Andy Tolins Bluegrass Revue at Zeno's

Saw Andy Tolins Bluegrass Revue this past Wednesday and really enjoyed it. Someone told me that it wasn’t his regular line-up, so I reserve judgment till I can see them again. Andy’s a real talent, and his skills that have been obvious to me for 15 years from watching the AAA Blues Band translate nicely to wooden music.

I’ll say this right off though; this is not a bluegrass band. I don’t mean that as a complaint or criticism, in fact, I rather enjoy the fact. It would seem that it was just an easy way to describe, in general, what sort of music they play or what it might sound like. The song selection was all over the place. I can’t blame them either because to be accurate they’d have to be named The Andy Tolins Music from the late 1920s to the early 1950’s from Carolina to New York to Kentucky to Texas Revue.

But I liked it. Music from the late 1930s to the early 1950’s from Carolina to New York to Kentucky to Texas happens to be my favorite music. It’s a time period thing. I like the music that was going on at that time.

Brownie McGhee, Libba Cotton and Reverend Gary Davis in the Carolinas, then up the hills to Appalachia and Earl Scruggs, dipping through the Mississippi Delta for John Hurt, Robert Johnson and Big Bill Broonzy, north to Kentucky for Roscoe Holcomb and Bill Monroe, or west for the Texas swing of Bob Wills.

What a time to be alive (which I wasn’t). All this great and different music going on at the same time! If you listen obsessively like I’ve been known to, you can hear the similarities in chord structures and rhythms, most notably between Robert Johnson and Bob Wills.

Andy Tolins hits those genres of that time just right. It seems like he’s choosing songs whimsically, and I can’t help but be swept up in his pleasure in that.

His bass player was playful, adding life to the band. He kept a solid bottom, and I’d like to see more. When he sang I was interested. The mandolin/fiddle player was a ringer. Nothing too fancy, but in key and on time and was fun to watch bounce around. He played with a very casual style, no stress, a real skiffler, just playing for fun, not trying to impress anyone. I was told that he may not be in the usual band, so I’ll have to go back and check it out.

A great time. Not as many old timers in the crowd like the AAA show I saw, but good fun. And I've always been in love with Zeno’s. I will go back, for I think there is much more to see.