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It's tempting to try to summarize dobro master Jerry Douglas's musical impact with numbers: 12 Grammy Awards, 11 Musician of the Year awards from the Academy of Country Music (and three more from the Country Music Association), eight instrumentalist awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, and over 2,000 instrumental appearances on records by such artists as Paul Simon, Ray Charles, The Chieftains, Elvis Costello and Reba McEntire. The leader of Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas (the band often abbreviated as AKUS) offers a pithier description: "He's irreplaceable," Ms. Krauss tells us.
Performing with The Jerry Douglas Band is singer/guitarist John Oates, who is best known as one half of one of rock's most successful duos of all-time, Hall & Oates. Their breakout major hits, "Sara Smile" and "Rich Girl," catapulted them to stardom and were followed by many other hits including "Kiss on my List," "Private Eyes," "Maneater," and "Say it isn't So," to name but a few. They unquestionably became one of the U.S.' top pop-rock groups. As a result, Oates became a sought after producer by other artists, as he worked with Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, the Parachute Club, and Chris Sheppard, and performed on recordings by Taj Mahal, Tina B, and Icehouse, among others.
Maura O'Connell is a Grammy Award-nominated Irish singer and actress. O'Connell began her professional musical journey during a six-week tour of America in 1980, as vocalist for the traditionally-based Celtic group De Dannan. The following year, she was featured on the band's landmark album, The Star Spangled Molly, (where she has the lead vocals on four tracks) which became something of a national phenomenon in her homeland.
Her 2009 album, Naked With Friends, is O'Connell's first a cappella album. Guest vocalists include Mary Black, Paul Brady, Moya Brennan, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Tim O'Brien, Dolly Parton, Kate Rusby and Darrell Scott.
Jerry and the band were great, though the sound guy let them down a bit. The music was unforgettable, the mood was laid back, Jerry's banter was inviting, and the event staff's hospitality provided the perfect backdrop.
Music was awful, Carolina Theater acoustics/sound system were even worse. I've heard Jerry Douglass perform 5 or 6 times in the past (from blue grass to Alison Krauss to the more contemporary stuff he's been doing for the last few years) and always enjoyed the concert. Not this time.
Look forward to you having them return to Durham. Can't think of much to say except that it was a terrific evening.
While Jerry Douglas is my favorite musician ever, this was a terrible show...the main problem was that the drummer was so freaking loud, obnoxious and totally overran the other instruments...literally couldn't hear the dobro sometimes. Also the acoustics were awful, could not make out what the singers said, and there was alot of distortion, especially from the electric dobro. For 40 plus bucks, totally not worth it....if this is the best acoustics the Carolina can do, I'll not go to another show there.
This band are top notch musicians with unique talents and well worth hearing in person.
Concert was so great! Better than I had imagined and bought the "Traveler" CD and think that's amazing as well!! Don't miss the chance to see this show. All musicians were outstanding!!!
The venue at Sixth and i was great. Every seat is excellent. The place would have sold out on a Friday/Saturday. But given it was a tuesday -- I was amazed how many made it. The syonagogue acoustics were great and the music was not overly loud. I loved the second half when Jerry played solo. He had amazing musicians with him -- fiddle, bass and drums.
Obviously a talented group. Good music and talent. Too loud for the I Street Synagogue venue. The music was not as familiar as we had hoped it would be.
A Master at the top of his game, Especially early on Jerry's dobro was a little lost in the mix behind his crack band, but when he was front and center (or better still, played alone) it was simply magical. How could there have been so many empty seats for this great show at this great venue?
I loved it! They are all terrific musicians and the surprise guest was a fabulous bonus. I would also like it if Jerry and his group sang a little more. Hope to see him back soon.
What a concert. The musicianship from Jerry, Omar, Viktor, and Luke was beyond world class. The program was varied, a fusion of bluegrass and jazz, along with pure examples of both genres. Played to perfection. Then, when Paul Simon showed up, WOW!!!
I have been playing country music for over 30 years as a drummer and have seen numerous acts over those years. Jerry was by FAR the most talented player I have ever seen live. His whole band was awesome in fact.
The Bears Den is by far my favorite venue... perfect for a night like this one with Jerry Douglas... it's the first time I've seen him live...and he was everything I expected & more... his band was fantastic... pure young professionals... It was truly a memorable night. To me... it was as close to having Jerry live in your living room, as you can get... Do I recommend this... without a doubt... would I go again... every chance I get... It really doesn't get any better... He's down to earth, personable & funny! Oh yeah...unbelievably talented... Jerry's fantastic...don't miss him if you get a chance!!
The Jerry Douglas/John Oates/Aiofe O'Donovan concert was a welcome break from the madness that is the holiday season! The Showcase Live venue is very nice - not intimate like Club Passim or Johnny D's but excellent acoustics and there are plenty of staff who are very attentive. As for the show itself, all of these musicians were excellent - including the members of Jerry Douglas band. I had seen Jerry Douglas perform before Paul Simon at B.U. and have been to four Crooked Still concerts so I already knew that Aiofe O'Donovan is amazing! I wasn't as familiar with John Oates and hadn't seen him perform before, but was reasonably impressed even though his music isn't quite up my alley. While I would say that overall the concert rates in the "great" category, I actually think that it could have been even better. This is because I felt like they tried to cram too much in one concert - first by including the three artists but not giving them each a time to perform by themselves. Aiofe and John wandered in and out as songs dictated, and at times I felt like Jerry was just trying to find things for them to do. This was especially true in Aiofe's case - there were songs where I felt like she was thinking "what am I doing on stage for this song and when am I supposed to sing?" It wasn't her fault - I just didn't think her talents were able to shine through as much as when I've seen her with Crooked Still. This was evident when she did one of her own songs - "Diamonds" - and really rocked. The second way in which I felt like the concert was trying to do too much was the mix between holiday music and other songs. The concert weaved back and forth between the two, never quite making up its mind up which direction it wanted to go. Since they played two sets, I think a better way to go would have been to start out with Christmas songs and stick with them for the first set, and then to play the other songs (including John's and Aiofe's originals) after the break. Finally, the encore was disappointing... maybe it's just me but I like it when a band ends with an upbeat crowd pleaser instead of a slower, downbeat tune that sounds similar to several others played earlier in the evening. Overall, a nice evening and excellent musicians - even though a reorganization of the play list and better showcasing of John's and Aiofe's talents could have made it even better!
This was probably the best live musical performance I've ever been to. The level of musicianship was virtuosic all around, and there were a few big surprises. First of all, I'll voice a minor complaint. This was not billed as a Christmas-themed show, but when Jerry took the stage he announced that it would be. Well I can forgive that now that I understand he's got a "Jerry Christmas" CD he's promoting. About 30% of the evening's material was Christmas tunes, although they were arranged and performed incredibly well...especially that Vince Garibaldi/Peanuts Christmas tune the band did..don't know the name of it but I knew it when I heard it. That made it easier to swallow, for me at least. The surprises: Alex Hargreaves, on fiddle...2009 Grand Master Fiddle Champion...at 16 years old....just blew the audience away. What a talent. Next Surprise: John Oates. I did not know how good this guy was. Great guitar player, excellent rootsy singer with a lot of soul. The band killed with the arrangement of "Man Eater". They took a pop tune I don't like and did a big-time genre-bender with the alt-progrssive-folk-bluegrass style. Next surprise: The sound was excellent...all details and all musicians were heard. I'm very critical of soundmen who can otherwise ruin great musician's performances with lousy sound mixing and ignorance of the music...but the sound guy did as close to perfect a live mix as you can get, and I was sitting only about 30 feet from the stage. Thumbs up !
This show was wonderful. There truly is no one like Jerry Douglad and he managed to not disappoint. The musicians he has assembled including a 17 year old fiddler manage to rise up to his amazing musical ability. The arrangements of the Christmas music were excellent and I was pleased that they managed to mix in other varieties of music. John Oates while not a great singer is a marvelous performer, instrumentalist and song writer. Maura O'Connell has a marvelous voice and almost tongue in cheek absurd sort of stage presence which is fun to watch. All in all it is a thrill to watch folks who are great at what they do and seem to enjoy doing it.
First, Jerry Douglas is a great musician -- creative, passionate and technical, and wonderfully good humored. He's truly a joy to watch and hear ... and he alone (with his great band) would have been more than enough. Second, John Oates was a great surprise ... and worked real well with Jerry. Their pairing worked out very well, for both of them I think. He made the show even stronger. Third, Maura O'Connell was good, but certainly less strong than either Jerry or John. I'm not sure why ... I had a sense of her trying too hard both to fit in and to distinguish herself. Also, she's not as pitch perfect a singer as she used to be. Finally, I don't mind musicians expressing their political preferences -- and I would tend to agree with her preferences -- but I think she went on a bit too much in the context of this show. And her closing song (Chile), while performed very well (perhaps her best of the show), felt very out of place in the show ... and particularly as the closing or next-to-closing song in what's overall a very fun and positive show. (Good that Douglas added a song after her last song.)
