If the year ended today my favorite cd of the year would be Yellow Tag Mondays, the national debut cd by The Farewell Drifters.  A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to be in Arlington Virginia on a night that Eric Brace (the nicest guy in Americana in my opinion) was playing with his band Last Train Home at their "home", the IOTA Club.  The warmup band that night was The Farewell Drifters.  After their great performance I asked lead singer Zach Bevill if he had any copies of their upcoming cd with him.  Fortunately he did, and I've really come to love this disc.  As I have said before on this sight, I'm really excited by the young Americana bands that have come out; notably Belleville Outfit, and now these guys.  They lean toward the bluegrass side of Americana; mandolin, fiddle, guitar, upright bass and no drums and lots of harmony vocals.  They call their music fittingly "Alt-Bluegrass for the masses..."  Their live performance was energetic and tight, which is also fortunately the type of performance I found on the disc when I got home! All the tunes on the disc were written by various combinations of  band-members except one cover, a beautiful rendering of Lennon and McCartney's For No One.  Their very catchy upbeat tune Everybody Is Talking would vie for my favorite song of the year!  Try to listen to this tune and not bob your head and tap your toe, I dare ya! There are plenty of highlights on this 14 tune disc, including  All We Need and River Song.  This is truly a stellar cd by an excellent young band who I hope is around a long time!

There is no glitzy overproduction here, just live tunes by a band that loves to play in a place they love to play to fans who love what they play! Witnessing all of these elements (as well as some damn fine music) is what makes this DVD so enjoyable for me. The DVD was recorded over 2 shows, on April 13 and 14, 2007. At least from what we can see the venue is relatively small, and the stage is crowded with the eight musicians playing the shows. The band is tight but loose - the songs flow smoothly and the mood is lighthearted. I really enjoy leader Eric Brace’s singing; He is passionate about his music and his singing and seems to really enjoy what he is doing. I also especially enjoyed the accordion and keyboard playing of Jen Gunderman. Her constant smile adds to the charm of the band. Of course the band plays mainly their originals, the highlight of which for me is the title track off their latest CD, Last Good Kiss. They also throw in a few cover tunes, including a gorgeous rendition of the Tom T. Hall song “I Flew Over Our House Last Night” on which Eric and the band show their skill at the slower tune. If you’re already a fan of Last Train Home, you need to pick up this DVD. For the uninitiated, the concerts are a chance to see a seasoned band playing music they love.