Folk Uke

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We saw Folk Uke at the The Saxon Pub Friday night and talked briefly with Amy Nelson (guitar) and Cathy Guthrie (ukulele) as we were leaving. They had fun and were very pleased that we and the rest of the audience had come out to see them. I guess we're fans as this was probably our 3rd time seeing them here over the years. They have regular jobs and only come out to play tunes here once every couple of months.

This was one of those ticketed events without reserved seats. Why? Why? We arrived early and caught a wild dance party with the band TG BAD. That was fun and we were able to get front row seats for Folk Uke. At our age standing room only is not an option.

We ended up sitting with a couple of retired teachers who kindly let us join them in the front row. We made friends with John, newly sober and eating gummies, who sat beside us and is friend of Guy Forsyth & Jeska. He attends Purgatory Players regularly, we met him at another Saxon event.

They're a very funny folk duo (nothing like Simon and Garfunkel but still musical), we really like their tunes, and it's a real treat to see them when we're visiting Austin. "BJ to a DJ" and "California Stars" are personal favorites. "American Girl" seems to be their most recent release — it's a Tom Petty cover. Their jokes and chatter between tunes is worth the price of admission alone! Many jokes are more than a little raunchy, it's not family friendly, but had us laughing in tears. E.g., the joke about BJ's and practicing on ketchup bottles was a knee slapper. Here's a version of "Star Fucker" recorded live at this show and posted on YouTube by Kelso King.

Here's a couple of jokes Kate recalls:

We always do "Shit makes the flowers grow" as number 2 (in discussing their song list); a song by Harry Nilsson, "He's dead – I tried to marry him but he ghosted me"

Their "Fake Encore" song closed the evening. A humorous reflection on the audience and why they applaud. Oh yes, we enjoyed the show!

You can find them on YouTube and Spotify (they had a brief hit there) or go to their web site (Folkuke.com) and order some CD's. They are definitely worth a listen.

See also an excellent article from Ukulele Magazine (2022).