Cabinet Makes “The Long Journey Home” to the Blockley

by Samantha Weinraub

One graying, long-bearded man in a tie-dye t -shirt makes eye contact at a bubbly, curly-haired woman in a flowing dress from across the room, and then they proceed to shimmy their way towards each other, smiling all the while. The crowd parts, to make way for a man rolling through in a wheel chair, who does a little courtship dance with a nearby woman. The people who attended The Brummy Brothers, Floodwood, and Cabinet show at The Blockley on Thursday, November 21^st, was a friendly, vivacious and mottled bunch, mirroring the sentiments of the bands they came to see.

Catching the end of The Brummy Brothers’ set, bucolic melodies of a banjo, upright bass, mandolin and guitars filled my ears. With twangy vocals and string pickings, the band was a good opener and fit right in with blue-grassy, mountain sounding lineup.

Floodwood (photo credit, Samantha Weinraub)

Floodwood draws the crowd in with their string picking and cheerfulness. The audience happily dances around, a girl does a high kick jig, one woman hoop-dances minus the hoop and everyone generally lets loose. Band members get to know the crowd, by physically leaving the stage and playing the banjo and violin right in the midst of them. There are cheers as a circle forms around banjoist Nick Piccininni, as he plays with a fervent energy and speed. They are gracious and engaging.

Fresh faced and young looking, Cabinet takes the stage. The crowd’s energy shifts into something more lively and unified. Boot stomping, whirling, tango, you name it, all kinds of free form dancing wash over the room.  The band is all peaceful smiles, and front-man JP Biondo asks how the fans in Philly are doing, and salutes them with a swig of beer. The crowd reciprocates in kind. It’s a casual, personal interaction with the audience, like chatting with old friends. As a matter of fact, there are true old friends of the band in the room, as they hail from a small town in Pennsylvania.

Cabinet (photo credit, Samantha Weinraub)

Cabinet gets catcalls and whoops from the crowd when calling out various hometowns. There’s a lot of Pennsylvania pride circulating the room. They proceed into a bouncy, upbeat set.  Biondo introduces the band members in a warm southern drawl, his cousin on vocals, who sings angelically. While the band is not all blood-related there is certainly an easy comfort between the members, and their cohesion is palpable in the way the play off each other and joke about “borrowing” each others’ hats and shirts. With catchy lyrics like, “I lost all my money, but a two dollar bill,” it is very near impossible to resist tapping your feet or dancing along with their positive playing. Finally, Cabinet invites Floodwood back on stage, and they play together like one giant family at a reunion. If only my own family functions could be so harmonious and lively.