Steve Martin, comedian and banjo player is touring the U.S. and Canada to support the release of his only banjo CD, "The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo". He played Roy Thompson Hall (of all places) last Thursday and I was in attendance.
I have this "thing" about the sound of a show. Technology being what it is, I fully expect most shows I pay a lot of money to attend will sound as good as it does in my CD player at home. Sadly, on this night, the sound I heard was disappointing. Steve does not have a hard driving style, nor does he use a particularly good banjo (he played the same banjo when we jammed on a movie set a few years ago - see photo here) so it came out mushy with many overtones. A banjo sounds good when each note is heard distinctly and this did not happen on Thursday night.
Steve is a funny guy. He was often funny during the 90 minute show. I wasn't expecting hims to dazzle with his banjo skills. Only those who devote their entire lives to an instrument can expect to dazzle and he's been too busy making movies and being funny to achieve that level of prowess. As it turns out, I was right. I did expect his band to be awe inspiring however but they were never allowed to burn it up much so even they were a bit of a let down.
With taxes and parking, the show cost most attendees (of which there weren't many) approximately $8.32 per song. Of the 16 tunes he performed, 14 were banjo songs he wrote himself. Generally speaking, they were pretty good songs but none were memorable. As a banjo player, I value a song that excites me and inspires me to run home and play along. Only two songs that night inspired me in that way and he didn't write either. Judging by the stone cold faces on the RTH crowd around me, that pretty much sums of the success of the show.
Steve joked that a tour like this with a bluegrass band is only costing him $12,000.00 but I'm sure there's more truth to this than most realize. The Hall was half or more empty. Except for the few musicians I recognized in the crowd, I'll bet most were simply Steve Martin comedian fans who had perhaps never before heard music like this. Except for the two songs I mentioned, I doubt he converted any of these over to the bluegrass cause. He's a good banjo player but not a great banjo player. The band, Steep Canyon Rangers was mostly good but were great on two tunes, one featuring their fantastic and unconventional fiddler on a sizzling version of Orange Blossom Special. The other song that brought the crowd to its feet was a stunning a cappella version of the gospel song "I Can't Sit Down". Unfortunately, this was not good enough to satisfy a rather un-country, un-bluegrass crowd.
If this show had been in a smaller venue such as the Cadillac Lounge, it would have "rocked". Beer would have made sure of that.
