April 13, 2013
Review by Daniel Chester
Things Have: continues to grow on the listener...love starting with him at
the mike center stage... this tune done well almost makes it like you're
immediately in the middle of the show (this ain't no warm-up)...swell
table-setter
Love Sick: not as spooky a spell as other times, a fine rendition
Highwater: first of a half-dozen with the stand-up bass (should be double
that)...banjo came through nicely...not a troubling or sinister version,
call it a friendly version
Soon After I Come Back from Looking at the T-Shirt Kiosk: piano and Herron
had some nectacular moments, this wasn't one the them...really average
tune for him though it sounds like it could be some other artist's best
tune
Early Roman: nice tempo and nice delivery...love using the stand-up here
Tangled: mashed together a few ideas/versions and while they might all be
quality none of them were mastered...lacked the funk-like sound and rhythm
of last couple versions heard
Pay In: pretty faithful, fairly interesting, some great lines sung well
(vocals strong this evening)
Visions: if Tom Cruise played a rock star in a movie and one of the tunes
was 'Visions' this is what it would sound like...essence peaks through a
couple times...it's like lobster salad: why would anyone take a delicacy
like lobster and defile it with mayo and celery and whatever?
Spirit: a little fast yet sparkling...stand-up bass working
perfectly...piano understated and extremely cool (especially toward the
end)...a true gem
Beyond Here: surprisingly deep and crisp...drums/rhythm stellar
Blind Willie: decent version (it's always so good)...stand-up bass and
banjo were nice but overall 'meh'
What Good: faithful and honest (don't you wish everything in the world
were so?)...piano sounding sanctified...great choice and delivery
Thunder: driving but not crackling (a bit understated (like the headliner
during this tune))...piano and lap steel finding some late interplay magic
Scarlet Town: stand-up bass and banjo mighty fine...again
faithful...seemlessly working in a new song (not always easy to pull
off)...banjo and piano finding some late alchemy
Watchtower: pretty energetic...lead guitar felt a little less restrained
which lead to some melodic and almost fierce leads
Thin Man: lost the echo yet still a pretty dull affair...there are so many
other potential closers (moods) to end with
Summary: not a bad little venue (for all the advertising thought the joint
would be jammed)...good, consistent energy from all involved...new tunes
held up their end of the bargain...guitar a little deferential...that's a
heckuva band...except for a few tunes the band's quality level seems to
rise when the headliner is away from the piano (standing at the
mike)...maybe there's some trick involved yet how does some old cat
remember all those wonderful lyrics?... as banal as the sax is in rock
music could definately hear some yearning to blow on a couple tunes
(Scarlet Town and Early Roman?)...all 'n' all a borderline great
show...best tunes were Spirit and What Good and Beyond Here...
thanks, everybody
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