{"id":7092,"date":"2011-06-05T20:45:51","date_gmt":"2011-06-06T00:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/?p=7092"},"modified":"2011-06-05T20:47:36","modified_gmt":"2011-06-06T00:47:36","slug":"the-ramblers-at-the-living-room-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/05\/the-ramblers-at-the-living-room-again\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ramblers at The Living Room Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last night posed a significant problem. We had seen only three songs of a special set by The Ramblers<\/a> at The Living Room<\/a> on January 29th, 2011. Here\u2019s part of what I wrote about that set:<\/p>\n

Then they started playing. Excellent. Definitely my kind of music. Actually, since they had so many guests, I don\u2019t know how I would react to a normal The Ramblers set, but I\u2019m willing to find out.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This was our next opportunity to find out, since they were playing without any guests. We had committed to coming out and were happy with that decision, until we (accidentally) started watching a 2-hour set at Rockwood Music Hall<\/a> at 9pm. It was so good<\/a> that leaving was a little painful. I\u2019ve changed plans mid-stream before (that\u2019s how we discovered Ian Axel<\/a>!), but my gut told me to stick with the plan this time.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am grateful that my instincts please me more often than they fail me, and last night was another case of making the right choice. Not because I wouldn\u2019t have enjoyed the second hour of Richard Julian<\/a>\u2019s set, but rather because it would have taken me that much longer (perhaps months) to discover how much I like The Ramblers! Now I know that I need to see both groups. That\u2019s just fine with me. \"Smile\"<\/span><\/p>\n

With the guests (two fiddles and a mandolin), The Ramblers struck me as a big-sounding bluegrass band. I assumed I\u2019d have a more stripped down experience, but similar in style, without the guests. Wrong<\/strong>!<\/span><\/p>\n

While there is a hint of rootsiness (is that a word?), The Ramblers are way more Rock \u2018N Roll than bluegrass. In fact, all I could think about throughout their set (every single number) was that I was hearing a modern version<\/strong> of The Band<\/strong>. Imagine my surprise when I just now read that they actually opened for Levon Helm.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are a few reasons they remind me of The Band (sound-wise, clearly, they are not<\/strong> a cover band!). At the top of the list is the fact that keyboards and guitar are both central, and there are two male lead vocalist (who also harmonize with each other).<\/span><\/p>\n

The set was fantastic from start to finish. Each member of The Ramblers deserves a shout out. Left-to-right on the stage (excuse the photos, our angle of the stage was severe):<\/span><\/p>\n

Scott Stein<\/a> on keyboards (electronic and organ) and vocals. Scott was amazing<\/strong> on the keyboards. On his own electronic ones, he played close to a piano sound. He would swing back and forth between that and the organ that is a permanent fixture at The Living Room. He\u2019s one of the main reasons they sound so much like The Band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ScottStein\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Scott sings well (both lead and harmony).<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah Birnbaum<\/a> on electric guitar and vocals. Jeremiah stands center stage, giving the impression that he\u2019s the front man. To an extent, that\u2019s likely true, but Scott certainly comes across as a partner on this journey, equal or otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"JeremiahBirnbaum\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jeremiah plays the electric guitar really well (with and without the slide). He sings really well, and has a relaxed style on stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shanna Zell<\/a> on vocals and tambourine. Shanna sang beautifully on every number (except the two that she stepped off stage for, when she sat at our table<\/strong>!). She sang lead on one song and harmony on the rest. Her voice blends really well with Jeremiah\u2019s and Scott\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ShannaZell\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the back row, behind Jeremiah and Shanna:<\/span><\/p>\n

Steve Purcell<\/a> on drums. We had just seen three excellent drummers (the fourth set didn\u2019t have one). Steve was equal to the task of ensuring that our night didn\u2019t have a second\u2019s disappointment in the drumming category. If you think The Band, and recall that I mentioned Levon Helm above, you\u2019ll understand how critical the drums are to this kind of sound. Steve nailed every song.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"StevePurcell\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He looks like he could be 15, so card him before you buy him a drink. \"Winking But, if he\u2019s over 21, by all means, let\u2019s everyone buy him a drink, because the boy can wield those sticks with the best of them!<\/span><\/p>\n

Shawn Setaro<\/a> on electric bass. We were 4 for 4 on previous bass players last night. Now, make that 5 for 5<\/strong>. Shawn was excellent on every number. While all four were excellent, the last guy (Tim Luntzel<\/a>) blew me away. Shawn could have disappointed me just in comparison, even if he did a superb job. Nope, he impressed throughout the set.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ShawnSetaro\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m so happy I made it to see The Ramblers. It could have worked out much differently, because that was our last NYC musical event for the next two weeks. If it hadn\u2019t been as good as it was, I could have been licking my musical wounds for too long. Instead, I\u2019m already looking forward to catching them again! \"Smile\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s their set list:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"SetList\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They had five copies left of their Getting There CD from the first pressing. We purchased one and I listened to it twice while writing the blogs tonight. I got to savor some of last night\u2019s moments again. Nice!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last night posed a significant problem. We had seen only three songs of a special set by The Ramblers at The Living Room on January 29th, 2011. Here\u2019s part of what I wrote about that set: Then they started playing. Excellent. Definitely my kind of music. Actually, since they had so many guests, I don\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,2],"tags":[965,1367,966,969,967,968,361,848],"class_list":["post-7092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-2","tag-jeremiah-birnbaum","tag-music","tag-scott-stein","tag-shanna-zell","tag-shawn-setaro","tag-steve-purcell","tag-the-living-room","tag-the-ramblers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7092"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7094,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7092\/revisions\/7094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}