Hard Working Americans Live at Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds on 2014-08-03

Just posting this here for posterity and for your revisiting/listening pleasure.

In 2014, Todd Snider missed his plane en route to a Hard Working Americans gig but luckily there was already a tremendous vocalist as well as masterful shredder in the band who was able to step in and sing his heart out.

I’ve been holding off on listening to a lot of harder-to-find and newer-to-me Neal stuff because I want there to still be new things to savor slowly.. but this week I’ve been going in hard on some things I hadn’t heard before. Aas much as it breaks my heart, I’m so glad there are these tremendous bodies of work left for us. When Neal’s singing it still feels like he’s here.

I was, regrettably, really slow to get down with HWA. I didn’t really know about it when it was going on, the first two thirds of the 2010s were very strange for me, musically. I think I was just listening to a lot of stoner metal and I was confused by the electronic-sounding indie rock bands Pitchfork was favoring. I didn’t know where to look.

Anyway, I took my time getting there and I’m still really sinking myself in slowly to this world – because when I finally started paying attention, I kicked myself because of how good it was. Yesterday I watched The First Waltz, the concert film by Justin Kreutzmann ecording the beginning of the band’s touring day. What astounding energy this band had together.

Anyway, enjoy the grooves – not to discount the talents of the incomparable Todd Snider, but I’d have gotten on this train long ago had this been the formation.