Uncle Earl
Continental Club, Saturday, March 17
The five women in Uncle Earl don’t just play high lonesome bluegrass. Their dedication to the folk tradition would likely lead the father of the genre, Bill Monroe, to smile. While sound problems were quickly overcome, the Colorado-based group kicked off with a three-tune medley whose instrumental ending demonstrated the exceptional talent they possess as individuals and as a band. Leaning heavily on their new Waterloo, Tennessee (Rounder), the quintet ran the gamut of old-time styles. Fiddle tune “Streak o’ Lean, Streak o’ Fat” offered zany humor with its hollered Chinese lyric, while a bit of amplified clogging, a winning rendition of Dylan’s “Wallflower” as a waltz, and a closing spiritual hushed the crowd. Uncle Earl never sounding anything less than contemporary and ancient.
This article appears in March 23 • 2007.