WEEK OF 2/21/20

The Brother Brothers / all 📷 : Tina Mead

American folk flavors collided at Schubas Tavern on February 23rd bringing together the spiritual tunings of Dead Horses from Wisconsin and the sweet, southern-sounding Brother Brothers hailing from Peoria, by way of Brooklyn. 

Dead Horses opened, and you could immediately hear the subtle jazz influences that local drummer Jamie Gallagher brought to their sound. His thoughtful hand beats weren’t your typical percussionist’s “wringing a wet rag” messy sound, rather,  smooth like folding silk. What a great addition to the powerhouse folk duo of Sarah Vos and Daniel Wolff.  

Vos and Wolff’s bond runs as deep as their harmonies, and when they played “Family Tapes,” the connection they share through their music rang through clearly. There was a definite light of happiness painted on their faces as they played, even if they were being told to “smile more” by certain fans on Facebook. Vos made no qualms acknowledging the sexist undertone, but I could honestly see a genuine joy in their performance. 

“All I Ever Wanted” is the opening track from their latest EP, Birds, and is as pretty as it is sorrowful. They picked up the tempo with “Darling Dear,” a clear crowd favorite and rolled right back into new material like “Birds Can Write The Chorus” and the instrumental “Hollywood.”

Their new music is a great addition to the band’s emotionally-charged offerings over the years. Witnessing something as beautiful as Dead Horses is a blessing. They played “On and On” and asked the crowd to sing along, so we graciously obliged. Dead Horses finished with “Turntable” and “Water” and left the stage with tribalistic folk fan hollers from the crowd. 

When the brothers Adam and David Moss took the stage, there was no doubt we were getting an intimate session with The Brother Brothers. These identical twins are masters of lovely lyricism.  

Right from the beginning, they delivered a perfected offering of classic folk music with guitar, fiddle, and seamlessly-timed vocals. Their song, “Colorado” was even more minimalistic and elegant. As they finished playing, I witnessed something I’ve never seen in person. The Moss brothers looked out as the crowd cheered and clapped. Simultaneously, both brothers had this childlike look of admiration on their faces. It was beautiful, as if their eyes were saying a deep-hearted thank you to everyone in the crowd. This honest glimpse into their beings transcends all fame and recognition that comes with being touring musicians. 

This must’ve lit a fire, because they came out with the politically-charged “Ocean’s Daughter” taking aim at climate change and the recent disastrous wildfires in Australia. Any time they both were drawing up their bows, it was a near-guaranteed hoedown. They kept the banter going when they exclaimed, “Fuck Donald Trump!” before playing “Frankie,” their first single from the album Some People I Know, which dropped last October and was the bulk of their set. 

The brothers then went into a cover of “Angel Island” - also on Some People I Know - and spoke to the strip of land in the San Francisco Bay in the early 1800s that detained Chinese immigrants and unclaimed mail-order brides. They paralleled this to the current state of our immigration policies and reminded us dutifully that there are still families imprisoned and dying at our borders.

I applaud them for opting to use their performance as an opportunity to speak out about geopolitical issues. All politics aside, however,  they closed with “Mary Ann” and kept us warm before surprising everyone with an encore.

The Brother Brothers earned some southern street cred with their encore (at least in my book.) Dan Wolff from Dead Horses requested “In The Nighttime,” and my Georgia Boy came out the same way a hound lets loose a howl when it catches a scent. I wasn’t the only one. People were getting into the music all night long, but this really called everyone into a ruckus like a den of coyotes yipping in the moonlight.

This was an intimate glimpse into the future of American Folk. I’m excited to see the direction we’re going musically in our society. This show is just a tiny testament to the beauty in America and a pattern in the musical quilt of our fair land. 

-Aaron Pylinski