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Laurie Lewis & Men of Note +1 | Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band @ HopMonk Tavern, Novato, CA, 05/31/2025
A double bill of bluegrass music at HopMonk Novato. Crying Uncle opened their set with a cover of Steely Dan's Don't Take Me Alive, then followed with Alison Krauss's Steel Rails. The boys sounded fantastic! Sam Reider on accordion and Vincent MacLauchlan on acoustic guitar joined in for the jazz standard After You're Gone. We got more covers in the second part of the set, including tunes by Bob Dylan, Buck Owens and Paul Simon, plus the rare The Mighty Dark Monster by Don Reno. The band also played several songs from their soon to be released new album. A strong set of acoustic music, the boys are turning into a real bluegrass force.
After a break, Laurie Lewis and Men of Note took the stage. The lineup featured Sam Reider on accordion, Mark Schatz on double bass, Brandon Godman on fiddle, and Nina Gerber as the special guest on electric guitar, hence the "+1" in the name on the bill. They started with some of Laurie's great tunes. Mark sang the traditional My Last Old Dollar, known from Bill Monroe's version, and Sam delivered a beautiful Gentle on My Mind by Glen Campbell. A couple of instrumentals were a real delight, the old Peacock Rag and Nina's Winthrop Waltz with Lewis playing second fiddle.
Laurie and Brandon stepped off the stage, and Sam followed with a couple of tunes by his band The Human Hands, featuring Teo and Miles Quale with Vincent MacLauchlan. That was really cool! And the remainder of the set was just amazing. Laurie returned with Leah Wollenberg to sing Troubled Times a cappella, then delivered a heartfelt ballad, En Voz Baja, on a 12-string guitar, followed by Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire and the norteño-sounding I'll Take Back My Heart. Crying Uncle with Vincent came back on stage and both bands combined to play Sitting on Top of the World by the Mississippi Shakes and Woody Guthrie's Hobo's Lullaby. Wow, what a show! Nearly three hours of great songs and sounds.
Set list (Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band, 6:02 PM — 7:17 PM): Don't Take Me Alive, Steel Rails, Roland, I Still Remember June, I'll Be Here Either Way, After You've Gone (with Sam Reider and Vincent Maclauchlan), Wished That I Had Stayed, Key Signator, Solomon's Dream, Annalina, The Mighty Dark Monster, Don't Think Twice It's All Right, Half of the Bean, I've Got a Tiger By the Tail, Graceland, Handsome Molly, Song for My Mother
Set list (Laurie Lewis & Men of Note +1, 7:38 PM — 9:16 PM): Just a Little Ways Down the Road, Barstow, The Banks Are Covered in Blue, My Last Old Dollar (Mark Schatz on lead vocals), Ain't Nobody Got the Blues Like Me, Gentle on My Mind (Sam Reider on lead vocals), Peacock Rag, Winthrop Waltz, Valley of the Giants (Sam Reider with Teo Quale, Miles Quale, Mark Schatz, and Vincent Maclauchlan), Skeleton Rag (Sam Reider with Teo Quale, Miles Quale, Mark Schatz, and Vincent Maclauchlan), Troubled Times (Laurie Lewis with Leah Wollenberg, a cappella), En Voz Baja, Ring of Fire, I'll Take Back My Heart, Sitting on Top of the World (with Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band and Vincent Maclauchlan), Hobo's Lullaby (with Crying Uncle Bluegrass Band and Vincent Maclauchlan)
( Few more pix... )
