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New York City was the sight of an invasion the other night, we were invaded by the "aggressive acoustic music" of Detroit's own Madison Greene. Due to a mix up in band scheduling, the group took the stage at 11:30 pm, an hour and a half after their scheduled starting time. To say that the wait was well worth the time and sleep lost would be an understatement. I would do it again in a second! The group consists of husband and wife, Jason and Erin Beck and Lizza May Blair and her two brothers, Michael and Bone. As the group was setting up their equipment all I kept hearing from the people around me were statements like, "Oh look at that thing" or "What is that wooden thingy over there"? The quintet had an impressive arsenal of instruments such as guitars, mandolin, bass guitar and fiddle. After that it got a little weird with such things as djembes, didjeridoo's, doumbek's and about a million percussive embellishments covering the stage.

The band hit the stage to an enthusiastic response and played tunes from their most recent release,"... Think The Dancers Mad" as well as their previous cd entitled "The Whitestone Gathering". Lizza May and Michael handled the lead vocal chores assisted periodically by Erin and they sounded great. The band which calls their sound "aggressive acoustic" masterfully combines Celtic, Middle Eastern and Appalachian influences into a sound that is uniquely their own. I can't think of any other group that is doing this type of music as well as these young kids, they are tight. Jason is a percussive wizard getting amazing sound out of all his gadgets and gizmos. This band besides putting on a musically expert performance, is just alot of fun to watch. If you get a chance to see them, don't pass it up.

Their set list included:
"Balafon"
"Cry Water Prayer"
"Flute Jam"
"People Like Angels"
"Closing Hymn"
"Poinsettas Here"
"Departure"
"Engraved"
"Shifting Silence"
"Understatement"
"Nampula"
"Tribal Call"
"The Eastern"

Check out their web site at www.madisongreene.com