on the band. I do moderate comments before they appear, though...to keep out the riff raff. ~~ Sophia

P.S. A 30 second clip of the ending of "Rawhide"

Vernon McIntyre's Appalachian Grass at Miami Downtown

A spur of the moment, last minute outing led me to a great band!  I'd left the bird watching 55-300 mm Zoom lens on the Nikon so my photos look like that of a stalker. Sorry about that. I had to hunt for a parking spot and when I got inside, it was a packed house and mostly, standing room only. Until I spotted a few chairs in the front row. Why are people shy about sitting close to the band? I love to watch their hands work.

Vernon McIntyre's Band, Appalachian Grass, was in Miami Downtown Hamilton.   I do not remember all the band member's names but  I provide a link at the end of this post.

 The band sounded awesome,  dressed sharp, were perfectly tuned --and stayed that way-- had fabulous tight harmonies, and played songs in rapid succession.  No easy feat.  Yet, Vernon found time to give a brief intro to each song they played, which I always appreciate.

I told a friend of mine who was there, "This band is so tight, they do not stop on a dime, they stop  on a toothpick!."  Remember that word, toothpick, ok?

That's Vernon on  guitar

Robert Campbell on banjo

Mike Elliott on Mandolin

Kitty McIntyre plays a fabulous fiddle and keeps herself busy, playing at the end of the group, and dancing up to  the mic to sing harmony, then back again. Her "Orange Blossom Special" was phenomenal, rapid firing fiddlin', but she slowed it down to  gently play a poignant solo on "Ashokan Farewell."

Then there was her violin trick set.  She told a story of how her bow broke one night at a bluegrass festival, so she thought of alternatives ways to play.  The mandolin player held the mic during this part so  I did not get a direct shot in places.  Kitty played with the bow behind her back, between her knees,  and between her toes, with violin on the floor. She demonstrated  using a men's comb, a chopstick and even a toothpick (!) to play real notes, not just make noise!

Playing with the bow behind her back

Bow between her knees. *Click on any photo to see it full sized but remember they do look grainy due to film speed and no flash.

Sorry I did not get a photo of the entire band, or of the bass player, and that the photographs are so close up  (.hazard of leaving on the zoom lens on) I refuse to use flash without permission of a band so I used high ISO settings, thus pictures are grainy. I had to tweak the contrast and saturation to make the pictures light enough.  Depending upon your monitor settings, mileage may vary on how well you view these pictures.

Tammy Powers on bass (sorry her face is hidden. I shall correct this w correct lens next time!)

The McIntyre's have a website if you need music lessons or work done on musical instruments or if you want to just keep up with the band schedule.  Click here

P.S. Kitty and Vernon will be playing with the Retread Band, Sunday, October 13th, at the Waynesville, Ohio Sauerkraut Festival at  12 Noon.

Ok, one more of Kitty holding the bow between her toes, under her long skirt.