Sweetheart Mountain - Tim O’Brien at Cheney Hall, January 13, 2006

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"We tune because you care." Tim O'Brien

Tim O’Brien at Cheney Hall, January 13, 2006

We recently caught Tim O'Brien at Cheney Hall in Manchester, CT on a chilly Friday night . . . .

Tim O’Brien is one of our favorites and we were lucky enough to catch him at Cheney Hall, a.k.a, Little Theatre of Manchester on a blustery Friday night. He was minus ace fiddler Casey Driessen (bummer!), but ably backed by the guitar and banjo of Danny Barnes and the upright bass of Dennis Crouch. Danny was playing a couple of cool guitars that Sean can describe in his posting, and Tim was jamming on mandolin, fiddle and yet another cool guitar. Just three guys but full of good energy and tight as a drum. They played mostly from Tim’s newest CDs, Fiddler’s Green and Cornbread Nation (run out and buy them NOW) but threw in some bits from other, older collections. Tim played some fiddle, but not nearly enough for me. He sings while he fiddles, second only in difficulty to dancing while fiddling. All in all, a great evening. And a cool place too. It reminded me of my high school auditorium, but without the sticky floor and pervasive fragrance of adolescent sweat. If you decide to go see someone/something there, definitely pay the extra bucks for VIP seating! – Arlene

I too was most impressed with the fact that three people, and a world of passion for their music, could fill that little hall with so much emotion, talent, and just damn fine music! Tim O’Brien always brings to the table a huge assortment of music as well as instruments to play it on. He seems as comfortable playing a somber solo fiddle tune as he is wailing away on his mandolin or (my favorite) a fast bluegrass number on his 1937 model 00-18. He really can play too! He usually has a larger band on tour, but this smaller group allows more exposure for each member. Danny Barnes is as much of a pleasure to watch as he is to hear. He plays all night with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen! Though I did think they would need paramedics for the purists in the audience who first witnessed traditional music being played on a Fender Jaguar through an old blackface Fender amp! It fits perfectly, and his the banjo stylings are absolutely mesmerizing. We’ve seen Tim with Casey Driessen at the Iron Horse in Northhampton, MA, with his trio in Manchester and with several different groups/ensembles in festivals all over and I can’t recommend strongly enough to go see him next time he’s around! -- Sean

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