Last Tuesday at the House of Blues, three friends and I laid down a ten dollar bill to experience this in person:
In a nutshell, fucking brilliant. I have seen him four times now: first at his American debut at the 2004 Telluride Bluegrass Festival, then at the El Rey Theatre in California in 2005, next at the Belly Up Tavern in CA in 2006, and then in Cleveland last week. The show at Telluride blew everyone away. It was on day 4 of a 5 day music festival. Needless to say, most people were feeling a little run down from the all night jams. Much of the audience were sitting on their tarps and blankets for the jamgrass band that preceded Rudd. I was working in the festival tent, just shy of the stage. I watched him take the stage while mindlessly folding some of the t-shirts.
His assistant set up his apparatus: a small platform with 4 dijis, a slide guitar, a wood box, a bass drum, cymbals, and wind chimes all within reach of his small stool. Just like most of the others, I had never heard of him before and was quite intrigued by his set-up. I watched him intently as he took the stage, a short man with a dirty, hand-me down shirt, an outgrown blonde mohawk, sun kissed skin, and a huge smile (my kind of guy). First he thanked us all for inviting him, and he expressed his excitement at playing in the US. He said he enjoyed much of the concert so far and made many friends while here.
And then he sat down. The crows chattered anxiously, everyone feeling that they were on the edge of something unique. He began with the unassuming slide guitar, then burst into about a 20 minute set including the dijis and the bass drum. I don’t think there was a single person sitting down after that first song was over. We had quite the rush at the sales tent as everyone flew in to purchase both of his CDs and paraphernalia. I think we were sold out halfway through his set. Naturally, I grabbed his two CDs for myself and was not at all disappointed.
Here is a little taste of the diji jam:
After his mind-blowing set, Rudd stood next to the tent and patiently greeted and chatted up a long line of new fans. I had to ditch my place and get in that line, no way I was passing up this opportunity. As the next band took the stage Rudd continued spending at least five minutes with each person in line. I finally got my chance, nervously hugging him and thanking him for such a wonderful performance, bringing every festivitarian back onto their feet. He was appreciative and we talked about the music, he asked where I was from what I did. Rudd was impressed with my career and he wished me the best of luck in spreading the message.
Everyone knew they had experienced something special. That high that comes from live music had numbed the crowd a bit over four days. When Rudd took the stage, he took us right back up to the level of our initial shock. Each time I see him live I am taken back to this wonderful memory. I am so glad I could share it with some of my favorite people. Perhaps it is my sentimentality that raises him so high on a pedestal; nonetheless, I can’t sing his praises high enough. Go see him! You won’t be disappointed.
