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 John McEuen and the Circle Band |
 John McEuen and the Circle Band |
 John McEuen and the Circle Band |
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Review and photos by Frances Sealy John McEuen was one of the founding members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (NGDB) in 1966. The original California acoustic band was a group of musicians that included Jackson Browne for two months. McEuen replaced Browne when he left to pursue a solo career. NGDB went through many changes over the years, but McEuen remained a constant player throughout the band's 55 years. McEuen left the band in November of 2017.McEuen started the first half of the show with a searing solo performance on his banjo with a bluegrass song he had played with Earl Scruggs called "Arkansas Traveler." As the show progressed McEuen brought out his guitar, mandolin, and violin. The Circle Band joined McEuen shortly after his solo performance. Two former members of the NGDB are a part of the Circle Band. Les Thompson was a founding member of the NGDB and he plays standup bass for the Circle Band. John Cable on guitar is also formerly of the NGDB. Matt Cartsonis provides exquisite guitar, vocals and mandola for the Circle Band. He has worked on McEuen's recent solo album, Made In Brooklyn. Hans Olson plays amazing harmonica for the band. All are virtuosos in their own right. McEuen adheres to the rule that if you want to look good, you surround yourself with the best. The use of archival photos and videos add much depth to this performance. They started before McEuen took the stage and continued throughout the show. The photos consisted of images of NGDB in their infancy. Fans could see the NGDB's journey to national recognition. Shots of their movie appearance in Paint Your Wagon and of Steve Martin with the band were included in the stills. McEuen proved that he was an engaging storyteller during the multi-media presentations. One such portion of the show McEuen explained how the NGDB got their cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles" to Billboard's top ten by performing at a junior high Catholic girls school in lower Manhattan. The ABC radio programmers' daughter went to the school. NGDB's eponymous Will the Circle Be Unbroken set the standard for future albums and artist guest collaborations. Someone had the wisdom to film the recording sessions with Roy Acuff, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis, Doc Watson, and many more original classic country/bluegrass Nashville artists. They set out to give recognition to these older musicians for what they had done for country music. The treasure of this archival footage is enhanced by some of the verbal conversation left in the film's soundtrack. Once again McEuen provided witty anecdotal stories of this recording. The album was added to the National Registry in 2005. NGDB favorite songs like "Mr. Bojangles" "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" "Buy For Me the Rain" and "Dance Little Jean" were performed. There were several instrumental songs performed by the band including "Finger Buster." "She Darked the Sun" is among five songs performed from McEuen's most recent solo album. |
 John McEuen and the Circle Band |
 Matt Cartsonis |
 Les Thompson |
 John McEuen and the Circle Band |
 John Cable |
 John McEuen and the Circle Band |
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