get so tickled when musicians that I’ve seen and loved before come to town again. Right now I’m nearly beside myself with glee because my old friends, The New Familiars, are going to be coming back to the Loft on the 8th of August. These boys from the Carolina hills deal in a bluesy, groovy, funky, jam-bandy brand of neo-traditional bluegrass. They deliver their tunes with a wink and a nod and an open invitation to dance.
I saw The New Familiars at The Loft just over a year ago, and since then they’ve firmly held their position at the top of my life-list of all-time-favorite live shows. These guys have the kind of chemistry up on stage that you only see from road-tested touring acts. They’ve got mad instrumental skills and their vocal harmonizing seems effortlessly natural. For the most part they are acoustic but aren’t afraid to buck folk-Americana tradition and plug those guitars in from time to time.
My favorite song of theirs is ‘Got This Disease’ from their EP entitled ‘The Storm’. ‘Got This Disease’ is a harmonica and slide guitar heavy, foot-stomping jam my dancing boots seem to find irresistible. Other original tunes in their playlist, like the spritely and tongue-in-cheek romp, ‘Walkin’ The Whiskey Blues’ (in which the love-lost singer describes himself as ‘laughing at a joke that I’ve played on myself’) are tucked in between covers that range from Greatful Dead tunes to old bluegrass standards and clever takes on familiar Top 40 pop tunes.
While I hesitate to gush, I’d like to reiterate that I am really, really excited that The New Familiars are bringing their party back to Columbus. Not only are they one of the most professional bands I have seen, they are by far one of the most fun. Check them out on MySpace and then meet me down at The Loft on Saturday to see them do their stuff and to show them how much Columbus loves our live music.
