January 22, 2009 Issue
No Small Feat
Baltimore’s The Bridge Brings Eclectic Grooves To Boone Saloon January 29
Six-piece Baltimore-based groove machine The Bridge will return to Boone Saloon on Thursday, January 29.
They can kick fat-bottom blues-funk grooves that will have you boogieing in two seconds flat. They can churn out blazing, soulful rock tunes with memorable riffs that keep your ears buzzing days later. They can deliver solid harmony lines over rollicking country shuffles. And they can bring the funk.
Is there anything The Bridge can’t do?
Based in Baltimore, The Bridge is a six-piece musical juggernaut that can just as easily flatten you with bluesy guitar-driven rock as roll through the bluegrass numbers that served as the band’s earliest common ground. In short, they’re like your favorite summertime music festival rolled into one hard-grooving band.
On Thursday, January 29, The Bridge will return to the High Country for a show at Boone Saloon. The show will start at 10:30 p.m.
According to lead singer, guitarist and band co-founder Cris Jacobs, The Bridge’s evolution over seven years from a backyard bluegrass jam group to nationally touring rock band was totally organic. In a scene more known for indie rock and metal groups, the initially nameless, roots-driven outfit began in 2001 as Jacobs and mandolin playing beat boxer Kenny Liner picking around on songs not unfamiliar to High Country bluegrass fans.
Over the ensuing months the ensemble grew, occasionally adding members while experimenting with new sounds and playing around Baltimore. The vast musical tastes of each member began to inform the band’s growing repertoire and The Bridge’s ability to stretch out began to take center stage.
Burning solos and monster grooves became the band’s hallmark as classic sounds of Little Feat, The Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead became evident in their original compositions. An early residency at well-known Baltimore club The 8x10 allowed the band to experiment while helping them build a loyal local fan base.
“It’s a great place to play—one of the nicest on the East Coast if not the country,” said Jacobs.
According to Jacobs, as members came and went, The Bridge began finding their voice, deciding to tone down the jams in favor of writing and performing quality songs known as much for their lyrics and structure as for the syncopated, dance-friendly grooves.
“We’ve definitely strengthened our focus as more of a songwriting band that jams instead of a jamband that writes songs,” said Jacobs.
The Bridge’s dedication to solid songcraft is more apparent than ever on the band’s new release Blind Man’s Hill on Hyena Records. While Jacobs, Liner and company’s country roots take center stage, the band’s irrepressible need to groove shines throughout.
“As the years have gone by, we’ve sort of realized what were best at; what our most honest forms of expression are,” said Jacobs. “We stopped trying to be trendy and just do what we’re good at.”
For the last few years, The Bridge has been gaining steam stateside, touring all over the country and drawing massive crowds at venues surrounding Baltimore. In 2008, the band made its first foray across the Atlantic, playing for European blues festival crowds.
“We played songs that we’ve been playing for years, and seeing people react to them for the first time made the tunes fresh all over again,” said Jacobs.
To hear songs from The Bridge’s latest release, click to www.myspace.com/thebridgebaltimore. To hear live tracks and see videos of the band in action, click to www.thebridgemusic.com.
Want To Go?
Date: Thursday, January 29
Time: 10:30 p.m.
Location: Boone Saloon
Cost: $7
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