Bluegrass Journeys | Nefesh Mountain @ McCabes

[cahwyguy]

Last night, we went to go see Nefesh Mountain at McCabes in Santa Monica. Normally, I don’t worry about writing up concerts and musical performances, as there typically isn’t much to write about. Sometimes, I’m able to catch or remember the set list, but that’s about it. Last night there was a bit more to write up — enough that I wanted to preserve it in a blog post, as opposed to an ephemeral FB post.

For those unfamiliar, Nefesh Mountain started quite a few years ago as a Jewish Bluegrass group. This attracted my attention, as I like both contemporary Jewish music and bluegrass. They did gigs mostly at synagogues across the country, with songs that mixed quite a bit of Hebrew with the country, and could even be viewed as liturgical at times. We saw them most recently at Temple Judea, but I know they also played at Temple Ramat Zion.

The pandemic period, combined with the Israeli hostage crisis, changed the group. They have pivoted more towards the traditional bluegrass side, with more “Americana” (i.e., electric). There are still Jewish elements in the music and Jewish thought behind the songs. However, there is much less Hebrew. This is more a mainstream bluegrass group these days. A damn good bluegrass group, in fact.

Almost all of the songs in the show were from their new album, Beacons. This album is a mix of bluegrass and Americana, and has some great songs in the mix. It captures well the new direction of the group, with nods towards the individual member histories.

But what I wanted to highlight about last night’s performance was Doni, the lead singer. Her joy and happiness of being on stage was so much fun to watch. She was bouncing and happy, and you could see that she was having the time of her life. The smile and the joy was infectious to watch. You became happy through her happiness, and it was something we all needed.

The music was also spectacular, especially the mandolin and fiddle players, whose names I don’t remember. I did learn about a new artist — Tony Rice — who inspired one of their songs. I’ll need to look into his music.

If you like bluegrass, and Nefesh Mountain comes to your area, go and give them a visit.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• March: ♦ Fake It Until You Make It at CTG/Taper; ✡ MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton); ✡ MOTAS Poker Tournament at TAS; ♦ Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 at UCLA TFT; ♦ 44 at CTG/Kirk Douglas; ♣ Musique/Ray Charles at CTG/Taper; ♦ Cabaret at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Drat the Cat at Group Rep; ✡ MoTAS/MoTBH Mens Seder at TAS
• April:  ◊ Ren Faire (Southern); ✡ First Night of Passover; ⌬ California Science and Engineering Fair; ♦ All The Devils Are Here at the Broad;
• May: ♦ Life of Pi at CTG/Ahmanson; ⊕ ♦ Spitfire Grill at Actors Co-Op; ♦ A Dolls House, Part 2 at Pasadena Playhouse.
• June: ⊕ ♦ Flower Drum Song at East West Players; ♦ Parade at CTG/Ahmanson; and possibly some Hollywood Fringe Festival shows.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Bluegrass Journeys | Nefesh Mountain @ McCabes by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.