With his impossibly gritty and timeless vocals, bandleader/guitarist Michael Tarbox led his group through an opening set of traditional and original blues, country, gospel, bluegrass and folk. Though very much informed by rock, especially punk music, the group played a stripped-down, acoustic blend that swung relentlessly and sacrificed no dynamism, as testified to by the crowd of dancers that turned the group's death-haunted soundtracks into party music. The group favors a repertoire of mystical, death-haunted folk and blues tunes like "The Cuckoo," "St. James Infirmary" and the aptly-titled "Oh Death."

The Tarbox Ramblers were powered by the swinging, powerful rhythms of standup bassist Johnny Sciascia and drummer Jon Cohan. Sciascia propelled the tunes with an aggressive slap approach, and Cohan had an impossibly huge bass drum outfitted as his kick drum. Fiddler Daniel Kellar alternately sounded Gypsy, bluegrass, and jazz, but mostly he used hisfiddle to paint colors through and around Tarbox's vocals, which combined the moan of the blues, the twang of country and the knowingness of Bob Dylan. Kellar and Sciascia also added two-and three-part vocal harmonies, borrowing from gospel and high-lonesome bluegrass. This was front-porch music with a post-punk kick in the rear.

--- THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE