Three Ring Circle

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I had the pleasure of going to see Three Ring Circle at the Station Inn last night. #I had the pleasure of being introduced to Rob Ickes and seeing him doodle on the dobro in the back room. #He is a really nice guy. #I will provide a short review of their show. #The members of the band are Rob Ickes, dobro (ok I hate it resophonic guitar)player for Blue Highway, Andy Leftwich, fiddle player for Ricky Skaggs (played mostly mando), and Dave Pomeroy, long time session bass player. #The negative was that there was a bad mike on Andy that they were never able to get quite right. #In spite of that Andy made that Gilchrist absolutely sing. #He does a lot of really tasteful triples which make you think of Alan Bibey, but in a more non-bluegrass setting. #He compliments Rob and does really nice counter melodies. #Dave Pomeroy is a show unto himself. #To say he is demonstrative is like saying that I breath. #But man, the guy can play. #He takes leads note for note, but more importantly he drives the train, providing the power and drive for the group. #Rob Ickes is simply amazing. #I had seen him play for Blue Highway, but at a distance, but close up, WOW. #He is the deal, both in his playing and his writing. #These are three very respected instrumentalists and that alone would be worth coming for. #But the way they work together and compliment each other is simply wonderful to see. #Most of the tunes were written by the band. #The only cover was "Isn't She Lovely?", which they do a great rendition of. #I want to say I am not usually an newgrasser, which probably the closest you will get to putting these guys in a category. #One thing I likes was that unlike many in this category, they kept the melody in mind, while expanding the concepts. #Some other newgrassers seem to go off to ... not sure where. #Anyway, the band was great and I recommend them highly. #Hopefully they get the mic right next time.
Tony