In my opinion, Fairfield Theatre Company’s StageOne is one of the most charming and intimate stages in the entire state of Connecticut. This last Saturday evening, Dangermuffin made their second appearance at the 225 seat venue to an almost sold out crowd. This was the kind of evening in music where you see families come together to enjoy the sounds and and StageOne was the perfect kind of venue for them to do it in. It was love at first sight when I first caught this band for the first time at Snoe.down in 2011. Since then, their visits to CT have been few and far between. To say I was ecstatic about this show is/was a complete understatement. Hailing from Folly Beach SC, this fully bearded, feel-good trio brought to us a very unique and mellow combination of folk and jam.
They took stage and were instantly emitting a great deal of positive energy. As the house music (Martin Sexton) slowly faded out, they opened the show with “Slumber”, (somewhat of) the title track off their latest release Olly Oxen Free. All three gents have their hand on the lyrics while Dan Lotti’s voice leads the band quite smoothly through their performances. They travel with minimal instruments. Outside of the usual mics and amps and stage decor, they come with a drum kit, a tambourine, a electric guitar and an acoustic guitar that has the ability to let the sounds of bass resonate right through it. That’s right! Dan “plays bass right there on his there guitar!” He proudly asked us all what we thought of that. Someone shouted, “I think it rocks!” Dan replied, “I think you rock!”
Between Steven Sandifer (on drums), bandana-wearing Mike Sivilli (on electric guitar) and Dan, the band polished off a beautiful two set show with an extra saucy encore. It was clear from the smiles on their faces that they were just as pleased to be playing for us, as we were for hearing them play. The show was heavy with songs off of their latest album, yet was comprised of classics from both their debut and third albums as well. No live experience would be complete without a few nods to those that came before, right? Well, they treated us to some pretty solid, crowd-pleasing covers to include “Oceans” by Pearl Jam and “Time” by Pink Floyd.
“When I come home cold and tired, it’s good to smoke a bowl beside the fire.” they sang.
At one point amongst the tune, I heard a guy turn to his friend and say, “imagine if whenever this song in particular was playing, it was legal to puff in public? We would be amid the best energy ever!” I would be lying if I said I disagreed! They concluded the show with an amazing mash-up of “Jump In Line” (made famous as Shake, Shake Senora by Harry Belafonte) and the timeless classic, “Iko, Iko”.
When the music came to an end, the merch table was swarmed with new fans scooping up all the goods they could afford while the gents stood by to shake hands, high five and sign posters. Each person to have made contact with them, thanked them for such a great evening of music. Complete with a hug for them good-bye, I set off on my venture home as they anxiously awaited setting off on theirs. After the evening was officially wrapped up, they made their way back home to recoup for a few days before moving onward with the rest of their their winter/spring tour. It was a joy to have them perform to us in Connecticut; the Fairfield fans and I all agree that we hope it isn’t too long before they return!
Dangermuffin @ StageOne [Download/Stream show here!]
Set I:
Slumber
Sea Funk
Cradle of the Beach
200 Degrees
Homestead
Oceans (Pearl Jam cover)
Walk into the Wind
Big Suit
No Redemption
Walking on the Moon (The Police cover)
Set II:
Fuego
Free Man
What’s in a Bottle
Franklin’s Tower (Grateful Dead cover)
Moonscapes
Loneliest Highway
Battle
Rattle That Cage
Time (Pink Floyd cover)
The Rising Souls
Encore:
Gutter Dance
Jump In Line (composed by Lord Kitchener/made famous by Harry Belafonte) mashed up with:
Iko, Iko (originally called “Jack-a-mo” written by James “Sugar Baby” Crawford/made famous by many, including Grateful Dead)
