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.