GWSGFF, Day 2, 4/30/10 Visalia Convemtion Center

On to the second night of this year's GWSGFF...

Before I begin tonight's recap, I MUST point out my favorite moment from last night.

You'd have thought I would have done that last night, since I enjoyed it so much. However, when you have what seems to be fourteenmillionjillion irons in the fire in your life, plus when you're working off memory as I am this year, it's possible that even something as enjoyable to me can slip and fall through the cracks. Maybe it's a premature sign of advancing age.

But last night, during the seven-group medley in the program's second half, the Booth Brothers were on a roll during their song, and as is typical in these kinds of evenrs, Gerald Wolfe came back to the stage, as if he were going to join the Booths in their song...well, he did, but not in the way that anyone could have anticipated. Rather than grab a mic and sing, Gerald grabbed the drumsticks and began accompanying the singing on the drums!

The sight of Wolfe on the drums(he's pretty good on them, BTW)distracted the Booths....to the extent that every time one of them looked back to see Gerald pounding away, they broke out in laughter, and nearly lost their place in the song! Gerald just gave them an "of course I'm playing drums" look, and happily just kept the beat going. I'm sure a lot of convention goers live to see moments like that...I know it made me laugh as well.

OK, now on to tonight....

There was no choir opening each half of the program, as was the case last night. There were just some preliminary activities, then Bakersfield's Revised Standard Version(known as RSV for short)opened the singing. RSV might be a disapointment initially to most quartet fans, since they don't feature a subsonic bass singer rattling the building(as seems to be the vogue these days). What they do feature is good harmony, good arrangements, and a good stage presence...and they are very popular in this part of the country. And their set reflected all that, and they got a predictably good response for their set.

Then came the Liberty Quartet once again, fresh off a killer debut the night before. Perhaps the biggest difference between Liberty and RSV is their fuller sound(Royce Mitchell is among the USA's finest basses), and their slightly greater exposure to bigger venues, which gives them a presence and a poise RSV still lacks a bit. Liberty was in top form again, and they amped up the 95% capacity crowd(my guess)even more. I'm sure glad we have a quartet of Liberty's caliber out here.

It got even better, though. Last year's star group, the Triumphant Quartet, gave us a dazzling set of great quartet singing(there were white hankies ALL OVER the arena when they sang "The Old White Flag"), and again a dazzling instrumental display from Jeff Stice(who gave us the most entertaining version of "Chopsticks" imaginable)AND tenor David Sutton on harmonica in one duet. They are reminiscent of the old Kingsmen(but far better singers)in that they feature something for everybody, and it's no wonder that they cleaned up last year at the Singing News Fan Awards.

The Booth Brothers and Greater Vision effectively rounded out the program's first half. No, Gerald Wolfe did NOT join them on srums or guitar...but the Booths did turn it up just a little bit when they revealed that this would be their final night at the GWSGFF this year(gee, imagine, I have something in common with the Booth Brothers!). The Visalia crowd did not want their set to end, testimony to the Booths' skill and power on stage.

Greater Vision's set was subdued by comparison...and design. And I'm fine with that....who says you HAVE to get the audience on their feet during every song? GV gave us good songs, sung well(it seems Chris Allman has never been away)and it was an appropriate aerobic "cool down" after the previous groups.

And miraculously, the Hoppers didn't appear at all during the entire first half(save for Claude's obligatory "plug time" with Les Beasley)!

The second half was pretty much a quartet-fest. After another obligatory but superb instrumental number of Legacy Five's Tim Parton, his quartet made its' initial festival appearance with an excellent set of good songs. L5's ascension to the top of the genre has been a steady, consistent one, and though they've never been the "hot" quartet at a given moment, they've always been there, doing an escellent job and pleasing their fans.

I neglected to mention the appearance of the Freedom Singers last night, a pair of Romainan refugees who fell in love with SGM and began singing it...they're here to sing and promote a book about their adventures as refugees and story of achieving freedom. Anyway, they did a couple of standard gospel classics(those OLD songs again...people must still be moved by them, ya think?)with Scott Fowler...and I enjoy hearing those old songs sung with a Romanian accent.

The Mark Trammell Quartet made its' GWSGFF debut next...Trammell is now an elder statesman in the industry, and he seems to be quite comfortable in that role. I kidded Mark prior to the program, complementing him on finally bringing a "full" group to our festivities rather than a partial one, and he enjoyed it. As one of the true "quartet men" remaining in the genre, he knows what it takes to make a good quartet...and his group showed us that. It was also refreshing to se Trammell play his bass along with the onstage piano...sometimes it's just better with live instruments(if you can do it).

And the MTQ's new bass, Pat Barker, showed us plenty of his considerable chops. He really is one of the better basses going today. Perhaps his rendition of "How Big Is God" will become a quartet standard the way Big John Hall's did in the 1960s.

My memory is playing trixks on me already this morning(it happens when you don't sleep!)...I'm not sure who was on first, Brian Free and Assurance or the King's Heralds. So I'll just summarize them individually. The King's Heralds did another full set tonight, without their trademark a cappella brilliance(THAT comes Saturday morning!), but featuring good straight SGM quartet power. Again, if rep is not that nig a deal to you, and you like pure, great four-part singing, the King's Heralds just might be your quartet. They're certainly one of mine.

BFA is also a first-timer at the GWSGFF, but judging by the audience reaction to them, it won't be their last, From their opener to their rousing closer "Long As I Got King Jesus", they had the Visalia crowd all the way...they are a goooood quartet. But two things stood out about them in my mind as I watched them...

1. Brian Free has been singing for 29 years, and still sounds EXACTLY the way he did back in 1982, when he joined Gold City. Go figger.

2. Bass singer Jeremy Lile looks and sounds for all the world like Mike Holcomb did when the latter joined the Inspirations as a gangly but enthusiastic 17-year old bass singer back in 1972.

Oh...there IS stability remaining in the world...the proof being that the Hoppers came out to close the night in typical Hopper fashion.

But like the Booth Brothers, it was my last night at this year's GWSGFF...work and real-life considerations forbid me from making the 45-mile drive down south for one more night.

So far, I would say that the new venue has been a success...as has this year's FanFest for the most part.

More thoughts in subsequent installments in this little corner of the web.

If you're going Saturday, why don't you pass on to me what I missed? Not ALL the thoughts here HAVE to come from me!:-)

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