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Special Concensus at Nottingham - The Nitty Gritty

By Eric Kwiatkowski   Click for the preliminary report

Early evening, 6th October. At the Test Match Inn, Nottingham, the sound checks being carried out by Special Consensus left us in no doubt that we were in for a very special evening. Nottingham's Gotham City String Band performed a most enjoyable and varied opening set including I am a pilgrim, Blue and Lonesome, and a blistering June Apple done as a mandolin / fiddle duet. Crossing the Cumberlands was superb - Geoff Bowers' banjo introduced us to this hauntingly beautiful tune, which led into Mark Tindle's interestingly varied mandolin solo - a good mix of single string, double stops and tremolo ideas. Everything was propelled by Pete Christian's excellent bass lines knitting with Mike Wareham’s first-class rhythm guitar. High on a Mountain was sung at a good appropriate slow pace, with Geoff’s tenor vocals blending superbly with Mark's lead. Andrea Roberts, the bass player from Special Consensus, was listening very intently and appreciatively to this one, I noticed.


Gotham City String Band

A beer break, and the guests were on, reducing the hubbub to silence with one number.

Special Consensus were formed in 1975, by Chicago banjoist Greg Cahill, who sings baritone and tenor. Montana-born Colby Maddox plays mandolin and fiddle, with baritone vocals. He’s played mandolin since his school days (and it shows!). Andrea Roberts hails from Indiana, and plays bass in the group, singing lead, tenor and high baritone. Chris Walz plays guitar and sings lead, tenor and baritone - Chris is an actor as well as a musician!

On to some of the tunes: Strawberry Point, a Bill Monroe tune never recorded by ‘The Mon’ was beautifully played by Colby Maddox on his magnificent sounding R.L.Givens mandolin. Usually it's the vocals in Bluegrass that bring the chills down my spine, but Colby's mandolin version of this tune had the same end effect. I was delighted to hear Norman Blake's Green Light on the Southern and Slow Train Through Georgia - although it wasn't that slow! I’ve always thought that Norman's lyrics provide the type and quality of content needed in Bluegrass. Sit Down was a cappella gospel, beautifully sung, with a visit to Western Swing arranged via Silver Dew In The Bluegrass Tonight. Margarita Breakdown was introduced as a song, but was actually an instrumental - why the fashion for calling instrumentals songs? Two Irish tunes, The Traveller and Green Gates were beautifully translated into the Bluegrass idiom by Greg Cahill, with echoes of Irish tenor banjo stylings clearly present. As if this were not enough, the group paid the Jazz world a visit with Blue Skies


Special Consensus - Colby, Greg, Andrea & Chris

I was bowled over by Chris Walz's Clarence-White-influenced guitar style. Utterly fearless, Chris took solos at any speed, and they were good ones, packed with interest using single string and cross-picking ideas. Andrea's sure and varied bass lines blended well with Chris's Rice-like rhythm guitar style, giving a contemporary sound to the rhythm section. Vocally, the group lacked nothing - leads mostly shared by Andrea and Chris, with strong harmonies throughout I feel that Special Consensus would appeal to both traditionalists and modernists - they mixed older and more recent ideas with great skill - you couldn't see the joins! I also think that this is the type of group that will broaden the appeal of Bluegrass in the future. As well as international appearances they work within schools, explaining and performing the music. There's something for everyone in their performance, from Bill Monroe tunes to a touch of Jazz, with top class instrumental and vocal skills - true professionals. The only thing I missed in their performance was a really slow song or two of the type which, for me, is the heart and soul of Bluegrass music - the type which gives you chills and makes your hair stand on end. I mean Bluegrass slow, not Country slow! A work colleague and his wife came along after I’d loaned them the Roads and Rails CD, and they both thoroughly enjoyed the music. A terrific evening from start to finish!

Thanks to Geoff and Pat Bowers for all the hard work they put in to make this event happen (from what Geoff tells me, that would make a story by itself!) and to the Gotham City String Band for their able support. A round of applause also for the soundman, Mick Whittingham, whose hard work resulted in a good balance of instruments and voices. He understands Bluegrass music! Thanks are also due to the audience of some ninety people who left the bands in no doubt as to how much they were appreciated. What a night!

Eric Kwiatkowski, Nottingham.

Special Consensus at Rainford 1996: Different line-up

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Updated 23rd Jan 1999