Nothing could keep Oakhurst from fiddling up a storm at the Bluebird on Thursday. Photo from MySpace.com.
The quick picking and strumming of Denver bluegrass band was as fast as the lightning that flashed over the on Thursday night, where the band played played two energetic sets. The addition of electric instruments and a rock drum set invigorated their musical style and animated their audience.
“We’re gonna play a dancing song,” announced lead singer and guitarist A.P. Hill, “so if you brought your dancing shoes, I hope you brought two pairs.” The song he launched into, aptly named “Dance Around,” was a jubilant, upbeat number with a great fiddle solo. The brisk instrumental “Huckleberry Strangler,” off Oakhurst’s 2008 release “Jump in the Getdown,” came next, and featured another killer fiddle solo.
Hill slowed things down for “Close Your Eyes,” a song about the birth of his first son. The poignant ballad was beautiful but competed a bit with crowd conversations. Picking things up again, banjo player Zach Daniels began a solo that whipped to a frenzy, then led into “Kooky-Eyed Fox.” Hill took a searing acoustic guitar solo, his dangling earrings bouncing around as he flung his head in time with the music.
Shots of whiskey were delivered to the stage, and the band raised the glasses to the crowd and drank. Returning to their instruments they played “Soon As The Sun,” which had groups of tipsy girls twirling about the dance floor.
After a quick intermission, the band went electric. Daniels’ fiery electric banjo solo during “Down The Lane” ended with an Eddie Van Halen-style leap from the drum riser. “Moonshine Still” celebrated — again — Hill’s favorite beverage, and featured yet another scorching fiddle solo. Two cover songs ended the two-hour concert: Led Zeppelin’s “Hey, Hey, What Can I Do?” and Three Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain,” both played in Oakhurst’s jammy, caffeinated bluegrass style.
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Kevin Galaba is a Denver-based writer and a regular contributor to Reverb.
