By: David Rachac
At first, I wondered how it could possibly work: two twenty-something guys (Josh Wenck on guitar and Jake Hyer on fiddle and mandolin) singing decades-old folk traditionals and gospel songs by standard-bearers like the Carter Family and the Louvin Brothers. But it only takes a few seconds of listening to their sweet harmony and energetic performance to get wrapped up in the affection with which they approach this music. This isn’t a couple of kids playing “Opry” – it is two old souls playing country music from a time when country had integrity and honesty and spoke about things that mattered.
In order to capture the intimacy of their show, the Varsity was reconfigured into a theatre-in-the-round setting, with a small, low stage in the middle of the floor and chairs and couches surrounding it. The close proximity of the audience encouraged people to listen closely, allowing the timelessness of the music to shine through. When Wenck and Hyer stepped out of the darkness and stood in front the single, old-style microphone in their dark suits, I thought about the baseball players in Field Of Dreams emerging from the cornfield, coming from a very different time.
After starting the set off on violin, Hyer switched to mandolin for a series of songs, including “Midnight Special” and a Get Up Johns original “Guns To Carry,” one of the strongest on the CD. The reserved Hyer is a perfect straight man for the more gregarious Wenck, who frequently addressed the crowd in between songs. With a glint in his eye and more than a little bit of levity in his voice, Wenck dedicated a song to soundman Dave Campbell, who may or may have not been thankful when he heard the chorus:
Sinner, you better get ready
Oh, you better get ready, hallelujah
Sinner, you better get ready
Times a’ coming when the sinner must die
Switching back to violin to play “Wishful Thinkin’” by Brett Larson (3 County Tour), Hyer spent a couple of minutes tuning while Wenck thanked many people who were involved in the recording of the CD. As the tuning was taking longer than he expected, Wenck kept thanking people until he laughingly said, “Jake, I’ve run out of people to thank! Everyone knows I’m not a grateful person!”
Finishing their set with a new Get Up Johns original (“Cat Scratch Man”), they came back for an encore, to which Wenck said, “What you witnessed was an absolute act. There was no way we weren’t coming back!” They ended the night with the Louvin Brothers “Preach The Gospel” and a reprise of “Cluck Ol’ Hen” before saying good night and slipping back into the darkness again.
Set List:
Cluck Ol’ Hen
Pretty Little Pink
Deep Blue Sea (Monroe Brothers)
Midnight Special
Stay Away Blues (Delmore Brothers)
Trouble In Mind
Guns To Carry (Get Up Johns)
You’re Not Easy To Forget (Kitty Wells)
Sinner, You Better Get Ready
Wishful Thinkin’ (Brett Larson)
Meet Me By The Moonlight
Lizard In The Spring
Cat Scratch Man (Get Up Johns)
Preach The Gospel (Louvin Brothers)
Cluck Ol’ Hen
Location Info:
The Varsity Theater
Artist Info: The Get Up Johns
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