American banjo duo (and married couple) Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn stopped by Montreal to present their second (and new) album “Echo in the Valley”, one that intertwines both players’ influences, stories and love for each other and their family.
The original venue for this concert was supposed to have been the Corona but it got changed, for undisclosed reasons, almost at the very last minute to L’Astral, a place that proved unsuitable for such an intimate show.
Having arrived 10 minutes before the show, there were no seats available, with some people scrambling to find a place to stand to see the concert from and many more drinking from beer bottles, chatting and laughing, just like in a bar. Sure, there is no issue with that but as soon at the concert started the residuals of glasses clinging, metal chair moving and waitresses handling coins and dropping them became amplified and interrupted the show experience.
Thankfully, Bela and Abigail paid no attention to this, neither to the little noises nor to the unfitting venue. The scene was set up with at least 4 mics per musician, all meant to pick up the subtleties of the instruments, Abigail’s voice and give the sense that they were playing a concert for each and every one of us in our living room, but at times this did not translate into a sense of intimacy but, given the audio equalization and venue, came out completely dry and empty.
The couple started with the first track of the new album “Over the Divide”, showcasing the unspoken communication and synchronicity between them as well as Abigail’s voice range.
After a quick joke from Bela Fleck and a passing commentary about the US political scene, they moved onto my favorite track of the album, the medley “Sally in the Garden/ Big Country/ Molly Put the Kettle On”, a song that went through two songs (first and third parts) taught by Abigail by two different folk singers in the back country of America, and the Bela Fleck composition Big Country which has been also played by the Flecktones many times.
In between each song they told stories about the compositions, world event commentaries and short jokes (mostly from Bela, who did not speak much during the show).
Afterwards, they played “If I Could Talk to a Younger Me”, inspired by their 4-year-old kid as a note to him and anyone who listens to take it slow and live to the fullest and savor every moment.
The rest of the show dwelled almost exclusively on the latest album and the silent dance between them kept on going. They did not mind at all what bothered me and some others. Maybe I should heed their advice and take it slow, savoring what I can and being present, but that is easier said than done especially when you don’t have a seat and can’t see half the stage.
Reviewer & photos – Ricardo D. Flores
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