Marty Stuart and the Fantastic Superlatives and Molly Tuttle and her fantastic self finally made it to Geneva for their double bill show at the Smith Opera House on April 2. The show was originally scheduled for February 12.
But Winter got in the way. A horrible ice storm hit their hometown of Nashville. Stuart took a spill on the ice walking outside his house and broke his wrist. Meanwhile Tuttle would have much rather have been on the road since she lost power during the storm and didn’t get it back for nine days. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Stuart’s tour bus broke down in Ohio on the way to the show and they didn’t get to the venue until 5pm. No time for soundcheck and no time for rehearsing with the band who hadn’t played together since late last year. The show would go on, however, and once the crowd packed the theater and the band filled the stage all worries and troubles washed away.
As a last wrinkle in this story, Tuttle was originally planning to tour with a trio, but with the date change her band mates were no longer available, so she performed solo. A rare treat for the Tuttle fans and a wonderful showcase for the newly converted. She was more than capable of carrying an hour set on her own. Her soaring vocals, deft guitar picking and brilliant songwriting kept the full house rapt.
In a tight but wide-spanning set, Tuttle presented a full journey, from her childhood love of Alice in Wonderland and bluegrass, “Alice in the Grass” (which cleverly segued into “White Rabbit”), to her current personal anthem “Old Me (New Wig).” Songs shifted from bluegrass to country to pop and rock, providing ample canvas for an unfiltered guitar showcase.
After a short break, a backdrop unfurled and the Fantastic Superlatives strutted onto the stage in dazzling and sparkling powder blue suits. Fronted by Marty Stuart in a black leather suit with all the fringe. Their set spread even further across the genre spectrum. The set started off with some surf rock off their latest album, Space Junk, which they put out last year. They tossed a few more of those into the mix the rest of the way. The rest was a dynamic blend of rockabilly, country, bluegrass, blues, and rock, played acoustic, electric and with some incredible two- and three-part harmonies.
Marty Stuart and Molly Tuttle both put on a great show individually. But the real magic revealed itself when forces were combined, which regrettably only occurred once during each set. Toward the end of Tuttle’s set she called Stuart out who came mandolin in hand to accompany on a rollicking rendition of Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues.” What a treat. Returning the favor, Stuart had Tuttle join the band, all acoustic, on Peter Rowan’s “Cold Rain and Snow.” It was just about a perfect playing, Tuttle mastering the vocals, oozing with feeling, and the Fantastic Superlatives fully living up to their name. Pure magic.
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