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Southwest Regional Report
Edited by Chris Gardner - cgardner@tstar.net

The Gardeners - 12/18/98 - Pato's Tacos - Austin, TX

String Cheese Incident - 11/19/98 - Trees - Dallas, TX

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The Gardeners
12/18/98
Pato's Tacos - Austin, TX
by Jacqueline Duval

I had the good fortune to be able to attend The Gardeners debut performance last month @ Pato's Tacos in Austin, TX. Now I've known these kids for a while, hung out with them nights after a good practice when their energy level is at an all time high...but it wasn't until this night that I realized what their music was all about.

The band consists of a 5-man ensemble. Two distinctly different sounding telecasters, a funky bassist, a flavorful conga player/percussionist and a very solid rocker on the trap set. From word of mouth alone, they packed a crowd of over 200 people ready to shake their groove and experience the Widespread meets Zepplin infused tunes of The Gardeners.

Their songs ranged from highly raw, furious, take-no-prisoners approach in Damaged Goods to the polished grooves in their personal favorites such as Girl. What impressed me most about this band though, is their never-ending ability to have fun. As soon as they hit the stage, a vibrant intensity of energy is emitted into those around them---you can't help but slap on a silly smile and start your moves.

While a majority of their songs are originals, they know how to mix in some of any Jambanders all-time favorites...Love Tractor...China Cat...and even an appreciation song (thanking Pato's for hosting their first "real" gig) to the tune of Possum.

If you live in the Austin area (or Texas for that matter) and you didn't catch the last show, you won't want to miss another night of ear-filling moments. Be on the lookout because these guys are on fire and ready to rock your tomatoes off!

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Runaway Truck Ramp
New Year's Eve
The Verve - Nederland, CO
by Chris Gardner

I had never heard of Nederland, much less visited, but before I had been there 20 minutes, I knew what I was doing New Year’s Eve. We went to lunch, and the waiter told me. We walked across the street and set up camp at the friendliest record shop in America, Lucky’s Music Emporium. While he spun me my first Grisman show, Lucky told me in detail. We went back to the bar, and the bartender reminded me over the shots he bought us. It didn’t seem as if we had a choice. The Verve, the Swiss chalet styled bar down the road, was closing after New Year’s Eve, and Runaway Truck Ramp was closing the place out in high style.

The Verve is an impractical but brilliant place for shows. There is simply too much wasted space. The bar/foosball/lounge area led into an all wooden room sprinkled with columns, covered with Christmas lights, bordered by a rock grotto on one end, bookended by a room of plush booths and the floor level "stage", and littered with exuberant hippies.

The band spread itself out. There is an acoustic guitarist who seems to write the majority of the originals, a very adept and smiling drummer, a groovy but frantically bouncing bassist, a quiet electric and steel guitarist, and a poker faced virtuoso mandolinist. From the first note one thing was clear, this crowd was ready to dance.

The first set was clearly a warm up for things to come. The sprinkled their predominantly original set with a few bluegrass and traditional standards. The stone faced mandolinist is clearly the standout. He flies up and down the fretboard with purpose rather than trilling and filling aimlessly, and he guides the tempo and texture of the jams. Their strength is in their instrumentation rather than their songwriting ability now, but there is strong promise for the originals.

The set closed, and the crowd raced about readying themselves for the new Year. The second set opened with a fine Chili Dawg that drifted through several moods and tempos before fading as the hour approached. The countdown commenced, and they tore into an unrocgnizable, frenzied jam that ignited the crowd to new heights. My brother leaned over and screamed, "It would have been cool if they had played 1999!" right as the line started. "I was dreaming when I wrote this…" I am sure this was played thousands of times that night, but this rendition, which explained the band moniker beautifully, had to rank among the best. The pace sped up even further for the chorus, and then the bottom dropped out to reveal the only true mandofunk I have ever heard before tearing off again at break-neck speed. It fell into a beautiful jam before a distinctive bass line rose above the sound and led them into a bluegrass suffused Graceland which eventually gave way to Shady Grove.

They concluded this set and played a third near two hour set afterwards. I would love to tell you all about it, but I became an unreliable witness somewhere in the middle of Graceland. I can tell you that there was no place in the world I would have rather been to dance in the New Year, and I never once wondered what was happening at the Garden or the Kaiser.

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Please send any and all submissions to Chris Gardner at cgardner@tstar.net