Buddy Miller

These guys (and the opener, Max Gomez) were terrific. They did a huge variety of music. Jim always feels a personal connection to his audience, and Buddy really whacks that axe. I recommend this act wherever you can find it!

Never saw Buddy Miller before - I really went for Jim Lauderdale - but now am a fan for life. Amazing guitar player, just killer. And a great voice too. Their songs had kind of a country-surf punk sound on some, country-blues on others, but all awesome harmonies. These guys' friendship makes it feel like you're just hanging out with uber-talented buddies.

Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale are highly respected musicians for whose music I am a big fan. But at their recent performance at the Variety Playhouse, I could not hear the music through the deafening wall of drum and bass. The drum and bass effects reminded me of the thunder noise that accompanies almost every change of scene in one of those adventure/video-game movies, an almost constant rumble of sub-woofer bass that made my chest vibrate and my ears hurt; a noise almost as painful, almost as bad as the one you feel stopped at a signal light next to a car playing one of those ultra-low sub-woofer stereos. Their bass player used an upright acoustic bass, but it was amplified in such a way that a person listening on a radio would certainly not be able to tell; the notes being broadcast were far lower than the low E on any human-operated bass instrument, upright or electric. Another casualty of this sound engineering willful negligence was the fiddle and table steel guitar. Their potential contribution to the music was blasted away by the bass and drums. By the way: I am a bass player, so I like to hear the bass...as a part of the music, not instead of it. I am a big fan of the poetry of good song lyrics, and I know that Jim and Buddy (and Buddy's wife, Julie) write some good poetry, but you would not know it from Saturday's concert. Except for the few (at the most, maybe five) songs that Jim and/or Buddy did with acoustic guitar and without bass and drums, I could not understand the lyric meaning of anything they sang. If you like Buddy and Jim's art, download or buy a CD of their music and listen to it in the kitchen while you make a nice dinner with someone you love. Skip the live show and save some money and a few decibels of your hearing from destruction.

This show was totally awesome. It was a very intimate show where you felt like Jim and Buddy were talking to you and entertaining just for you. Buddy is hands down the best guitarist ever. Their originals are fantastic and the covers they performed were made better by their talent. Every minute of the show was entertaining.

Great show--Buddy Miller is incredible. He and Jim Lauderdale work well together--great harmony singing. The three backing musicians were first rate. The Birchmere is a wonderful venue to see a show like this one--good sound, sight lines--the crowd is there to hear the music.

Wow this album is solid and a great platform for Buddy and Jim. Harmonies were terrific. a very eclectic set. Buddy Miller can play anything. Go see them while you can!

Always an excited day to view Mr Miller perform, I do like the Buddy and Jim format but only want to see Mr Miller - some friends came along and were converted to Mr Miller. Enough of the Mr Miller stuff, He is Buddy - that is how I think of him and he is everyone's buddy. He performs for you when you see him live and he creates music for you when he is in the studio. Been a fan for a long time - when he opens his mouth to sing I get chills and the tears flow, what joy, his guitar is HIM - he plays it so BUDDY like, they are one. Only reason it is a 4 is because we had to listen to someone else.

First, the sound at the Birchmere is second to none! Always a treat even if it does take over an hour in DC traffic. This show was even better than I thought it would be. I try and see Buddy no matter who he is with and had heard a few of the songs on their new album on Outlaw Country but this was terrific. Pedal Steel/Fiddle player was great and the drums and standup bass were just fine. Buddy was his usual self, the tunes varied from his new stuff back to music from he and Julie. Jim Lauderdale was good, a little too much silly banter between them but that is about the only negative. Just a great great show. I loved the Everly Brothers "let it be me" as an encore. I would go again if they are still touring this summer and come nearby. This was the first stop on their tour and I can imagine it will only get better. Enjoy!!