Eugene weekly., April 08, 2004, Page 25, Image 25

BY VANESSA SALVIA
Danny Barnes
Beyond Bluegrass
Barnes and Neufeld light up Luna.
T
thoughtful, like “The Ballad of Jamie Lynn.”
he intimate listening room at Luna
At Luna, expect the duo to shine on
Jazz Club in Eugene is the perfect
gypsy jazz, country, folk, bluegrass and
place to see guitar duo Danny
more. There’s nothing this pair won’t tack-
Barnes and Jon Neufeld , who are sched-
le, such as their instrumentals: 11-minute
uled to perform April 8th. Barnes, a peren-
“Wabash Blues” or 10-minute “Whiskey
nial favorite of fans in Eugene, is now
Before Breakfast.” Barnes does sing a bit
based in the tiny town of Port Hadlock,
on “Honkey Tonk Blues.” You won’t want
Wash., two hours northwest of Seattle, but
to miss this.
originally hails from a small town in Texas,
On Saturday, Luckey’s in Eugene is host-
and he lived in Austin for 35 years.
ing San Francisco’s Chemystry Set , a band
While in Austin, he fronted the Bad
with a smooth blend of musical flavors, mix-
Livers, a high-energy band that performed
bluegrass covers of classic punk tunes done
ing jazzy, world-beat inspired grooves with
well-crafted songs with a social con-
at breakneck speed. Barnes’ rebellious
nature won him fans all over the
scious.
Drummer Dickie Ogden,
country, both as a bandleader
and a “rural sophisticate”
keyboardist/vocalist Patty
Hughes, mandolinist/vocal-
solo performer. Barnes
has honed his guitar and
ist Baba Ndjhoni, bassist
Joel Oppenheimer and
banjo craft for decades,
and his personable,
guitarist/vocalist Sven
Eberlein combine their
down-home demeanor
is enhanced by the
extraordinary back-
grounds and experi-
ease with which he
shifts from quoting the
ences into a power-
house quintet. Ndjhoni
Romantic poetry of
William Blake, to talk-
has performed with
Nigerian guitar prodigy
ing about the Seattle-
area jazz gods he has col-
Soji Odukogne and spent
three years in Zaire in the
laborated with, to his coun-
trified version of the tradition-
Peace Corps. Ogden has per-
formed with G-Love and Special
al tune “Keep My Skillet Good
Jon Neufeld
and Greasy.”
Sauce’s Jimmy Prescott. Oppenheimer
is a case manager for San Francisco’s home-
Barnes most recently collaborated with
Seattle-based duo Tucker Martine and
less population and has been a student of Kai
Eckhardt (John McLaughlin Trio, Garaj
Wayne Horvitz on the CD Mylab and a
small, highly regarded series of shows in
Mahal), while Hughes has recorded with
Gigolo Aunts and Jack Drag.
Seattle. Barnes has his own relatively new
record out, Dirt on the Angel, featuring
Together for seven years, Chemystry
Set has continually expanded its musical
many popular Seattle musicians such as
Amy Denio and Garey Shelton, who per-
boundaries yet maintained an earthy, lively
energy. The group’s personal and musical
formed with Bo Diddley. Barnes specifical-
ly intended Dirt on the Angel to cover as
beliefs come through in the songwriting:
Diverse musical styles all have a common
many genres in traditional American music
as possible; rhythms from the late 1800s to
ground, as do people who can communi-
cate through the universal language of
post-modern “jazz-folk” are represented.
Performing with Neufeld, lead guitarist
music.
Chemystry Set has been described by
of Portland-based bluegrass outfit Jackstraw,
gives Barnes a chance to surround himself
Jan Adams, WFIT-FM DJ, as “a modern-
ized Moody Blues taken to a whole new
with the traditional bluegrass I feel he does
best. Jackstraw plays both traditional blue-
level,” while The East Bay Express says the
group “dwells in the groove between hippie
grass festivals or rowdy college bars com-
fortably. The group’s songs can be fiery and
rock, jazz, bluegrass and Congolese rumba,
coming up with a tight undulating mix that
passionate, such as “All this Time,” from the
2003 self-titled release or mellow and
is sure to trip you out.”
ew
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