Oakhurst with Triggertown @ Knickerbockers 6/27/08

Johnny James Qualley and A.P. Hill of Oakhurst

It is now officially summer! That is great news to most, but in particular, for music lovers. With one 2008 festival already under the BOT crew's belts, I have found it quite hard to motivate myself to get out to our local venues and hot spots to catch some of the excellent acts that are coming through the area. With Rothbury merely days away, it seems meek to spend my time on anything else knowing that I will soon see some of the most amazing acts to grace the stage all in one location. Then I realized how uncouth it would be of me to neglect my roots. Once I heard that Oakhurst was coming to Lincoln, my Friday evening plans were set in stone. They were at Wakarusa, but unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, were enjoyed mainly through the eyes of other festivalgoers.

Read more after the jump!

Rad Kadillac has recently brought in a slew of good shows, and will continue to do so in the next few months, but Oakhurst intrigued me with the rave word of mouth reviews I had heard. With them playing in my hometown, it was inevitable that I would be there. So another night with some live bluegrass/newgrass at Knickerbockers. This is becoming a familiar scene, and one that I will not soon grow bored with.

Zach Daniels of Oakhurst

Terry of Triggertown

Local act Triggertown was there in support and this was my sophomore experience with them. A small but friendly crowd was on hand as they made their way to the stage, many just settling in for a cold one. Triggertown utilizes a more conventional approach towards bluegrass. With an old school washtub bass and resonator guitar, Triggertown often has a very twangy sound while not getting annoying as many artists with a similar sound do. Their set featured many songs that sounded quite familiar to me from my previous experience with them, yet offered up a few new tunes as well. They rolled through their brief show in about 45 minutes. Their talent lies in the hands of each member as the instrumental aspect is what entertains me more than anything. Oakhurst was soon to grace the stage afterward, giving the crowd audible 180.

Ben and Brad from Triggertown

Oakhurst out of Denver, CO broke quickly into their set, and the difference between the two acts was apparent instantly. For lack of a better description, Oakhurst dealt out a sound similar to bands such as Railroad Earth and Cornmeal, with their own little flair. Moving through many of their original songs, Oakhurst inched the growing crowd closer and closer, eventually provoking mindless grooving throughout the open dance floor. While their sound ranged anywhere from bluegrass to rock, Oakhurst was able to quickly pick the crowd up, and not leave them stranded in mid air, consistently delivering pleasing sounds.

A.P. Hill

Throughout the set, they featured a couple covers, including The Who's "Squeeze Box" and the traditional peppy bluegrass number, "Reuben's Train", to get the crowd into it. Overall, Oakhurst provided a nice mixture of upbeat melodies that got the quaint audience moving. One moment that sticks out in my mind is when after one of their songs, a hush fell over the crowd, and all you could hear was someone yell 'Holy Fucking Shit!’ much to the chagrin of A.P. Hill, lead vocalist and guitarist. The night ended abruptly with the band playing straight through a two hour set.

Chris Budin of Oakhurst

The variation of both acts came together quite well, giving fans a look at two very different sounds out of a similar genre, hopefully winning over mutual fans in the process. As stated earlier, Triggertown offers up a very old styled bluegrass sound that is sure to impress, which is always a good thing when it comes to local music. Oakhurst on the other hand seems to know how to work over a crowd and turn even the most sedentary venues into raucous dance halls in no time.

For Triggertown's tame show that shows this local act improving, I give them 6.75/10 slices.

Joe of Triggertown

And for Oakhurst's lively sounding newgrass fusion, which left the entire venue in a good mood, I give them 7.485/10 slices.

Adam Smith of Oakhurst

Thank you to both bands for playing and as always to Rad Kadillac and Knickerbockers for making this happen. See you all next time! Rothbury here we come!!!!!!!!!!!

Click here for more photos from the night!