Steady Tonic

Blitzen Trapper took the stage at Yard Dog and over the next 35 minutes burned through tunes that incorporated themes and sounds ranging from the Dead to Hendrix to the White Stripes. We were smitten. One of the songs featured at least three of the six band members shaking pumpkins, gourds and a large bean while vocalist/lead guitarist Eric Earley shrieked, shredded and howled — it was an all out gourd assault.

Distracting Band Member Feature: the geek-chic t-shirt worn by multi-instrumentalist Marty Marquis featuring garlic characters from all nations:

Earlier in the evening between sets, we were standing next to a few of the Blitzen Trapper crew, including Marty, he of the multilingual garlic t-shirt. We noticed that clipped to his jeans belt loop was a tiny R2D2 charm. I summoned enough strength to refrain from saying “Nice R2 Unit”.

Finally at 12:30am it was time for Blitzen Trapper. This time, I got the All Out Gourd Assault on video:

The crowd that had been thick for Fleet Foxes thinned out a bit, got a little older and a little more drunken - and a little more Jimmy Buffettish.

My favorite was the cute young girl who must have had the roughest day, because she spent the entire set sleeping on the stage.
Here’s a clip of “Country Caravan” complete with the sleeping girl on the amps.

And to add more cred to Blitzen Trapper’s geek-chic vibe, here’s the sticker on Eric Earley’s guitar: