I caught most of the 4th Annual String Specialists show at the Rendezvous Weds night and what a night it was. Eight or so solo performers playing the stringed instrument of their choice (generally guitar, but there was also viola, a berimbau-looking thing, ukulele and upright bass) for a song or two or three. Styles ranged from vocal pop songs to avant instrumentals. Highlights for me were Brad Dunn with his electric guitar-and-screwdriver slide compositions (I got his CD and it’s a more layered Eno-esque cracked psych/folk/pop), Resistor who did a great repetative meditation on electric guitar and gigantic amplifier, and Jherek Bischoff who played some sad-bastard love songs on ukulele before he brought out the upright bass for an intrumental Thrones cover that just destroyed.

The evening was presented by the wonderful Wall of Sound Records and apparently they put on a monthly show there. Be sure to check it in the future.