Alert! Rare Birds - Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers in NYC!

I first took notice of North Carolina's Steep Canyon Rangers last year when they   toured with Steve Martin in support of the famed actor/author/comedian's Grammy Award winning album The Crow. Now, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers are back on the road, introducing audiences to the album they collaborated on, Rare Bird Alert. Recorded last fall, the result is an exciting album that respects traditional bluegrass, features original songs penned by Martin and beautiful harmonization by the Rangers. During last night's show at the Highline Ballroom in NYC, the audience got a live preview of some of the new tracks as well as songs from "The Crow" and from the Rangers' catalogue.

The members of the Steep Canyon Rangers and Steve Martin are all experts at their instruments. One, Nicky Sanders, was a classically trained violinist before he played the fiddle. These influences can be heard when the fiddler riffs during fan favorite and one of the most impressive-sounding numbers "Orange Blossom Special". The show closed with this song which features the fiddle and was written in 1939.

Moving forward in time to the present-day, songs from "Rare Bird Alert", including the title track also generated much applause and were listened to with great enthusiasm. "Go Away, Stop, Turn Around, Come Back" is much more pleasant than the feeling such a love affair garners and the harmonizing of Woody Platt (guitar) and Mike Guggino (mandolin) makes the remembrance of such a lover sweeter.

It serves to note that the Rangers are rounded out by Graham Sharp on the banjo and Charles Humphries III whose unrelenting bass keeps everyone honest and on time. Sharp is the second banjo on this stage because Martin is also playing the instrument and this provides both the opportunity for a richer sound with 2 banjo parts but also a few jokes at Sharp's expense.

Martin doles out the humor throughout the set, finding occasion to make each Ranger a fall guy. Guggino plays the straight man very well with deadpan responses to Martin's jests and Platt just rolls with it. Though Martin's comic timing is the most developed and he is clearly the leader when it comes to banter between songs, when the music starts, it is a collaborative effort and at that point, they are all equals.

The Rare Bird Alert Tour should not be missed. Fans of Bluegrass will appreciate and revel in the homage played to the traditional music and enjoy the classic songs as well and the new works from the album. Fans of Steve Martin will appreciate the humor and no doubt walk away with newfound rhythms in their heads and a hankering to hear the banjo or the fiddle one more time. For them, the suggestion would be to stop at the merch table on the way out.

Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers will be at Joe's Pub on the Lower East Side on Wednesday and Thursday nights (March 15 and 16th) and the Music Hall in Williamsburg on Saturday night (March 19). They are also appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday, The View on Thursday and on The Colbert Report on Monday, March 21). Catch them early and catch them often.

Rare Bird Alert was released today and is available at iTunes, Amazon, and in stores. Besides the incredible addition of the Steep Canyon Rangers and therefore more tracks with vocals, Martin welcomes on this album guests Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks.

I'm calling a "rare bird alert" right now and advise that anyone who can make it to see these guys when they come to your town.

Follow them on Twitter: @steepcanyon and @SteveMartinToGo
Follow me: @rabiahc and @piratepods

It's Complicated (a Review and Adoration)

I was relieved that this holiday weekend afforded me the opportunity to see the most anticipated film of the season for me personally, "It's Complicated". Starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, this newest in Nancy Meyers' catalog of middle-aged rom-com films is possibly her best and most funny story. I loved "Something's Gotta Give" but "It's Complicated" is so much more compelling and dare I say real that it is already one I plan to own and also probably see again in the theater.

The entire crowd was laughing so hard at one point that the 2nd half of a punchline wasn't audible.

In addition to a storyline that was entertaining, relateable (yeah, maybe I'm a little young to really relate but I won't be forever), the cast was perfect from the leads to the more minor characters.

Meryl Streep is like a fine wine...as amazing as she was 30 years ago, she has only gotten more interesting to watch and I can see her only getting better. She was sexy and vulnerable and bold as the woman who begins an affair with her ex-husband ten years after their divorce and even few years since she could say she had really moved on. Moments featured in the trailer that show her with her girlfriends are entertaining and compelling where they could have been otherwise.

Alec Baldwin is like a fine...whiskey. I saw him on Letterman the other night and he talked about having a "butt double" in the film. Despite not really showing his own broadside, he showed many other sides as the 57-year old ex-husband who married a much younger woman only to find himself back in bed with his first. He was pitch-perfect when comic-timing was key and authentic in his portrayal. Given Baldwin's handsomeness and my real-live crush on him, I thought about his on-screen marriage and wondered how true the relationship rang to those that are so prevalent everywhere; the younger woman and older man. It was done so well in this film and I'm sure not everyone who sees it would be laughing!

Steve Martin is rarely 2nd chair when it comes to playing the funny guy but in "It's Complicated", he was more complicated than hilarious and it was refreshing. His ability to do slapstick is as compelling as his ability to conjure the character of a vulnerable divorcee which he does here.

It's Complicated but it's also fun and touching and worth the trip to the theater!