Review: Chatham County Line at The Grey Eagle
There’s an old saw in the world of statistics: Two points don’t make a trend. But in the world of music reviewing, two similar pieces of data are at least enough to make me take notice.
In September, I covered an Orange Peel show by Mipso, an NC Triangle-based Americana group drawing attention for its use of electronic elements. And on March 2 at The Grey Eagle, I caught Chatham County Line, an NC Triangle-based Americana group that The Bluegrass Situation recently described as “synth-grass” based on its own electronic turn. Perhaps the vibes of Raleigh’s burgeoning tech sector are somehow migrating into its music scene?
In any case, while Mipso brought its new toys into its live set (less than successfully, in my opinion), Chatham County Line left the synthesizers in the studio for the first Asheville show supporting its January release, Hiyo. A healthy Saturday night crowd saw the band’s core trio — guitarist/frontman Dave Wilson, mandolinist/violinist John Teer, and bassist/pedal steel player Greg Readling — perform the new material with their usual instruments.
Those songs were more than good enough to get the audience moving without their studio additions. The album cut of “Magic,” for example, features spacey guitars and a bright synth bubbling away in the background, but the live version still felt lush with three-part vocal harmonies and instrumental breaks.
And as musicians, Chatham County Line’s members have no need to hide behind sampled sounds or backing tracks. Wilson’s lead vocals are high and easy, with a touch of Tom Petty-esque wistfulness; Teer dances with his mandolin and can absolutely rip a hoedown-style fiddle solo; and Readling’s bass work is pocket-tight and punchy, his pedal steel lines unhurried and distinct.
One critical piece of the live show not found on the album was guest drummer Darren Jessee, best known as a founding member of Ben Folds Five. None of his parts were especially flashy, but his attention to drum texture was remarkable — I saw him constantly swapping out sticks, mallets, brushes, and bundle rods, or switching his grip from underhand to overhand, all to get exactly the right tone each song demanded.
Jessee also proved to be a capable, poetic songwriter when pulling double duty as the night’s opener. His moody baritone and stately progressions reminded me of The National, and his weather-beaten acoustic guitar gave his songs a throbbing heart underneath thick layers of keyboard and pedal steel. At times, however, the reverb-heavy atmosphere made it quite difficult to make out his lyrics.
Hiyo marks Chatham County Line’s first collection of material written without founding member and banjo player Chandler Holt, who left in 2019 after two decades with the band. While the group worked in plenty of its old tunes during the Grey Eagle show, including an engrossing rendition of “Queen Anne’s Gold” with lyrical tradeoffs between mando and guitar, they made sure to play nearly every track off the new album.
I found those songs to be the most mature and fully realized of anything I heard during the set. Perhaps the band’s evolution will eventually bring synths onstage, but I was happy for Chatham County Line to present their new material however they so chose.
(Photo by York Wilson)
