There’s one thing that was clear on Thursday night in San Clemente, CA at the OC Tavern…So Cal loves the bluegrass music. I heard more than a few people, including venue staff, say “we just don’t get enough of this around here. This is a nice change.” Add to the fact that they were being treated to the top notch jam-grass music of San Francisco based Hot Buttered Rum and there were a lot of smiling faces at the end of the night.
Kicking off their brief run of California shows South of their home base, HBR delivered, as expected, a high energy blend of bluegrass and jamband. Fiddle, acoustic guitar, banjo, upright bass, mandolin, small drum kit and even a flute all played a role in a show that started right about 9:45pm. They rocked a great Thursday night crowd for two sets which ended with a medley of unplugged acoustic songs at about midnight, sending everyone home tapping their feet with a twang in their heart.
One particular highlight, for me (and clearly most everyone else in the room) was a bluegrass version of the Sex Pistol tune, “Anarchy in the UK”. Something you’d never expect from a string band but tasty never the less. Thanks to the boys in the band for delivering as promised and to Terry LaPointe, sound man extraordinaire, for making them sound even better. Special shout out to Joe Rinaldi at Arsenal Concerts for putting this show on. Good call, Joe!
Tonight HBR heads up to Santa Barbara, CA to SOHO with Shaky Feelin’ opening the night. After that they’ll head to Phoenix and Flagstaff, AZ where Spafford will join them.
Tour Dates:
For more info on Hot Buttered Rum, visit their website HERE.
