# Painted Mandolin at Cypress Station, September 4, 2023

Cypress Station presents [Painted Mandolin](http://www.matthartlemusic.com/projects/painted-mandolin)  
[Cypress Dr., Fairfax, CA 94930 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Cypress+Dr.,+Fairfax,+CA+94930+USA&hl=en)  
3:00 PM, Monday, September 4, 2023

[[2023-09-02|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#September_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-09-05|On to the next event!]]

## Set One

[3:18 PM] {performers noodling; JC starts on violin and percussion}

01. [3:19 PM] _Rosalie McFall_ (LG)
02. [3:23 PM] _Whiskey in the Jar_ (MH)  
{LG tells us that he's celebrating his 65th birthday today; JC swaps to mandolin}
03. [3:29 PM] _Russian Lullaby_ (JC)  
{LG introduces the next tune; JC swaps to percussion}
04. [3:37 PM] _Bird Dreams_ (LG) » [3:42 PM] {JC swaps to violin} » jam »
05. [3:43 PM] _Bird Song_ (MH) » [3:48 PM] {JC swaps to percussion for the conclusion}  
{MH sales pitch; JC swaps to mandolin & percussion}
06. [3:55 PM] _Little Maggie_ (JC)  
{LG: the next tune is one we worked up with lyrics by Bobby Peterson; JC swaps to violin}
07. [4:02 PM] _Upon the Road a Silver Scarab_ (LG)  
{PT says that one was in 11, 12, and 16 (he's a counter); JC now on violin & percussion}
08. [4:12 PM] _Valerie_ (MH)  
[4:21 PM] {LG dedicates the next one to Robbie Robertson; JC still on violin}
09. [4:22 PM] _Twilight_ (LG) » [4:25 PM] _Cherokee Shuffle_ » [4:27 PM] _Twilight_ reprise  
[4:29 PM] {set ends}

## Set Two

[4:55 PM] {performers out; JC begins on violin}

01. [4:57 PM] _Playing in the Band_ » [5:02 PM] {JC swaps to percussion} »
02. [5:02 PM] _Uncle John's Band_ (MH)  
[5:11 PM] {LG: "you guys are deep into the music"; Time for another birthday shot; JC swaps to mandolin + percussion}
03. [5:14 PM] _Big Boss Man_ (JC-MH) » {JC exhorts himself to take the first solo: "go ahead Joe, take a solo"} » {MH solo} » {JC extemporizes a verse about Cypress Station} » {bass solo} » {another improv verse + final verse} » {JC swaps to percussion}
04. [5:21 PM] _Fennario_ (LG) » [5:29 PM] {double time jam}  
[5:33 PM] {JC: "That one was for Casper" (Whitney's dog); LG: "here's a song about dead heads"}
05. [5:34 PM] _Love in a Rose_ (MH) » [5:36 PM] {JC swaps to mandolin}  
[5:41 PM] {chit chat; JC swaps to violin}
06. [5:41 PM] _Cryptical Envelopment_ (LG-MH) » [5:43 PM] _Cosmic Charlie_ (LG/MH) (bluegrass rave up) » [5:47 PM] {JC swaps to percussion} » _the Other One_ jam » [5:48 PM] {JC swaps back to violin} » _Cosmic Charlie_ reprise » {JC swaps to percussion}
07. [5:50 PM] _Hey Pockey Way_ (MH) » {bass solo} » {percussion solo} » [5:57 PM] jam » finale
[6:01 PM] {tuning break; JC remains on percussion ? Seems crazy if he wasn't playing mandolin during the next tune, and I didn't notice!}
08. [6:02 PM] _Reuben & Cerise_ (MH) » {JC on percussion}
09. [6:09 PM] _Don't Let Go_ (LH) » {percussion solo} » [6:13 PM] {JC percussion on MH & LG guitars} » [6:15 PM] {bass jam} » {pregnant pause} » [6:17 PM] _the Eleven_ tease » [6:18 PM] _Don't Let Go_ reprise  
[6:20 PM] {set ends; LG band introduction; JC introduces the birthday boy; pause to get DR a beer}  
   
**Encore**  
{LG: this one's for Jen; JC on percussion}
10. [6:22 PM] _Girl at the Crossroads Bar_ (LG) »
11. [6:25 PM] _China Cat Sunflower_ (MH) »
12. [6:29 PM] _I Know You Rider_ (MH-LG) (double time finale)  
[6:33 PM] {show ends}


## Performers

[Painted Mandolin](http://www.matthartlemusic.com/projects/painted-mandolin)

* [Joe Craven](http://joecraven.com/): percussion, mandolin, violin, vox;
* Larry Graff: acoustic guitar, vox;
* [Matt Hartle](http://www.matthartle.com/): acoustic guitar, vox;
* [Dan Robbins](https://www.danrobbinsmusic.com/): 5-string contrabass with low C extension, harmony vox.

## Notes

I was uncertain about my identification of _Russian Lullaby_ at first, but after a minute or two, I realized that it's because Joe began singing with a 1st verse omitted by Grateful Dawg (who start with the chorus, like most covers do): very clever chaps!

Larry prefaced _Silver Scarab_ with a long digression about Bobby Peterson and how Painted Mandolin, Dark Start Orchestra, and others have been collaborating recently on an album of new tunes using poetry found after Peterson's death in 1987 (his archive now resides at UCSC).

Like one or more of the other tunes today, _Twilight_ was rendered in a new arrangement as a bluegrass rave-up. Thus it worked perfectly to segue mid-song into _Cherokee Shuffle_, a traditional fiddle tune that's about a hundred years old by now. I loved the surprise factor with that one!

Set break is all too short (I needed more time to rest!), but it's impossible to resist the call of the music...

_Big Boss Man_ is a real hoot, with JC wise-cracking big time throughout.

_Love in a Rose_ is a Painted Mandolin original; it reminds me a bit of David Gans' _Down to Eugene_: a not-quite-a-story song full of observations of and allusions to the Grateful Dead scene. Write what you know, right?

The _Cryptical_ » _Charlie_ sequence was utterly amazing. Super fun to hear the classics broken down and reframed in new and interesting ways.

I'm embarrassed to relate that I didn't pay enough attention to note whether or not JC played mandolin during _Reuben & Cerise_. Seems like a given right? But by that point I was blissing with my eyes closed most of the time, and while I remember Joe's mouth percussion, I don't specifically remember hearing mandolin chops. Maybe Ting's pictures will reveal the truth!

Dropping _the Eleven_ into the middle of the _Don't Let Go_ space-out jam was another really inspired move.

And just like that, the afternoon was over. Darn. Sometimes the good times fly by way too fast!

## Photos

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

{{gallery>:2023:2023-09?20230904-*.jpg}}

{{:wip.png?nolink}}  **Whoa!**  This section is incomplete for now, sorry! {{:wip.png?nolink}}

{{tag>music Painted_Mandolin Cypress_Station Joe_Craven Larry_Graff Matt_Hartle Dan_Robbins}}

[[2023-09-02|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#September_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-09-05|On to the next event!]]