Cold Chocolate ~ 2023 April 2 ~ Duxbury Free Library, Duxbury, MA
Ethan Robbins (vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin); Ariel Bernstein (vocals, drums, banjo).
Scroll to below videos for a review of the show.
Video ... if a problem with viewing, go to Youtube and search by performer and date; the Youtube account is in the name "nicepace"
You Make My Dreams (Hall & Oates cover)
Wrong Way Home
Review
We'd seen the musical duo calling themselves Cold Chocolate once before at the South Shore Folk Music Club in 2019. My impression of them then was very good, that they played a real range of material drawing from elements of folk, bluegrass, and Americana. But today it seems that this creative duo has expanded their sound even more, drawing a bit from funk, and definitely from rock 'n' roll. They were more uptempo, less mellow, than that other time, even though today they were playing just as the basic duo without the added musician (a stand-up bass player who accompanied them in the other show).
Ethan Robbins plays a mean guitar, whether on electric or acoustic; his adept joyfulness on the six strings reminds me of Pete Kennedy (yes, he really is that good). Meanwhile, Ariel Bernstein knows just what to do on his drum kit to make the song sound like more than two guys are playing. Ethan writes all their original songs, and their vocals blend seamlessly. They played a trio of covers including their trademark bluegrass "One After 909." For the last three songs they got up from their seats and played a mini-acoustic set, Ariel on banjo and Ethan on mandolin. In the modest sized library meeting room the sound was just right.
A big thank you to the Duxbury Friends of the Library for their excellent winter season concert series. We hope to be back next season for some more excellent under-the-radar musical performers.