We got a nice write up for our gigs in Hawaii from the Honolulu Weekly. You can view the article online at their site, or download it as a PDF here. Many thanks to John at alohagroove.com for all his help setting up and promoting these shows.

Funny folk
by Jamie Winpenny / 02-21-2007

Calling Tangleweed a bluegrass band is accurate, but it’s unfair, too. Yep, they’ve got the fiddle, the mandolin and the rest of the acoustic accoutrements that compose an outfit that warrants a stereotype, but Tangleweed somehow pokes fun at folk music while honoring its storied legacy. Their arrival in Honolulu for gigs at rRed Elephant and Ward Rafters over the weekend will let those in attendance in on the joke.

These guys don’t even have a drummer. It’s five of them, assembled in Chicago, arranging a masterful pastiche of original compositions and traditional tunes from a prodigious archive of musical Americana and Celtic mischief. There is something more than vaguely punk rock about Tangleweed’s music, but the accuracy of their harmonies and the tactical proficiency of their musicianship indicate a predilection for form over function.

As evidenced by song titles like “Hard Times” and “Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, ” Tangleweed’s music isn’t far from the ancient sources of its inspiration, but it is also ticklishly close to the kind of irreverence that makes for brilliant pop songs and beer commercials.

See y’all on the beach at Waikiki.