High Flyers at Threadgills
Last night I drove up to Austin to see The High Flyers (formerly known as Speedin’ West) perform at Threadgills North. The High Flyers are Elana Fremerman on fiddle, Cindy Cashdollar on dobro and pedal steel, Redd Volkaert playing a telecaster, and Jake Erwin on upright bass.
Although I saw Elana and Cindy with Doug Davis at Pacha a few weeks ago, this was my first chance to see the new band and it was a little different. Elana, Cindy and Jake all play in a free but refined style, while Redd seems to be a little more experimental in his approach. I thought it was a little too loud, but still it was a good show. I did not take any pictures since it was a bit dark in the restaurant, but I did film two songs. The music starts about a minute into this jam (after Elana tries to tell a joke and then rips on Redd for being Canadian 
) The second video is of the last song they performed, The High Flyers Stomp. (Both videos are 77MB, so be sure to right click and download them rather than watching in the browser.)
They played some great songs including Bonaparte’s Retreat, and a beautiful version of Cotton-Eyed Joe. They have a few more shows scheduled, but I probably will not go back to Threadgill’s. It’s a restaurant and there are tables right up to the stage, so it is difficult to watch the musicians, although they did have terrific red beans & rice, and lime-aid.