Old Crow Medicine Show

Words: Sean Moore / Photos: Kenneth Coles

Old Crow Medicine Show brought their raucous and loud bluegrass roadshow to the State Theatre in Portland this weekend and from the minute they ran and jumped on the stage it was a barnstorming good ol’ time with these boys. A self-described collective of musicians, the band has had a bit of a revolving door of talented musicians, each song drawing from the specific talents of each band member, which was on full display during their long set. Many of the guys jumped and jived from the rear of the stage to front and center, moving from microphone to microphone, singing and shouting the songs inches from each other’s faces at some points. Watching them fully immerse themselves and oftentimes throw themselves into each song, quite literally at times, was like watching one of those old-fashioned Bandstand variety shows from the 1960s and 1970s.

 You could tell these guys missed playing live and traveling on the road for the past couple of years and had a lot of ground to cover. Having just released an album called Paint This Town, their set covered a wide range of their music catalog and of course in the tradition of the bluegrass genre, they had plenty of covers mixed in. Including the Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s tune “Tiger Rag” and their take on the traditional tune “Cocaine Habit.” My favorite parts of the night were the points in their set when they played medleys of tunes, like “Tennessee Bound/ Raise a Ruckus/ Tear It Down” as well as “Shout Mountain Music/ 8 Dogs 8 Banjos”. We saw the band members rallying with arms around each other, encouragement through laughs and smiles, shout-along choruses and plenty of country-esque dancing. 

The band’s music covers a wide range of Americana-roots, country, folk, and bluegrass.In fact, it was reminiscent of watching the film O’ Brother, Where Art Thou?. They even whipped out the good old fashioned washboard for a few tunes. With an element of comedic banter between songs, it was a well-rounded good time from start to finish. 

I have to be honest and say, this was my first bluegrass/Americana-roots show of this kind, and it was exhausting to witness. I was simply left wondering how these guys are able to bring this amount of energy night after night across the country. Kudos to them. They won me over and left me in awe of their talent, both individually and collectively as a band. 

Before the night was over, they of course had to play “Wagon Wheel” which they brought out opener Molly Tuttle 

The band returned to the stage for an encore that included a Grateful Dead cover, “U.S. Blues”. They ended the evening with Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite,” which seemed very fitting given the whole vibe of the performance. The band and the audience left everything on the stage and the dancefloor. The next day was definitely reserved for recovery.