Del and Dawg

[dan in va]

They put on a good show tonight in Charlottesville VA. Lots of fun and interesting talk and old music. They came out to talk, hawk their wares and sign autographs after the show, too. Highly recommended!

[dan in va]

Del was playing his old D18 Dawg had what looked like "Crusher". This is the first time to hear either live and the sound was well done with one big powerful mic. The experience confirmed that DG's mandolin is among my least favorite Loars, although his ear is surely superior to mine. Maybe it would've suited me more if he used a different pick or someone else (Ricky Skaggs or Doyle Lawson) was playing it. Just seemed like DG was picking it harder than necessary and the thing has great projection on its own. The low end seemed too mushy without that Monroe "rattle", and i've heard some 4K range mandos that were more to my liking. Could be that my tune would change if i had a chance to play it. Not running down the Loar or DG, it's just a taste thing.

[lflngpicker]

What a great show! Thanks for the review. Glad you could enjoy it.

[Gary Alter]

It really was a fun show and good to hear and see these two legends on stage together. David was playing a vintage Fern and not 'Crusher'. Definitely had a different tone than what I've heard from David in the past but I liked it.

Here's a poor quality cell phone snap...

[dan in va]

Gary - Thanks for setting the record straight on the mandolin and posting the pic. i wonder if it could've been the fern he used to play regularly back in the day. Yes, it really was a good, historic show. It was fun to hear them do tunes like "Feast Here Tonight" and recognize the Monroe brothers material. The spouse really enjoyed their chat also.

[Don Grieser]

Dawg was playing the fern last fall when I saw him with Danny Barnes and Sam Grisman with a guest appearance by Sam Bush. The fern definitely has some cut and bite to it. Nice distressing too.