Review | The Barr Brothers at the Lizard Lounge

Barr Brothers – “Beggar In The Morning” by indiemusicfilter

Montreal-based quartet The Barr Brothers played a set Tuesday evening that was perfectly suited for the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. Small round tables lined the edge of the stage, and The Barr Brothers – featuring Brad Barr on guitar and vocals, Andrew Barr on drums and guitar, Sarah Page on the harp and Andres Vial on just about everything else – played for almost an hour and a half.

Their sound, which is somewhere between folk, bluegrass and rock, is made unique by the addition of the harp. Because of the quiet nature of the harp, their songs are constructed differently to be sure that the harp can actually be heard. Yet the band has created some beautiful slow songs and more than a few ones to jam out to, those of which feature Vial and Andrew Barr’s best played instrument, their knee-slapping hands.

Another unique technique the Barr Brothers brought out was thread tied to the guitar strings, which Brad pulled on during songs to add an uneven sound to

his impecible guitar skills. During an acoustic set of three of four new songs at the end of the night, the brothers brought out opening act Sonya Kitchell and passed out the threads tied to Barr’s guitar to audience members, who got to rattle the sound themselves.

The Barr Brothers end their mini-tour tonight in Burlington Vermont playing at The Parima.