The Grove Project

Greenfield: A good place for a concert after they get the kinks worked out

The first concert at Greenfield Lake’s new amphitheatre did not go off without glitches. It’s safe to say, however, that most people left the venue content and inspired by Tift Merritt’s tight set of country rock tunes.

The day didn’t start so well. As opening act Chatham County Line played its harmonizing neo-bluegrass, the crowd baked in the sun while hordes stood in line for beer and water. In their infinite wisdom organizers had just two kegs dispensing Miller Light and Newkie Brown Ale ($4 a pop). Our group waited at least 40 minutes for its first taste of suds. That’s the bad news. The good news is that once we got up there, were able to walk away with 14 beers (2 each). That sated us until Tift hit the stage, and the crowd’s mood improved palpably.

Chatham County Line, a quartet out of Raleigh, clearly take pleasure in creating American folk music with a modern edge and include guitars, a banjo, pedal steel, dobro, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, and bass. All four band members, rather curiously, crowded around one microphone, as if they couldn’t afford another, and each was nattily dressed for the occasion, like Mormons on bicycle missions.

Still, the original music is crowd pleasing and easy on the ears. Lead Singer Dave Wilson praised event host The Penguin (106.7 FM) for its alternative mix of tunes while so many other stations feature loops of “Boston’s first album.” Truer words were never spoken.

As the thirsty crowd waited for Tift to hit the stage, organizers somehow found some cold cans of Miller Lite (another event sponsor), and mercifully opened another line for beer.

Unlike many concerts, this one was at least on time. Chatham County Line hit the stage at 4pm, as promised, and Tift walked on at 5:30, just as the sun was dipping behind tall pines to the west of the stage. Initially, there seemed to be some technical difficulties with her microphone because her vocals, the band’s biggest asset, were drowned out by the music. Once that was ironed out, her pipes took over and she engaged the crowd between songs in self-effacing and humorous banter.

This is most likely the only concert I’ve been to where pre-schoolers lined the front of the stage. There were at least a dozen, and they were surprisingly well behaved. After one song, Tift reached for a beer and apologized to all the parents for drinking in front of their kids.

Musical highlights included “Stray Paper,” “Good-Hearted Man,” and several songs off her new album, Another Country. During one tune, the crowd heard an audible pop, and Tift stopped playing her well-worn guitar long enough to say, “Something broke.” But just as quickly the disciplined band started where they left off, and no one was worse for the wear.

Chalk it up to growing pains at a new venue for music.

Lest you think my love of beer overshadowed an otherwise pleasant evening, I obviously wasn’t alone. Beau Gunn, the afternoon DJ at The Penguin, saw fit to email ticket holders the day after the show, and it included this mea culpa:

“As we’re sure you noticed, the concessions area was quite an issue. Being the first large concert there, it is safe to say that the city nor The Penguin was prepared in that department…For that we apologize. On the bright side, the few kinks we did experience will easily be avoided at the next concerts we host. For example, we will have a beer truck solely dedicated to serving you the fastest and coldest beer possible. We will have separate coolers for the sole purpose of vending H20. That will leave the concessions area free to serve food and non-alcoholic beverages only.”