Big Smith

It makes sense that Big Smith‘s latest effort, Gig, is a double-live CD, because this is one of those bands that you just have to see live to understand. By the end of its shows, when the gospel singalongs kick in, there’s something holy going on — something big enough to be audible on a live recording. On the surface, Big Smith is just a bluegrass band from Springfield, Missouri, that features two sets of brothers and a cousin. But something pushes this crew over the edge. Maybe it’s Jay Williamson’s junk-drawer percussion (washboard, spoons, bones, etc.) or the way his imposing brother, Mike, in full hill-country garb, slams the bass (or, on occasion, the sousaphone). Maybe it’s the way Jody Bilyeu, on mandolin, and brother, Mark, on guitar, take instrumental breaks as satisfying for purists as they are for those who just want to jam. When Big Smith-fever hits the crowd, though, there’s enough perspiration, chills, delirious laughter, spilt beer and falling tears to meet the quota of entire festivals.