Short Takes: Dehlia Low, a Celebration of Dance, Pokey LaFarge and More

DEHLIA LOW
Music recycles as if made of aluminum. In today, out tomorrow, then back in the next day.
On that note arises Dehlia Low. The Asheville, N.C.-based quintet will haul the past into today at Machiavelli’s in Bristol, Tenn. on March 5.
Their sound features traditional instruments played country and bluegrass style through a prism of the past.
Blacksburg, Va.’s Anya Hinkle fiddles and sings with beauty on such songs as “Yellow Mountain.” South Carolina’s Stacy Claude plays guitar. Winston-Salem, N.C.’s Aaron Balance slides on the dobro while Hurricane, W.Va.’s Bryan Clendenin hauls the mail on the mandolin and Jackson, Miss.’s Greg Stiglets keeps time on bass.
Goodness.
Altogether, they’ll make old-timers yearn for days of old and youngsters wish they had been there, too.

IF YOU GO
Who: Dehlia Low
When: March 5, 8 p.m.
Where: Machiavelli’s, 8 5th St., Bristol, Tenn.
Admission: $5
Info: (423) 573-9955
Web and video: http://www.dehlialow.com
Audio: http://www.myspace.com/dehlialow

CELEBRATION OF DANCE
Dance equates to music sans notes and sound, a painting with neither paint nor brushes. Dance equals art.
Bristol Ballet highlights the art of dance during the 6th Annual Celebration of Dance.
Scheduled for two performances on March 7 at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tenn., the shows feature an array of talented dancers from a variety of disciplines and local companies.
The points?
For one, dance is art. Secondly, dance requires dexterity in concert with talent mixed with vigilant discipline and knowledge. Thirdly, dance from ballet to contra to ballroom to tap to loads of others exists right here in the Mountain Empire.
Like a song that’s sung or a sculpture that’s sculpted, dance fluctuates dependent upon its creator and therefore enriches those for whom dance indeed qualifies as art.

IF YOU GO
What: Bristol Ballet’s 6th Annual Celebration of Dance
When: March 7, 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Where: Paramount Center for the Arts, 518 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Admission: $12 adults, $6 seniors, students, and children
Info: (423) 274-8920 or (276) 669-6051
Web: http://www.bristolballet.org

POKEY LaFARGE
Where ragtime meets Southern country blues amid a comical haze of farce lives the music of Pokey LaFarge.
Odd to some, different to others, and just plain cool to many, LaFarge carts his caravan of sounds to O’Mainnin’s Pub in Bristol, Tenn. on March 11. Drawn from a cadre of influences including Fats Waller and Blind Boy Fuller, LaFarge also pays homage to lifestyles long gone by via his style.
He’s something of a modern-day Woody Guthrie sans Guthrie’s powerful pen. LaFarge recalls the rambling days and ways of many men of the 1930s and ‘40s, wanderers who sought that which lay beyond the horizon. From songs like “Mr. Nobody” emerges a vagabond soul reflecting a man on the move.

IF YOU GO
Who: Pokey LaFarge
When: March 11, 10 p.m.
Where: O’Mainnin’s Pub, 712 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Info: (423) 844-0049
Web and audio: http://www.myspace.com/pokeylafarge

MUSIC NOTES:
—Seen and overheard at the Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute at the Paramount in Bristol, Tenn. last Saturday … backstage, upstairs, and rockin’ in the restroom. Kody Norris, Tim White, and several other pickers gathered around 89-year-old bluegrass legend Curly Seckler for four songs before playing three of them on stage. Seckler grinned as Norris leaned in to duet on Jimmie Rodgers’ “In the Jailhouse Now” and Flatt & Scruggs’ classic “Salty Dog Blues.”
Seckler winked afterwards and said, “Now that’s good!”
Minutes later, Teddy Helton of Fire in the Kitchen stood backstage. As superb fiddler Rachel Johnson (of the Dixie Bee-liners) sat in with the fiery hot East Tennessee State University Bluegrass Band, Helton spoke of a new album from Fire in the Kitchen.
“We’re doing a Christmas album,” Helton said of his Appalachian Celtic band. “We’ve done about four or five songs so far. It sounds real good.”
n Real good may describe the rumored Woodstock ’09. Rumors abound of plans to mark Woodstock’s 40th anniversary with free shows in New York and Berlin, Germany in August. Neither dates nor band lineups have been announced. Stay tuned.
—Free MP3 download of the week: Taylor Branch’s single “Love Story” is currently available at http://www.leilovestory.bigmachinerecords.com. Supplies are limited, so hurry.
—Meanwhile, check back in next week for Short Takes and Music Notes. Look for news and downloads and more. Until then and by all means, stay tuned.

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .