To imagine being trampled by turtles, you'd picture the plodding, prehistoric reptiles taking their good ol’ time navigating the remains of your carcass--a boring, albeit interesting, death that earns you a nomination for the Darwin Awards. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case when the Duluth, Minnesota band Trampled by Turtles hit the Middle East Downstairs this past week. TBT is a collection of young thrash grassers whose trademark is to work their songs up into a frenetic crescendo, igniting the crowd and laying waste to whatever room they’re playing. Armed with an arsenal of stringed acoustic instruments, the five-piece played a 70+ minute set, working their way through their original tunes spanning their five albums, including the recently released Palomino.
TBT hit the crowd quickly with tight, fast-paced compositions and soaring harmonies, led by guitarist Dave Simmonet. As with many bluegrass acts, every player had the opportunity to showcase their talent throughout the night. Early in the set, TBT played an up-tempo instrumental featuring Dave Carroll on banjo, while the crowd loudly showed their appreciation for his picking. Bassist Tim Saxhaug led a song that had the crowd jumping and illiciting one of the loudest cheers of the evening. However, it was Erik Berry on mandolin that stole the show each and every time he ripped into a solo. Berry led the band through a self-penned instrumental that started out very pretty and melodic but soon led to a full-on acoustic assault. The few ballads such as “Victory,” which were strategically placed in the set, were welcome opportunities for the packed house to collectively catch their breath.
As TBT left the stage, the crowd called out for more. The guys soon emerged from backstage with an acoustic arrangement of The Pixies' “Where Is My Mind” for the encore. Personally, one of my favorite musical things is to see a band from an entirely different genre put a new spin on a classic, and I have to say, TBT crushed it. It’s such an electric song, but it worked beautifully in an acoustic arrangement with Ryan Young on fiddle perfectly accenting the verse. The crowd ate it up, and I suspect they converted more than a few new fans, myself included.
The Infamous Stringdusters closed the evening. While the energy and intensity may not have matched that of TBT, the musicianship was certainly top notch. Each member of the sextet meandered around the stage the entire night, buddying up and playing off one another, weaving through their set with wide smiles and appreciation for one another’s contribution to the song. The Stringdusters were clearly enjoying themselves on stage, which made its way into the crowd as pockets of dancers swirled around those who simply grinned and nodded their heads in gratitude.
At the end of the set, Berklee grad and banjo player Chris Pandolfi put the audience on notice: “Something cool is about to happen.” With that said, members of TBT and the Stringdusters, instruments in hand, made their way to the center of the floor and set up shop while the audience gathered around them. Trampled By Stringdusters then led a spirited crowd participation laden take on The Band’s “The Weight” followed up by a cover of “Sittin’ On Top of the World” to end the evening on a high note. It just doesn’t get much rootsier than having a few hundred people singing along in harmony shoulder to shoulder with the musicians, and it transformed an otherwise fun evening into a truly memorable one.
