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Damn Tall Buildings brings a damn good time to the Temple

Avery Ballotta, Sasha Dubyk and Max Capistran (R-L) perform as the bluegrass trio Damn Tall Buildings.
Lucius Pham
/
IPR
Avery Ballotta, Sasha Dubyk and Max Capistran (R-L) performed as the bluegrass trio Damn Tall Buildings to a packed Temple Theater audience on Thursday, November 9.

Brooklyn, NY three-piece Damn Tall Buildings graced the Temple Theater stage for the third show in the 2023-24 Prairie Meadows Live at the Temple concert series. Their unique brand of bluegrass made for a delightful Thursday evening in downtown Des Moines.

I’ll be the first to admit: bluegrass music is kind of a blind spot for me. When I think of bluegrass, I think of my grandpa’s record collection and the frantic Southern sounds that came with.

Damn Tall Buildings, however, is not your grandpa’s bluegrass music.

The dynamic trio of Sasha Dubyk on upright bass, Max Capistran on acoustic guitar and Avery Ballotta on fiddle gave a performance that was a whole lotta bluegrass, but also Americana in nature and even a little bit Ethiopian.

Damn Tall Buildings performing at the Temple Theater on Thursday, November 9.
Lucius Pham
/
IPR
Damn Tall Buildings' vocal harmonies soared over their acoustic instruments as they played bluegrass surrounding one microphone at the Temple Theater.

The trio took turns taking lead vocals, but I knew Dubyk was my favorite from the very first song, “Can’t Ya Hear Me.”

The chemistry between the trio as they huddled around the one microphone was evident. Dubyk and Capistran are actually a married couple, which Capistran revealed in his intro to “Painter,” a song he wrote about Dubyk’s painting and shoe-hoarding habits.

Damn Tall Buildings’ lyricism was simply delightful. One of my favorite moments was the song “Podcast,” in which Dubyk remarked, tongue-in-cheek: “I hate your podcast.” Capistran encouraged the audience to sing along to “The Universe is Hungry,” a love song of sorts which repeats “the universe is eating us alive and we’ll probably all die, but I hope that you and I survive.”

The trio had recently taken a trip to Ethiopia as a government-sponsored act of musical diplomacy. They played an instrumental track they learned from a traditional Ethiopian musician during their time there.

Sasha Dubyk of Damn Tall Buildings takes the lead vocal for their rendition of "Blue Bayou."
Lucius Pham
/
IPR
Sasha Dubyk of Damn Tall Buildings takes the lead vocal for their rendition of "Blue Bayou."

The Ethiopian ditty was one of four covers Damn Tall Buildings played at the Temple. My favorite was their rendition of Linda Ronstadt’s “Blue Bayou,” with Dubyk taking lead vocal and absolutely killing it. They also played a rousing version of “Kentucky Waltz,” inspired by their acceptance into the Kentucky bluegrass community.

The crowd was so supportive of the trio that they ended up playing an encore, “River of Sin.” A meet-and-greet took place in the Temple Theater lobby afterwards, and Damn Tall Buildings were so kind in person as they signed vinyl and posed for pictures with fans.

Cece Mitchell is an award-winning Music Producer, host and writer for Iowa Public Radio Studio One. She holds a master's degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Mitchell has worked for over five years to bring the best AAA music to IPR's audience, and is always hunting for the hidden gems in the Iowa music scene that you should know about!