May 29 2015
The Main Pub, Manchester CT
By Miles Hurley
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Hot Day At The Zoo is a miracle of modern day bluegrass music–sophisticated, with some expert, classically-minded playing, but a raucus energy to match. “Zoograss” is what they call their creation, and what you can refer to it as when you go check them out. I am very grateful to my ride for the night, and grateful to the band for hammering out three great sets of tunes to an intimate crowd at a bar known as The Main Pub in Manchester, CT, this show is a contender now for favorite I’ve been to this year.
They opened up with a nice surprise in the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There,” and a sense of barreling, rock n roll emanated right away. Against a backdrop of a fast, almost swingtime beat, the band immediately showed how tight they were as a unit, with members on mandolin, banjo and guitar starting to solo. The thing that really floored me was how fluidly the soloing situated inside all the rest of the playing. In one moment I’d be hearing a coherent, full-band sound, and the next, without a beat missed, one player would be tearing through some improv that sounded as clean as recorded material. Sometimes, as in “New Camptown Races,” the mandolin player lead the melodies, and other times, as in “Dear Old Dixies” it was the banjo player, and throughout all the rest lead would bounce back and forth between all members.
Check out the review of Freekbass at the Main Pub back in January 2015.
Hot Day’s bass player, Jed Rosen, a founding member of the group, must be mentioned especially because he played like something I’ve never gotten to see, and something you have to see live to appreciate. Keeping alive the art of slap-bass, his hands beat the bass all night long as if the instrument were half a drum, and in this it doubly rounded out things with a huge drum feel. The first set definitely ended on a bang in the originals of “New Shirt,” and then “No Expectations>Cooler Dude.”
Like other great bluegrass outfits today, Hot Day’s treatment of the genre was at times refreshingly progressive. After a brief break, this came through in original songs of the second set like “Long Way Home,” and “Salt Spring,” really pretty tunes that displayed the band’s americana but also younger sounding side. But then again, the band would jump around, either back into their rocking swing or their classic grass feel in tunes like “Bye Bye Blues,” “Blue Moon,” and “Dixies.” A favorite in this set was “Upstate Girl,” which was slower and extra folky but let the guitar player belt out some really great soloing. And immediately after this tune “Cumberland Blues,” a staple cover, brought back the rock and with it several sublime minutes of melodic magic between the entire band. Act two then closed out strong with another original, “Fire Down The Road.”
Check out the preview of the Ziontific festival in Vermont June 19 -22
Hot Day’s third and final set in the Main Pub this night was a coverfest. And while it smoked anyways, I was all too easily entertained (I usually am) as they played a couple of my favorite bluegrass numbers, including Revival’s “Can’t Stop Now,” Hot Rize’s “Blue Night,” and “Big Country,” which people might know from the likes of revivalist Bela Fleck or even moe. It doesn’t get much more classic than these tunes, and Hot Day knocked each one out of the park, and their tight and intricate playing helping greatly with that. “Country” especially stretched into the pretty jam that its meant to be. A couple more dead tunes followed in Catfish John and Ripple–both of which sounded much more natural to me in the bluegrass style– along with Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” and then an intriguing take on “Let it Be” to end things.
As the band played through this final set, there was a grand total of maybe eight patrons left at Manchester’s Main Pub. But as I mentioned, the music still smoked, because Hot Day At The Zoo played on as if the place were filled to capacity (in the meantime my companions and I munched on some great Main Pub fare). I had another thought at one point that the band might as well have been at a completely empty bar, playing for only themselves, and they would have probably had the same amount of fun they seemed to have this night. Sometimes one bandmember would be slghtly blown away himself by another’s playing and cheer the leading picker on, other times we caught the banjo player headbanging as he got really into his piece of the place the music was heading, and a few times the band huddle together in a circle as they were all unanimously inspired and zeroed in their breakdowns.
Of course, intimate crowds are not their usual audience. Last weekend they rocked a set at bustling Strangecreek Campout, up next they’ll headline a bluegrass festival down in Virigina. So, thankfully, plently of people are aware of the power of “zoograss.” My companions and I, again, were too grateful they showed it to us in full form this night.
Hot Day at the Zoo is: 
Jon Cumming guitar and vocals
Jed Rosen upright bass and vocals
Dan Bui mandolin and vocals
and Ricky Mier on banjo and vocals
Setlist:
SET 1:
When I Saw Her Standing There
Wyoming
This Old Mountain
New Camptown Races
Old Mill
Elzic’s
Feet
Nice Shirt
No Expectations >
Cooler Dude
SET 2:
Are You Ready
Pockets
Dear Old Dixies
Long Way Home
Upstate Girls
Cumberland Blues
Salt Spring
Bye Bye Blues
Blue Moon
Wheel
Foggy Mnt. Special
Fire Down Below
SET 3:
Can’t Stop Now
Blue Night
Catfish John
Ripple
Big Country
Foxy Lady
Let It Be
To Submit a review for consideration hit us at [email protected]
Check out the Live Music News and Review.com Facebook page for updates and announcements.
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Check out the preview of the Ziontific festival in Vermont June 19 -22
