Water Tower Bucket Boys is a band of the foot-stomping bluegrass variety.
The original version of this article contained an error and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
I’ve mentioned the variety of pubs in Cork, as well as the musical acts that play up and down the city’s streets.
What I haven’t mentioned as much are the different kinds of people in Cork. It’s a fairly international city.
From Europeans to Americans, as well as Chinese and Africans, people from many cultures live in this small city in the southwest of Ireland. It’s not all redheads, as cartoons and parodies would have us believe.
That international nature extends to the musical acts that play in Cork. As a result, some of the acts I’ve seen have been from other countries.
A surprisingly high number of bands from the United States and Europe tour the pubs of Cork, playing free shows as well as gigs for significantly less than they would in the United States. Ellie Goulding was here earlier this month (though I couldn’t get in to see her).
No, the band I’m writing about this week hails from Portland, Ore.
The band was called the Water Tower Bucket Boys when I saw it at Crane Lane. It was the group’s last show with “Bucket Boys” attached to the name. Now it’s just Water Tower. That being said, the band’s releases on iTunes (“Where the Crow Don’t Fly,” “Catfish on the Line,” and “Sole Kitchen”) are still under the moniker of Water Tower Bucket Boys.
As the band name may indicate, Water Tower Bucket Boys is a band of the foot-stomping bluegrass variety ““ complete with banjo, stand-up bass and violin.
And the members of this group can play. Quickly. Very, very quickly.
One of the best examples of their style can be found in “Fromage,” a song off their album “Sole Kitchen.” The banjo and violin flit together and apart in a frantic but controlled dance.
And in between, vocal harmonies complete the track ““ though the lyrics themselves are of secondary importance, as the music is the star of this act. It’s a song made to dance to, as are the vast majority of the (now) Water Tower catalogue.
And Crane Lane, almost full to bursting during their performance, jumped into high gear after the band’s first couple of songs. Pairs, large groups and a few solo dancers were flying across the room as the band played onstage.
Not only was the band’s music fun and energetic, but the members of the band were also a great presence onstage. In between songs, they cracked jokes and asked where people were from.
In one exchange, the members told the audience they were from Portland. Someone in the audience yelled out that she was as well, and one member of the band yelled in the the microphone, “No way!”
It was refreshingly unrehearsed and rough-around-the-edges stage banter, and the performance as a whole benefited from it.
Now, it should be said that the music of Water Tower is not for the hit-radio-of-heart. The vocals are delivered in a singing voice that verges on yelling.
This isn’t accidental. It’s all part of the musical aesthetic and humor of unrestrained and wild bluegrass.
Some may find it a little hard to digest. But it’s definitely worth a try, and listeners looking for a fast and fun listen will find Water Tower (remember, the “Bucket Boys” is still there on iTunes) an amiable companion on the walk to and from class.
But don’t be surprised if you accidentally start skipping and stomping on the way to class. In fact, it’s going to be pretty hard not to.
And who says that’s a bad thing?
Email Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu to hear more about that raw stomping stage banter.
Correction: From Europeans to Americans, as well as Chinese and Africans, people from many cultures live in this small city in the southwest of Ireland.