Farm - June 24 - Langdon St. Cafe, Montpelier

A good number of months ago I wrote about this St Albans, VT based trio in advance of their last Montpelier appearance. I wasn't in attendance that time around, but made sure to catch them when they played two weeks ago at Langdon Street Cafe.

What I expected was an eclectic low-fi roots rock show with occasional spaced out solos and muffled vocals. What I got included all of the above, but with more creativity, multi-instrumentalism, and soulful blues. The band members rotated seats throughout the show, allowing for a variety of tempos and styles. This is something that could easily leave the listener ranking favorites and the set sounding fractured, but in this instance it worked extremely well. Each singer had a distinct style for sure (first impressions from each: Bonnie Prince Billy-era Will Oldham, Nirvana unplugged, and Black Mountain stoner rock chants), but the music stayed stayed nestled in that neverworld where blues based-stoner rock-indie Americana meet.

Below are a handful of tracks from the show, which do a better job illustrating the tight variety than I can. The quality is surprisingly good, if only a bit quiet. Don't miss the beautiful Devil's Got a Hold on Me (which balances sloppy guitar and pitch-perfect trumpet) or the fantastically distorted and drawn-out 31.

Sadly enough these guys will be strangers from the road during the next few months. Hopefully their return will bring about a new cd that can capture some of the understated excitement that they put out live.

More dark and blurry pictures at Flickr

Live at Langdon Street Cafe - 6/24/06
Farm - Devil's Got a Hold On Me (live).mp3
Farm - Story's Over (live).mp3
Farm - 31 (live).mp3