My impression of the Dandelion Stompers is heavily influenced by a late fall experience at the family camp. We spent the day closing things up for winter with Grandma’s Sonny and Cher Show DVDs playing in the background, and often sucking us in with its pure entertainment. Hearing Whirlwind Sessions Vol. 2 a month later I was reminded of the musical period sketches frequent on the show, with Cher and the band often in a 1920s tavern or similar venue exuberantly belting out a humorously risque number in a way that shared her appreciation of the lyric with the audience and ready talent of the band.
The Dandelion Stompers album gave off a similarly theatrical vibe with production value worthy of TV, but minus the fuzzy boas. Their dynamic lead singer Katie Roche would have been a star on the St. Louis Riverboats of the 1960s revival period.
Like any good theatrical, vocal duties on the album don’t always lean on the star, three other band members contribute on various tracks, adding to the feel of a variety show if not a chronological progression or theme.
It isn’t just the gung ho singing, there is something about how the band plays behind it that sets it all off, that special rhythmic sense that adds a grin to the singer's voice reaching to the back of the auditorium. I mean nothing but praise with terms like theatrical, this is a group that gives the audience an experience. W
