The Punch Brothers on YouTube

[JiminRussia]

Apologies if this is in the wrong place, but I couldn’t find another, more appropriate place for it. This is a lesson in stagecraft and showmanship that we could all use. I ran across this You Tube video and was completely blown away by it. No, there isn’t a lot of spectacular picking in it, but it is a complete study on how old time and bluegrass music was done “back in the day”. It’s how we did it 20 or 30 years ago. The song is “The Wreck of The Edmond Fitzgerald”, and they did a great job on it, What impressed me was how they did it. It was fiddle, mandolin, bass, guitar and banjo and they used ONE microphone. Now THAT is old school. Each member moved in and out as their parts demanded. They would regulate their volumes by moving closer or farther away from the mic, and nobody bumped into anyone else. No one missed a beat and every note was clear and crisp. It brought back memories of Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys playing gigs, mostly one-nighters, so many years ago. We could all learn a lot about how to treat a microphone by watching this video. I’d put a link to it, but I just don’t know how. Just do a search on You Tube for “Punch Brothers, The Wreck of The Edmond Fitzgerald”.

[milli857]

Check out the Punch Brothers NPR Tiny Desk concert as well - they do the one-mic thing there too. Fantastic stuff.

https://youtu.be/iXE_K2Kpoqc

[jefflester]

I’d put a link to it, but I just don’t know how. Just do a search on You Tube for “Punch Brothers, The Wreck of The Edmond Fitzgerald”.

Even if you don't know how to imbed the video, just a simple copy/paste will create a link.

It was posted in this thread about the album:
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...=1#post1861201

[M19]

That was so good, it seems almost dismissive to call it a "cover."

[David Lewis]

I’m told the bass is into a small amp, but otherwise… best live sound I ever heard anywhere:
angel place Sydney.

[Mitch Stein]

There are several videos for tracks on the new album that appear to be this. They have enough differences that I believe they are recorded by the one mic you see.
Great, great stuff. I wish there was one of these for every cut on the record.

[fishermike]

I saw them live a few weeks ago. That’s how they performed, all around one mic. Fantastic.

I also saw Watchhouse (fka Mandolin Orange) a few weeks before that, also playing to one mic. Truly sublime. So glad to hear that they’re both okay after their accident, a shame they had to cancel the rest of their tour, though.

Hearing the acoustic tone of all of the instruments was such a treat. Seems like everybody plays “plugged in” these days, even folks like Molly Tuttle and Billy Strings. So much of the true sound of the instruments is lost that way, not to mention the dynamic interplay of the musicians.

[Mitch Stein]

I also saw Watchhouse (fka Mandolin Orange) a few weeks before that, also playing to one mic. Truly sublime. So glad to hear that they’re both okay after their accident, a shame they had to cancel the rest of their tour, though.

Thankfully, that tour was only through the end of this month. They're still listing
May 26, 2022 - May 29, 2022 - DelFest
Jun 16, 2022 - Jun 19, 2022 - Telluride Bluegrass Festival

And then on tour with Punch Brothers starting late July.