We are excited to announce what could be the most important spotlight show yet in the short history of The Barn. Okay, maybe that's a tad dramatic; however, Terrapin Flyer's show on February 11th at Brixie's is kind of a big deal, especially if you enjoy the music of the Grateful Dead and live in proximity to The Barn's epicenter in Chicago's western suburbs.
To fully comprehend, we should share the remarkable history of this band. Formed by Doug Hagman and his friends as a way to get out and play some good ole Grateful Dead music, The Flyer quickly gained notoriety as the house band at the now shuttered Boulevard Cafe in Logan Square. This run included five years of music-filled Sunday nights and tons of sit-ins and special guests.
In fact, the band's impressive pedigree includes members of Barn favorites Cornmeal (two versions of the band currently play, one including"Wavy" Dave Burligame and Kris & JP Nowak of Cornmeal when they are off tour with their primary band) and other esteemed members of the greater Chicago deadhead community.
Additionally, the guys in Terrapin Flyer are no strangers to players on the national stage. Tapped to be backing band for tours with Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band) and Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead), they have stood toe-to-toe musically with these heavy hitters. On one trek across the midwest with Melvin, the band was billed as the "original members of JGB" by the promoter, a disingenous, but effective ruse. Hagman informs us that autograph seekers swamped the band after the gig, even though their drummer was in diapers the last time the Jerry Garcia Band played.
Terrapin Flyer is also the host and co-headliner of the multi-band Field Trip festival, held in August at Elgin's Vasa Park. In 2010, they brought Grateful Dead electronics wizard Bob Bralove and 60's era keyboardist Tom Constanten to join them on stage during their festival set. The results were incredible. Strap yourself in and listen to this "Dark Star" if you doubt it.
""Dark Star", 8/28/2010 - Field Trip Festival
And the hits keep coming... This coming Thursday TF takes the stage at Uptown's Kinetic Playground featuring some of the Cornmeal guys and the 23 year old guitar wunderkind Davy Knowles. Recently transplanted to Chicago and fresh off tour with the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman's Rhythm Devils, Knowles' soulful vocals and blues guitar are eerily reminiscent of other blues prodigies.
Which brings us back around to this Spotlight Show next Friday at Brixie's. Hagman and the band are looking to reestablish the weekly residency of days gone by at a new home. Consider this show at Brixie's a tryout of sorts -- if we can get a great turnout, we're setting ourselves up for getting us some hot, live Grateful Dead music on the reg. Hopefully, we can earn ourselves a weekly dose of Terrapin Flyer, and become a proper arm of the greater Chicago music scene.
