Tony Furtado: Bluegrass Banjo Master Switches to Slide Guitar -- Spectacular!
Tony Furtado won the national bluegrass banjo championship twice: 1987 and 1991. Then he switched instruments.
What you will see here is amazing. He was playing at a benefit. On stage with him was Phish's drummer, Jon Fishman. They had not rehearsed this performance or ever played together before. The back-and-forth interaction toward the end of the song is remarkable.
This version of "Cypress Grove" is like nothing I have ever seen. The show-stopper is when he walks over to the audience toward the end of the song.
This video was a live performance in Oregon in 2006. On stage, he is backed up by Jon Fishman, Phish's drummer. At the end, they shake hands. They had not played together before. You do not get this impression during the performance.
If you don't like slide guitar blues, don't watch this.
Note: do not double-click the PLAY icon. Once is enough.
The introduction -- John Whooley's tuvan throat sound -- is itself amazing, almost like an Australian didgeridoo.
Note: the quality of the lyrics of "Cypress Grove" do not match the quality of the instrumental.