upcoming

Toughcats (bluegrass/indie)

What:

Maine trio the Toughcats bring their unusual high-energy blend of old timey bluegrass and thoughtful indie rock to the Arcata Playhouse.  The Toughcats tour regularly, promoting their first album Piñata, which was so well liked as a rough cut that it was then mastered by Kramer (renown producer and former Butthole Surfer.) They have made multiple national tours playing music and film festivals, theaters, bars, boats, fields, and everything in between. The band has shared the bill and worked with the likes of Kathy Mattea, Hot Buttered Rum, Deerhoof, Sam Bush, The Mammals, Tony Trischka, The Avett Brothers, The Red Stick Ramblers, even author Jim Hightower, to name a few. They recently played two back-to-back shows with Ketch Secor (of Old Crow Medicine Show) performing music from both repertoires and even some covers like Springsteen’s Thunder Road. The band’s sophomore album Run to the Mill was released February of 2010.

With their unusual sound, a blend of old timey bluegrass, thoughtful indie rock, and classic pop twitches a la early Beatles, they bring their audience a best of both worlds scenario: timeless music that is at once unquestionably danceable and haltingly listenable. The feverish beats from Jake Greenlaw are engulfing, and his energy captivating…the whole band provides vocals and lyrics that are self reflexive and without pretence…the melodies and complex tonal structures from Joe Nelson on guitar and Colin Gulley on banjo are dulcet, frolicking, even headbanging, pieces of artistry, built from chops that prove hands down they’re worth their salt as musicians. Their music is the kind that builds a following because it is pan-generic, yet respectful of the greats, and mindful of the nuances of their influences. Their music is attentive not only to their musical ancestry, but
also to their contemporary audience. This is not a band that forces itself on a listener-this is a band that is sought by a listener.

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