Hey, Afton: The Boys are back in town
Published: September 11, 2009
After another long cross-country road stint, the Hackensaw Boys are ready for a weekend of shows back in Virginia.
Charlottesville’s own longstanding crew of string bandits recently finished a West Coast summer tour delivering its unique old-time revival, which mixes fiddle-driven foot stompers with hints of punk irreverence and the occasional vintage highway ballad.
Tonight, the band plays in Richmond at the opening night of a new venue, the Hat Factory (formerly Toad’s Place), with the BoDeans.
Then, on Saturday night, the Boys play the final installment of this year’s Starry Nights concert series at Veritas Vineyard in Afton.
Known best for rowdy, energetic live shows, the Hackensaws Boys started nine years ago as a 12-piece outfit that squeezed into the Blue Moon Diner for regular gigs.
Now the group, down to six, has just one original member left — mandolin picker Rob Bullington — who is joined by Jesse Fiske on bass, Ward Harrison on guitar, Ferd Moyse on fiddle, Justin Neuhardt on a multi-layered percussion gadget, the charismo, and banjo player Shawn Galbraith.
The shows this weekend will be the group’s last before a significant break.
After nearly a decade of playing and hundreds of thousands of miles on the road, the band is ready to settle down.
Fiske is expecting his first child this fall with his wife, Jen Fleisher, bassist of Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees, who are opening the Saturday night show.
“We are going to take some time to regroup, and I am going to get situated as a dad,” said Fiske.
“It’s hard to make any assumptions, pre-baby, but I think we’ll slowly pick it back up at the end of the year.” Later in the year, the band does hope to head back into the studio to record the follow-up to 2007’s “Look Out!”
The group has been adding new songs to its repertoire and even has been occasionally including a Telecaster into the mix for a little electric texture. The plan is to bring a live audience to Richmond’s Sound of Music Recording Studios, which was opened by Cracker’s David Lowery.
“We want to bring a small, fun-loving audience into the studio with us to share in the recording,” Fiske explained. “There’s new material coming, and it’s great to have that still happening.”
Details
Hackensaw Boys with Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees
7 p.m. Saturday
Veritas Vineyard and Winery
$50, $35 or $15
(540) 456-8000, Ext. 108
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