He’s about to make a “mondo” breakthrough (sorry, couldn’t help it)
Making the most of my opportunities today to go out and wander, I hit the in-store gig at Bill’s Records in Dallas for Mando Saenz. His new album, Bucket, is coming out soon (more on that later this week) and he is out and about promoting it. He, along with his Bass player and Drummer, played new tracks such as “Wrong Guy,”, “Pocket of Red,” and my personal fave, “Seven Dollars.” He closed up with the featured track from his previous album, Watertown, “When I Come Around.” I am too tired to go into the many details that made this short but fantastic show so memorable. I will say this however, there are only a few times that I have felt like I was seeing an artist that was truly about to break-out, and this is clearly one of those times. Displaying a rocking sonic vibe that sets himself apart from many up and comers who simply hope to sound like someone else, Saenz had no qualms about plugging in and turning the amps up a bit for this latest release, even though many people are more familiar with the Nashville resident’s folksier debut album. I took some video, and again, the sound isn’t as good as I was hoping, but I think you’ll get the picture. Come back later this week for my opinion on his new CD, okay? Okay.
Kathleen, jamming on a yoga mat with a box of wine at her bare feet
Well, the day of much anticipation arrived and I counted down the minutes until I would get to see my favorite female artist live and in an intimate, acoustic setting. As I have stated before, Edwards was to be gigging at a BYOB Yoga studio. It sounded fine, as I have heard good things about it being a good place for acoustic shows, and very different from the typical, smoky, boozy bar scene that often times would absolutely murder a quieter, more subtle performance. To make a long story short (not really), the concert was unreal and it proved to live beyond the hype that I had given it from a musical perspective, more on that later in the post. After making my way in and finally sitting down, I realized that I was fitting very tightly (no fat jokes, I’m not that big) into what would be my home for the next 3 hours. The studio understandably wants to accommodate as many as possible and I understand that there was a time where there were no chairs at all, so this is an improvement to say the least, but my knees were pressing into the chair in front of me as hard as the knees of the man behind me were pressing into the back of mine, all while I held my legs in place with my hands to keep from invading the personal leg/knee space of the people to my left and right. OK, enough with the complaining, the fact is, I was much more uncomfortable the first time I witnessed a Kathleen live gig, when I endured driving, pelting rain to my back and neck on the front row at the ACL Fest in 2006. Also, I sat next to a great couple who happen to be the parents of Ft. Worth/Austin based rocker Collin Herring (more on him later this week). OK, now onto the show…
After the opening set by Bob Schneider guitarist Jeff Plankenhorn (who name dropped a whole bunch for an opening act, but hey, who am I to judge? I mean, he couldn’t introduce a song without naming a “big” Texas artist that either played on the track or loved it and that Kathleen, who has Tom Petty, John Mayer and EmmyLou Harris on speed dial never once mentioned any of her high-toned buds, but whatever) Kathleen came up and opened with a new song, then her hubby/lead guitarist Colin Cripps came up and the hits started flowing. “In-State,” “One More Song the Radio Wont Like” & “Hockey Skates” were old favorites from both studio albums that led into Kathleen showcasing some of the new material for the upcoming album, including her new single, “Cheapest Key.” Her jovial, humble banter with the crowd was only topped by the playful jabs she took at Colin. Everyone was having fun, even Kathleen had to laugh atthe crowd as much as with the crowd at times. During “Hockey Skates,” a slow and somber tune of leaving someone behind, the guy who did a lot of closed mouth-burping next to me cracked opened can of Natty Light during the final chorus. The sound of air escaping the freshly opened can echoed like a balloon deflating in the quiet studio atmosphere, warranting a shocked little chuckle from Edwards, who didn’t miss a beat. Also, during the encore, Kathleen indirectly and inadvertently welcomed requests. The guy behind me that kept saying “oooh, I love this song!” after every song began shouted, “‘Pink Emerson Radio!!.” That sent the crowd into laughter due to the fact that Kathleen had played that very ditty 15 minutes prior to this strangely out of place and ill-timed request. While the crowd laughed, Kathleen shouted “Hello, I just played that!”, and then Colin rejoined her and they finished up with a cover of “When Will I Be Loved,” which sent everyone off with that warm-fuzzy feeling one gets after not just having fun at a show, but feeling like you got to know the artist in the process. That warm-fuzzy-gettin’-acquainted feeling got stronger when I went to say hi to Kathleen and thank her for a great show. As we shook hands, Kathleen gave me a surprised look of recognition as she asked “Are you Kelly?” To which, in my shock replied, “Holy crap. Yeah. Me Kelly“. Kathleen went on to explain that she recognized me from my leaving a comment on her myspace page and that after checking my page out, she thought it was funny (her words not mine, but they would be my words if you asked me if my myspace page is funny or not), and even explained to me the various points of my hilarious, revolutionary myspace site that was indeed funny enough to make her remember a schlub like me. Well, after that little chat and then me breaking out my phone to show her pics of my baby boy (she likes Cash for a name too), I then decided that it was time to go, quit while I still seemed normal, and not run the risk of her looking into what kinds of restraining orders might suit her needs best for future visits to the Lone Star State.
Great night, Great show, looking forward to the new album Asking for Flowers in March. Maybe she’ll come back and play a venue that allows shoes to stay on ones feet.
Kathleen Edwards Live @ Bend Studio (Sorry, I still am not the greatest camera guy)
As I stated last week, Nashville Rockers Ned Van Go came and played some gigs in Dallas. I caught their in-store at Bill’s Records & Tapes and consider my ass rocked! Most in-store performances are unplugged, and in the case of a band, you might get a couple of acoustic guitars with a single snare to keep time. This spartan arrangement was not the case as NVG unpacked the whole trailer, plugged in, turned it all up to 11 and shook the still new walls of Bill’s newest location with racous, jangly and funkified country rock. They featured mainly songs from their latest release, Married a Waitress, and ended their pre-drive to Nashville set with a punk-rock version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” that would’ve made the Ramones proud and wishing they had recorded a holiday album themselves. The guys announced that they will be making another Texas swing in March, so please learn up on these guys and then show up. Below is the video I took of the glorious occasion….
Ned Van Go - Never Kissed a Girl: Live @ Bill’s Records & Tapes, Dallas
Sunset @ LJT Festival 2007. One of the “pre-baby” high-points.
I could do a “Best of 2007″ or even a Top Albums of the Year kinda thing, but it probably wouldn’t be that great. Why? Just cuz, I guess. In fact, I am not even reviewing the entire year, but only the part of the year that I have been blogging up in this mutha, which would be since May 1st. So, you wanted a woefully incomplete and illiterate retrospective on the partial year that was (you did, I heard you ask)??? Well unwrap this little present below (no special order or progression, this review is as out of order chronologically as it is incomplete):
Bleu Edmondson, Adam Hood, Ryan Bingham, Drew Kennedy
Wilco, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Cross Canadian, Ryan Adams -
Big names, big record releases. While these twangy favorites produced solid, focused and tight albums that had various flashes of brilliance, they each fell a tad short (some more or less than others) of some of their previous works that provided them with their big names. What most bands wouldn’t give to have an offering as strong as these discs as their second, third or fourth best productions in their catalog.
The Wagonmaster rides out in style. The Thin Man from West Plains astounded and confounded me with his “don’t call it a comeback” album that gave us a riveting farewell simply by reminding us all where he had been.
Entertainer of the Year: Cash Dearmore -
My Baby Boy (Sorry, I had to, go read Country Weekly if you don’t like it). July 23rd saw my life change forever, and there isn’t a concert or CD in the world that could entertain, delight and make me smile the way that Little Cash does.
Ya know when you are looking at your favorite bands website and as you look for the next time they are playing in your area and you spot a couple of dates that are listed as a “private party??“ I have never been to one of these private jam sessions until this week. I have long pictured these prepaid shin-digs as swanky wedding receptions and super-sweet 16 parties or some other event where the right kind of band would lend the event an element of rowdiness for a well-to-do family that shells out cash for such intimate affairs. As it turns out, these “private parties” are likely to be corporate functions that companies with event-planning cash can throw at bands that agree to let old white people (I was a bit younger than most attendees, not much though) dance and party like it’s 1999. On Tuesday night, I was front and center for the Southern Living Magazine Pickin’ Party at the Texas Travel Industry Assoc. Annual Conference. The party starred none other than Hayes Carll, Brandon Rhyder and Walt Wilkins. Seeing as the crowd was relatively small (a couple hundred at most), and strangley enough, many of the attendees hadn’t heard of these top notch singer songwriters, I figured to have plenty of chances to say hello to the guys, talk music, talk babies (or should I say “corner them“), and get them to sign my conference notebook (neat souvenier). As they took the stage you could sense the uneasiness that the singers felt as they began what was an unusual gig. Tuesday night gigs are strange enough for these guys, but to play to a seated, mainly baby boomer crowd in a hotel ballroom made it even more unusual, as Hayes Carll would very comically explain later in the show. As great as the music was, it was the banter between the performers that created a unique vibe. Hayes displayed the same wit that laces many of his songs as he wondered aloud what convention life must be like for business folks and what kinds of trouble one can get in at the Houston Aquarium. In fact, he was on such a roll comedically that as he sang, various lyrics to his songs seemed funny, even when they weren’t intended to be. But that didn’t seem to matter to the crowd that had no clue to begin with or even to Hayes himself. Walt Wilkins attempted to express his love for Texas through a joke about one of the towns that was represented at the conference. As the crowd sat silent in shock over this joke (good natured jab really), he looked over at Carll and Rhyder to see them shaking their head at him, as if they could prevent him from offending anyone. At that point, Carll offered discounted rates for their services to compose theme songs comprised of a city’s “highlights and population.” As far as the music itself went, it was classic songwriter storytelling as Wilkins blazed through “We’ve all got our reasons,” “Trains I missed,” and ending with “Songs about Texas,” made famous by Pat Green. Brandon Rhyder displayed a softer tone throughout as he focused on the love songs and ballads from his arsenal, such as “Freeze Frame Time.” Hayes Carll mixed in some new songs with some tunes from his Little Rock CD including, “Hey baby, where you been?” and the title track. It was during his rendition of “Little Rock” that the evenings musical highlight was provided. As Carll strummed closer to the guitar solo, he looked over to Wilkins, said, “you got this one?” and Wilkins shredded an acoustic solo that got the crowd off our feet and showed us just how much fun these artists and friends were having, now that they knew the gig wasn’t as bland as they first expected. Great show, great stories, great songs. Here’s to hoping I find myself at a few more “private party” gigs soon.
He’s about to make a “mondo” breakthrough (sorry, couldn’t help it)
Kathleen, jamming on a yoga mat with a box of wine at her bare feet
