I hope a funky band like Sister Sparrow fits in a 'modern blues harmonica" forum? Anyway,the following is a review I posted on Facebook about the band Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, a rising horn band with the amazing Arleigh Kinchloe on vocals and which also features a very good young harp player named Jackson Kinchloe (her brother), who uses harmonica in a musical setting and in a way in which you don't hear it very often.
There is also a rant in the review concerning soundman/venue indifference -what do you think?
Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds: We heard this great band for the second time in Grand Rapids Thursday. They put on a rousing show once again. Go see them if you like talented, high energy bands doing original music. You may not be able to see them in smallish clubs for long, I can see them moving up. I will try to get them in our area in the next few months---we'll see. Caution: rant follows: They were great in spite of the venue, which had an apparently indifferent soundman and terrible acoustics and sight lines. Some soundmen seem to only be able to mix generic gtr/bass/drum/singer bands...a horn band is too much to handle. When you have a singer of the quality of Arleigh Kinchloe it would be nice to be able to hear her. When you have a killer harp player like Jackson Kinchloe, it would be nice to hear him. Two fifty minute sets ought to be enough to get it right. And venues, when you build a stage, make it high enough to see the band over the heads of the people standing in front. To all my friends who are run sound, and do it well...you don't get nearly enough credit.
If I am able as an audience member, I'll stand next to the soundman and tactfully let him know what I'm hearing - sometimes it works... he'll mess with the sliders like its an arcade game and i'll give em the thumbs up, mumble damn your good and hope it lasts :)
I love Sister Sparrow. I posted up here a few months ago about them. The harp player is a customer of Mike Fugazzi (Harpninja). He posted up on his FB page about them.
If there's any band who deserves mainstream success, it's these guys.
