Two of the gods of bluegrass descended into the Outer Space Ballroom, and put the blues back into the music.
The two bluegrass stars were lightning-fingered mandolinist Andy Statman and banjo master Tony Trischka.
They showed up at the Outer Space Ballroom Tuesday night to join an old friend from their pre-famous days, Westville-based, Grammy-winning dobro player and fiddler Stacy Phillips.
Phillips hosts a last-Tuesday-of-the-month bluegrass jam at the Outer Space with a rotating roster of talented Connecticut-based acoustic musicians. He dubs the event “Stacy Phillips & His Bluegrass Characters.” You never know who’ll show up on stage.
Phillips did put out the word in advance that internationally known recording artists Statman and Trischka were showing up this Tuesday night. A jammed-packed sold-out room watched the old friends reminisce about their early gigs, and then, with just a few verses of “Arkansas Traveler,” ease into flowing jams as though decades hadn’t passed.
Seated blissfully at the edge of the stage, Statman drove the music throughout the evening into a bluesier vein than you usually hear at the monthly sessions. Instead of boring you with verbiage about it, I recommend clicking on the above video to watch the three take turns diving into and working around those pentatonic roots.
