Gourds Tonight!

Something about seeing these guys play always feels like going home.

Tonight, for the second time since we've been in Boise, The Gourds are coming to the Neurolux, and we couldn't be happier. Last year they came on Cathy's birthday, which was about perfect as could be. This year, it's our friend Allison's birthday, and we'll be celebrating beforehand with a vat of sangria the size of my car.

Openers tonight are the Hackensaw Boys, about whom I've been reading quite a bit lately. They were even favorably reviewed in Pitchfork, which was quite a surprise to me, as they seem to do their bluegrass offshoot without a trace of irony or hipness. I've checked out some of their tunes on emusic, and while I was expecting something closer to the frenetic acoustic insanity of someone like Split Lip Rayfield or that other Austin band that plays the Continental all the time (drawing a blank here), they're more thoughtful and carefully assembled and song-oriented than that. At least, that's the case on first listen. Tonight's set could be a completely different thing.

I've also been giving Blood of the Ram, the Gourds' newest record, plenty of air time lately, and the tracks there have definitely grown some on me. Some of it is as great as they ever were, and while other parts don't really hit me so hard, it's easy to identify the quality of the songs and the growth and movement of the band within them.

So, Gourds tonight. Very exciting.