The man was napping on the tiny, cluttered Maxwell’s stage while various battered and bruised instruments were carted out and placed on the stage around him.
Well he seemed to be napping…and then he suddenly rolls over and does a couple of labored push-ups and then be was up and at the mic sporting an aged Gibson SG with a butterfly sticker. The large man with the mop of curly hair, a “Nashville U.S.A” trucker cap and legacy bonifides (his daddy is the legendary Country outlaw musician, Bobby Bare) from that very same Tennessee city engaged in quirky yet familiar song arrangements, and with a voice that could lull a preacher’s daughter into a life of sin, commenced to tear up the house on this Thursday night.
Songs of love found, lost, found again…drug abuse, beauty all done with humor and whit. Bare featured many songs from his forthcoming September ‘06 Bloodshot records release “The Longest Meow”. “Just pretend you know this song and clap..” he instructed the audience while introducing the new material. Older material from 2004s “From the End of your Leash” was represented with “Valentine” and “Terrible Sunrise.”
In a world of Corporate pre-fabricated music it’s nice to see there are Bobby Bare Jr.s out there making music for the sheer deranged pleasure of it.
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Hey, was this the show he opened for Bottle Rockets?
And he followed Baby Gramps?
If so, do you know who played drums for him that night? The guy wore his hood up the whole time, and I talked for awhile with him after the show. But I cannot remember his name.
I saw Bobby yesterday at the grocery store in Manhattan!