Crooked Still

All members of Crooked Still are excellent musicians. The music was beautiful, lively and at times bittersweet. Lissa Schneckenburger was a very charming & lovely opening act. The Sinclair was a nice smaller venue to see the band. However, there was sound intrusion - noise/conversations from the entryway & bar area were projected into the venue (no sound barrier between spaces.)

What we saw was terrific but we wished that they had provided more information about the schedule. We ended up missing half of the concert because we thought the opening band would play longer or there would be set up time in between the opening band and Crooked Still.... At least we got to see the great songs at the end and it was totally cool that the band came down to chat after the show.

Absolutely amazing. Crooked Still is even better live than on any album, and the recordings are already fantastic.

Crooked Still keeps getting better. The vocal harmonies were a terrific addition to the intricate instrumental work. The songs from their new album were amazing, especially the beautiful and haunting duet with Brittany and Aoife (Pretty Bird). Old favorites, like Little Sadie, are still wonderful and continue to improve as the band evolves. Hopefully they'll be back in Portland soon!

As I posted on Facebook immediately after the show " Crooked Still ROCKED the Birchmere this Mother's Day 2011"

It has been a pleasure to follow Crooked Still's 10 years as a very unique band. They started mostly as Old Time, but with a wild edge. Sunday night's concert at the Birchmere showed how they still love their older repertoire, but they have stuck out to a new and unusual place of sounding like jazz mixed with string quintet. Aoife O'Donovan's voice is mesmerizing, as it always has been, but she sings with more drive and power (if that's possible), blending perfectly with all the instruments. Hurray Crooked Still! Please come back to town soon!

They were awesome! Very energetic - and the lead singer has an amazing voice

Great show-Great venue .Aoife O'Donovan voice although soft is very powerful and melts you when she sings.

Crooked Still is incredible! This was the 4th time I've seen them and it has never been a disappointment. Each member has amazing talent - with 5 sets of strings and Aoife's beautiful voice it really is a unique musical experience. They are their own thing- a bit of bluegrass with a celtic twist. Greg's banjo, Brittany's 5 string fiddle, Tristan's cello and Corey's double-bass are all so good it is ridiculous. If you have an appreciation for true talent and strings- they are a must see!!

Crooked Still's amazing release "Shaken by a Low Sound" is unbelievably good - fresh, innovative, edgy. The follow-up, not so much. I have not heard the latest release. The playing was very good in general and impressive in pockets. The bass player held down the bottom respectably, but he doesn't rise above your level of consciousness. The banjo player has some chops and most importantly, can do the banjo pickin' admirably. The (relatively new) fiddle player has a good mix of fiddle as "sound effect" and occasional hot solos. The singer has a consistently great voice, albeit she sounds the same on pretty much every song. The real kicker in the band is the cellist. This guy is a near-prodigy. Their songs are mostly reworkings of old folk songs and they do it very well. After about 40 minutes, the sameness of the songs starts to wear on one a bit, but not enough to make the performance "boring". Bottom line? Very good show, not great. If they added a bit of diversity and maybe some fresh songs, they have a chance to be awe-inspiring. As is, it's a pleasant show and worth the time spent.

Chatham County Line is always a great live. I'd never heard Crooked Still before, but they are amazingly talented. The Birchmere is a wonderful venue.

5 of us ranging in age from 24-71 went to see Crooked Still in VA. Everyone LOVED them. From the music to the singing (Aoife has an incredible voice!!!!) it was a best concert ever!

Top notch talent and creativity. Great show. The fomat ... gathered around one condenser mike ... really lends itself well to a venue like Birchmere. I cannot understand why they are not the top billed band wherever they play.