Message from OCMS

Hey we’re back in old St Paul where the river winds and Hamm’s Beer flows in the land of the blue sky water. Where Mickeys corns their own beef for the hash and the Bikini Bar affords a glimpse of what it would be like to live in a David Lee Roth video. Where statues of Schroeder and Linus fill the streets. Where tongues in Ojibwa, Hmong, and Oromo are overheard at the tramstop and the wind blustering with scents of grain and hot dogs. Where stores selling sled dog equipment stand beside stores selling roasted nuts. Yes, thaaat St Paul. Where for decades the Old Crows have journeyed to gather at the feet of Garrison Keillor’s New Balance kicks until the after party spilled out onto Wabasha. Where hungover rides past the Mall of America remind you that a job making music is the closest you’ll ever get to seeing this land the way Laura Ingalls Wilder did. The way old F. Scott and Sinclair Lewis did. That St Paul. The one of dreams and heartaches, of sorrows and longings, rumbling freights, howls of lovemaking, all before the snow flies. We’re gonna rock em tonight in old St Paul!!!! Bring along Marge and Darlene and your cousins from Red Wing.

See you at the Palace Theatre

Ketch🪕🎻

Tour Dates

October 30 – London, UK @ Hammersmith
November 1 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowland Ballroom
November 2 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
November 16 – Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed
December 30 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
December 31 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

As much as it was all about traditional Irish and Scottish folk music at the Amsterdam Bar & Hall on Friday night with Sam Shackleton and The Mary Wallopers, just around the corner, the night after, that old-time Americana folk music filled the Palace Theatre.

Them Coulee Boys were charged to warm up the crowd filtering into the venue . They are from Eau Claire, WI, Coulee being the name French Trappers called the region when they were trapping in Wisconsin. Like most folk bands they started out as a duo when Soren Staff met Beau Janke at a bible camp. It was an instant bond over music that expanded when Soren brought on his brother Jens to play mandolin, Neil Krause on bass and Staš Hable to play drums.

Them Coulee Boys have been playing as a band for ten years now and based on the crowd’s reaction, they have built up quite a following.

“This is fun,” said Janke after an effusive round of applause from the crowd. “Sign of the Times” was a crowd favorite for it had the makeup of an Irish drinking song with the audience joining in on the refrain. “Find Your Muse” had the crowd not only clapping along but also simultaneously rubbing their hands together. It also became apparent that the crowd loved hearing Janke on harmonica for the biggest roar came during his solo during “10ft. Tall.”

When Old Crow Medicine Show (OCMS) began their first song “Tell It To Me” they came on like a freight train. And for two hours they put on a hoot and hollering revue of American music from bluegrass and country to rock, gospel and blues.

Like Them Coulee Boys OCMS started off as a duo, actually two duos with Ketch Secor and Critter Fuqua from Harrisonburg, VA hooking up with Willie Watson and Ben Gould from Watkins Glen NY when Secor went to college in Ithaca, NY. They started busking all over the United States. And it was busking in front of a pharmacy in Boone, NC that caught the attention of Doc Watson’s daughter who arranged an introduction to the Nashville legend. From there was the start of a 25 year career that pulled into St. Paul.

Secor adopted the role of a carnival barker and hilariously pandered to the Minnesota crowd by spewing out regional references like Polar Plunge, Grain Belt, Sinclair Lewis, Laura Ingalls Wilder, the Wild, the Vikings and Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, which they band played for many times over the years.

Although his original crew was no longer intact, Secor brought along a rambunctious crew of PJ George, Mike Harris, Morgan Jahnig, Dante Pope, Mason Via and Cory Younts.

It’s foolish to list the instruments that the crew played for they played everything. Morgan Jahnig was the only one who stuck to one instrument, his electric and upright bass. Secor also pointed out throughout the evening that Jahnig was Norwegian. (More pandering.)

OCMS has a new album, Jubilee, and they played the self-titled song along with “One Drop” and “Miles Away.” They also played a hefty amount of rock covers like “Great Balls of Fire,” “Proud Mary” and “Rock and Roll All Nite” with Them Coulee Boys during the encore. Then there was Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville” and “Forever Young” from another Minnesota singer.

When asked by CBS Minnesota who was his musical influence, Secor replied, “Certainly, Bob Dylan… Bob Dylan… Bob Dylan.”

The bard from Ely, MN has had an outsized influence on Secor for it was a bootleg song of his that inspired Secor to write the band’s greatest hit, “Wagon Wheel.” It was a song that Dylan lifted from Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup who was inspired by a recording from Big Bill Broonzy. It was throughline of 85 years that had the band and the crowd singing:

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me