Janelle Silverman - The Appalachian

Snake Oil Medicine Show brought their unique brand of hillbilly folk to a comparitively small audience in Whitewater Friday evening.

Snake Oil Medicine Show plays student union

Janelle Silverman - Entertainment Beat

The western North Carolina-based folk band, The Snake Oil Medicine Show, drew a small crowd to Whitewater in Plemmons Student Union last Friday evening. They performed through the Appalachian Popular Programming Society (A.P.P.S.), sponsored by student programs.

The Snake Oil Medicine Show began 10 years ago with George Pond, said Caroline Pond, George’s wife and fiddler for the band. “It was in 1995 that we first started to get busy in Boone,” she said.

The Snake Oil Medicine Show first began playing at Beanstalk coffeehouse and The Emporium, and their success took off from there.
“Ears perked and interest peaked,” said Ashley Madden, merchandise manager for the band.

Since their flourishing start, the band has traveled to Europe to perform in countries such as the Netherlands and England, and they even have a booking agent in Hawaii, said Pond.

They also travel to many cities in the southeast. Some of their upcoming performances will take place in Statesboro and Savannah, Ga., and Wilmington and Durham.

All members of the band are from western North Carolina, so they perform around this area of the state often. “We don’t play as much in Boone since Rafters closed down,” said Pond.

The band also performs in many benefit concerts, one of the most recent being Kidstock, held at Horn in the West in 2001. They have also performed in plays through The Blowing Rock Stage Company as actors in several productions, said Pond.

The regular performers of the band are George Pond, guitar player and singer; his wife Caroline, fiddler and singer; and Andy Pond, George’s brother and banjo player. The performance at Whitewater also included a mandolin player and a drummer. The band will welcome a new bass player and drummer in the near future, said Pond.

Off in the corner of the stage, but not unnoticed, was artist Phil Cheney of Asheville. As a member of the band he paints on canvas during the entire performance, giving the show an interesting and unique style. His artwork can be seen online at
DynamicArtGallerie.com.

The band played to a crowd of approximately 70 people last Friday evening, which is a smaller crowd than usual. Ashley Williams, Appalachian State University student and Snake Oil Medicine Show fan said there are usually more people at the shows, up and dancing around.

“It is a different atmosphere in here,” she said of the small space Whitewater has to offer.

Steve Smith, Appalachian State student and first-time concert attendee, said although the band has a different sound than those he usually listens to, he enjoyed the show and would come back and see them again.

Friday evening was the band’s first experience playing in Whitewater. “I love that there is no smoking in here,” said Pond.

Madden described the concert space as “a small intimate space filled with love and energy.” She also praised the band’s evening performance as well as Caroline Pond’s “exceptional improv” on stage.

The band’s folk and hillbilly sound will attract anyone no matter what type of music they prefer. Their individuality and ability to draw people to the dance floor kept the small yet energetic crowd dancing all evening.

The band’s theme throughout the evening was love, and the idea was reiterated constantly throughout the expressions of their songs and the words of George Pond as he spoke to everyone in the audience.

Their sounds are very unique, from the Betty Boop sound of Caroline Pond’s voice to the sound of a mandolin and banjo playing together.

Cheney also adds a lot of life and excitement to the performance with his colorful and eye-catching paintings.

The Snake Oil Medicine Show can be found online at www.snakeoilmedicineshow.net, which includes information on upcoming shows and booking information.