Flying right and circling the Fringe

Print More
Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys (Photo: Charles Robinson)

I avoided the soul-crushing grind of Front 22 for a more Bob Wills kind of a drive at the hands of Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys. Hailing from Anaheim, Calif., these cats have been burning a steel-belted rubber trail between Rochester and Disneyland for over 20 years now, stopping long enough to give the jitterbuggers time to stop and jitterbug and cut some rug in a kind of bunion derby.

_____

The Fringe had me going, man. I can’t imagine anything more Fring-ey or festival-ey than Cirque du Fringe, what  with arrows flying around dangerously close to eye level among other burlesque-esque defying stunts. There were contortionists and jugglers and beautiful ladies spinning above who seemed to have double-jointed everything: legs, neck, shoulders, and toes. It was raining Jaws the whole time. Hu-buh!

After Cirque Du Fringe I strolled over to Geva to get my head further unscrewed, by magician, wisenheimer and Mike Hammer-look -a-like and sound- alike Dirk Darrow  as he stoked, stymied and confused. Darrow conjures up the ghosts of long dead gumshoes with their  trench-coat appeal while packing a roscoe all the while wallowing in keen prestidigitation. 

Here’s a comprehensive list of live shows in and around Rochester: Get Your Gig On

Frank De Blase is Rochester Beacon music writer. The Beacon welcomes comments from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *