JAM GRASS: DAVID GRISMAN QUINTET, SAM BUSH BAND, YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND, JOHN COWAN, PETER ROWAN and TONY RICE, Deer Valley Amphitheater, Aug. 9, one performance.
Without screaming vocals, laser lights, ear-bleeding guitar leads or over-the-top drum solos, Deer Valley rocked Friday night.
Jam Grass 2002 made a much anticipated stop in Utah, and the bluegrass-hungry crowd that attended was treated to some innovative acoustic music that continued throughout the brisk, chilly evening.
The David Grisman Quintet headlined the six-hour shindig.
Mandolinist/band leader David "Dawg" Grisman, flanked by his compadres — bassist Jim Kerwin, multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven, guitarist Enrique Coria and flutist Matt Eakle — capped off the all-evening event, which began at 4 p.m.
As with the band's past gigs, Kerwin was first to emerge onstage, plucking out groovy jams on his upright bass.
Next to strut his stuff was Craven, who did a hand-drum number on the body of Kerwin's wooden bass.
Coria highlighted the jam with his own blend of finger-picking South American jazz.
And Eakle picked up his flute and huffed out notes that rode on top of the piece.
Then, to a rousing ovation, Grisman joined his friends with some crafty mandolin riffs.
A new song, titled "Mellow Mang" and culled from the group's new album "Dawgnation," featured some trademark DGQ interplay. The "Dawg's" silver-gray mane billowed as the mandolinist dipped and swayed to the arrangement.
An older tune, "Telluride," from way back in the mid-'80s, was another crowd favorite.
"I dedicate this to the King of Telluride, Mr. Sammy Bush," Grisman said as he introduced the tune. The spry composition gained more fullness as Craven laid his bongos aside and joined the fray on another mandolin.
Another dedication came with "Dawgnation" as Grisman, who wrote the tune with the late Jerry Garcia, dedicated it to the Grateful Dead leader.
Throughout the set, which was plagued by a little feedback at the beginning, the band members found themselves in tight formation, which led to many opportunities for improvisation.
And if Craven wasn't playing his bongos or mandolin, he was sawing on a fiddle or shaking some plastic shakers.
A new cha-cha, "Blues on the Beach," was another highlight and served as a reminder that Grisman, although he has tentatively titled a future album "Old and in the Gray" (as opposed to "Old and in the Grave"), is still as spry and youthful as his music sounds.
Taking the stage before DGQ was the King himself — Sam Bush. The mandolinist/fiddle-player and his band, which included upright bassist Byron House, guitarist John Randall Stewart and drummer Chris Brown, cranked out some down and dirty time changes with a new tune called "Mahavishnu Mountain Boys."
The progressive jazz work started off with low and heavy notes that blossomed into knee-slapping, foot-stomping refrains.
The rousing "Howlin' at the Moon" and nostalgic "Same Ol' River" were clean and crisp, as they flowed from the mix, along with a nice acoustic rendition of Bob Marley's "Comin' in from the Cold," which declared that the hyperactive Bush is a musical force to be reckoned with.
Yonder Mountain String Band and bluegrass pioneers John Cowan, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice opened the have-a-good-time show and set the stage for Bush and Grisman.
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com