11 Review

Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass. It’s an entertaining term for an entertaining band. Built upon a festive live experience, Leftover Salmon will have you stomping your feet to a fast bluegrass song, or grooving to a New Orléans Cajun jam that appeals to the same group; the Salmon heads. Colorado born and raised, they have built up a fan base, legacy, and genre ever since their start in 1989. Unfortunately, Leftover Salmon took a hiatus from playing often, and the east coast lacked Salmon for a little while, but a tour on the right side of the country in mid September brought the band back out of their west coast shell and into Brooklyn’s hottest venue, Brooklyn Bowl.

The night didn’t start with Leftover Salmon, however. Touring buddies for the week and the rock-a-billy jam band outfit known as Cornmeal, opened the festivities with an hour set. Cornmeal features a guitarist, banjo player, fiddler, bass, and drummer. Their music packs an energetic punch of country and bluegrass esq jams, mixing in psychedelic-rock in the improvisational periods as well. A nearly 20 minute version of their original, “Onward,” was a perfect example of these strung-out jams, during which all the stringed musicians shared licks in the most psychedelic sound their instruments could produce. Their hour long set ended with a rock-a-billy rendition of Paul Simon’s “I Know What I Know,” that had the Brooklyn Bowl jumping for more of their unique sound.

Leftover Salmon was able to carry the torch and bring the already ecstatic crowd to a new level. The lineup features Vince Herman on acoustic guitar (and on occasion; washboard), Drew Emmitt on mandolin and electric guitar (sometimes with a slide on both), Greg Garrison on bass, Jose Martinez on drums, Andy Thorne on banjo, and Bill McKay on the organ and piano.

There are a few different sides to Salmon’s personality. For one moment, Drew Emmitt would be singing in his high-pitched bluegrass voice as he plucked away at his mandolin. The next, Bill McKay would be going to town on his keys in a blues jam as if he were trying to channel Pine Top Perkins. The other, Vince Herman would be babbling lyrics on top of Salmon’s famous festive demeanor. Drew Emmitt’s mandolin and electric playing was probably the most impressive instrumentation of the night, especially when he incorporated a slide on both the mandolin and electric guitar. The best moments were when he would start strumming fast, picking up as much power and reverb as possible, followed by a smoking solo that managed to pick up the energy every time without fail.

Brooklyn Bowl has a reputation of special guests. The night would keep up the extravagant venue’s title with “Shenandoah Breakdown” and “Ain’t Gonna Work” that featured Punch Brothers banjo player and Leftover Salmon alumni, Noem Pikelny. Noam helped the band end the first set on a high note, playing on a few bluegrass songs, leading into a slew of sit ins during the second set.

The second set brought out the best moments of the night. Drew Emmitt brought some fun to the table with a rendition of “New York, New York” (appropriate, given the location), leading into “Wild Bill Jones.” The Leftover Salmon classic would reach a speed of mock-10, bringing upon a slew of head banging all the way through an equally fast rendition of “Reuben’s Train,” during which Drew turned to Jose Martinez to help transition into Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” and after three minutes led back into a mixture of “Reuben’s Train” and the famous Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love” chorus.

Todd Livingston, a Dobro player and friend of the band who resides in Colorado was the next addition to the guest list. He would stay on through the rest of the second set, until the encore. “Breakin’ Through” was a perfect introduction to Livingston, as his Dobro playing suited the upbeat country style of the song. The rest of the set displayed the bluegrass aspect of Leftover Salmon, especially with a sandwich containing ”I Won’t Get Drunk No More” > “Hot Corn, Cold Corn” > “Name Of The Place” > “Hot Corn, Cold Corn” >”The Other Side.” Drew Emmitt stole the show with his mandolin during “The Other Side,” using a slide to get a twangy and electrifying sound from an instrument that is typically regarded as straight-forward bluegrass and country.

The last two songs of the second set foreshadowed what was to come; more sit ins. Todd Livingston stayed onstage, and joining him was Cornmeal fiddle queen Allie Krall, and Elephant Revival washboard player Bonnie Paine. Elephant Revival had an earlier show in New York City, to which they took the trip over to catch Leftover Salmon; a band that they had opened up for earlier in the week. With the new additions onstage, the bluegrass tradition of a picking party began with Drew Emmitt’s “Get Er Rollin’.” In the nature of any picking party, solos were traded across the stage, and got more intriguing as the song matured. The end of the second set added Cornmeal’s Chris Nowak on acoustic guitar, and Dave Burlingame of Cornmeal on banjo for the Rolling Stone’s “Bleed On Me.” This was a perfect ending to a set full of surprises and friends, especially when the lyrics reference unity and having your friends around. The bluegrass orchestra fed off of the energy between themselves and the crowd, leading to an energetic run through of a rock and roll classic.

Credit: Terry Rogers

As if the four and a half hour show thus far wasn’t enough, Leftover Salmon encored with seven songs along with their Elephant Revival friend Bonnie Paine, and Cornmeal friends Allie Krall, Chris Nowak and Dave Burlingame. The first of the continuous strand of songs started with a bluegrass interpretation of the famous melody from the Grateful Dead’s “Fire On The Mountain,” known as “Pasta On The Mountain.” The band and guests were all in sync, hitting their own parts with precision, kicking off with tight jams right from the start. The circus then moved in to “Roadkill,” which wasn’t all too exciting until the energy was picked up to transition back into the “Pasta On The Mountain” jam. With a loose transition, Salmon and friends were able to go into “I Know You Mother” (a parody on a traditional song known to the Grateful Dead community) into the straight forward Grateful Dead version, “I Know You Rider.” The sandwich would end by moving back into “Pasta On The Mountain,” and finally landing with Salmon’s famous stoner anthem, “Wake and Bake.”

Overall, if you’re in search of a party band that has the chops, songwriting skills, and experience to put on a great show, Salmon is a perfect match. Though, if you don’t like dancing, I suggest you stay away, or glue your feet to the ground. There is no reason why Leftover Salmon shouldn’t be touring non-stop again, and I think as more and more people head back to enjoy their talents, that feeling will be mutual among many.