If you were trawling the sidewalks of East Pine Street on Thursday night, May 5, chances are you stumbled across Border Radio’s favorite new local discovery: an unnamed group of street buskers, who make gorgeous music on the fiddle, singing saw, banjo, and other old-timey instruments. This was our second encounter with this mysterious ensemble-the first was a few weeks before, outside of Victrola Coffee on 15th Avenue-but alas, we didn’t have time to wait for things to wind down so we could inquire more about them.
Later, we returned to the scene of the crime, indie boutique the Shop (500 E Pine St Street, on the corner of Summit Ave), to see what details might be uncovered. Proprietor Susan Rasch was able to divulge two of the members’ names: Molly McIntosh and Chloe Swantner, and said that the other players hailed from Port Townsend. She also showed us some of McIntosh’s taxidermy work (on sale at the store), including a stuffed crow that caws when you squeeze it, a so-twisted-it’s-beautiful lamp fashioned with a dead squirrel for a base, and a hummingbird hovering above a shade handmade by Swantner. We don’t know when or where McIntosh’s music crew will strike again, but if anyone out there does, e-mail Border Radio with details.
In the meantime, you can satisfy that yen to hear dusty, Appalachian-style rave-ups at the Tractor on Monday, May 23 or Tuesday, May 24, with Nashville quintet Old Crow Medicine Show. These boys are handsome (and often, grimy) enough to be models, but they can also play up a storm, as evidenced by their 2004 major label debut, O.C.M.S., (Alas, their two previous indie releases are out of print, although you can sample tracks from them on their website.) Next month, they’ll be headlining at the Ryman Auditorium-home of the Grand Ole Opry, duh-on June 23, as well as making a featured appearance at the Bonnaroo Festival, in Manchester, TN, the weekend of June 10-12. At this rate, they’ll be playing KeyArena on their next pass through town, so catch ’em now, while Ballard Avenue can still contain them.
Considering that Border Radio is a big fairy, we’re embarrassed to admit that we balked upon receipt of promotional materials from Seattle-based instrumental three-piece Trillian Green, because one of their press clips was from a gig at a 2004 New Year’s faerie masquerade, where patrons were encouraged to don “robes, wings, and crowns” for the show. Ahem. How very Sky Cries Mary. Once we got over our Renaissance Fair-phobia, however, and listened to the enclosed copy of their 1997 album, Metamorphoses, there was no resisting their mesmerizing acoustic grooves, spun from flute, cello, and a variety of percussion instruments; Track 2, “Kudzu,” struck Border Radio as what composer Henry Mancini might have dreamt up for The Pink Panther flicks had they been set in ancient Ireland. The group is playing a rare reunion show at the Tractor on Saturday, May 21. Wings and crowns optional. ■
