To be honest, I have nothing bad to say about the Big Boss Combo.  The lighting wasn't the best, but what can you expect at the barroom of a local brewery.  It was Legend Brewing Company's weekly Friday night concert, and the place was packed.  When I first arrived I had to skulk around like a shiftless drifter for five or ten minutes until a table opened up in a spot where I could see the band.  Although on this particular night, any place that had a roof and heating could have attracted a full capacity crowd.  There was a steady drizzle outside, and it was cold enough to make anyone want to stay inside.

All of this was forgotten, though, when the band began to play.  They started out with an instrumental, that both served as a warm-up and got my toes tapping.  From there they launched into a lively set, playing both classic bluegrass tunes and several covers of songs from a myriad of other genres ranging from reggae to western swing.  But as Malcolm Pulley, the banjo player and brains of the operation, told me before they started, all of the songs they played would "be in a bluegrass style, can't help it when you've got a banjo and a fiddle and a mandolin."  This proved wonderfully true throughout the whole show.

As the night progressed, an intricate story unfolded in which all of the band members took on alter egos, transforming into the Johnson brothers, from Limber, West Virginia: Rusty the banjo player (Malcolm Pulley), Slim the fiddler (Jim Skelding), Harry on the mandolin (Chris Fuller), Tiny the guitarist (Danny Hughes), and Big Red on the big old upright bass (Bill Lux).  Between every song one of brothers would recount a story of happenings back home.  These ranged from a brief advertisement for Sal Manila's Restaurant in downtown Limber, to accounts of Slim's small parts in the porn industry while out in California, to informing the crowd that Big Red had just been in for an IQ test, but not to worry, it came back negative.

All of this cheesy banter could not hide the excellent music that these 'brothers' were performing.  In classic bluegrass tradition all of them took turns soloing and four of the five sang lead vocals for at least one song.  For a song like '(Ghost) Riders in the Sky' Big Red's deep bass voice was perfect, while on many of the more traditional bluegrass tunes Harry's higher mountain drawl sounded great with his mandolin. 

All too soon the show was wrapping up, and the Johnson brothers were bidding the crowd farewell, before having to head back to the Upscale Aluminum Acres Trailer Park and Campground in Limber, West Virginia.  But despite the show being over my toes would not stop tapping and I had a reckless enthusiasm as I made the two mile trek back home, that was completely inappropriate for the cold, drizzly and altogether miserably dreary weather outside.  That is the power of the Big Boss Combo.

By Editing Department, Regional Editor and Author: Robin Marschak

Robin Marschak was born and raised in Richmond, but has only recently moved back after two years in California.  He loves all types of music from Jimmy Rodgers to Daft Punk to Tower of Power and all things in between.  He is currently a student at VCU and living in Oregon Hill.  Some of his favorite artists include Old Crow Medicine Show, Mark Campbell, and Steve Earl.  Other than listening to music and writing, Robin's hobbies include eating, sleeping, and an occasional guilt induced fit of exercise.  You can follow his adventures in local music on Twitter @robinmarschak, or hear some of the non-local music that he enjoys at either last.fm/user/beerdo231 or blip.fm/beerdo.

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