Last of the Breed – Radio City Music Hall – 3/22

It’s not often I get to wear my Lucchese and Stetson on the D train headed downtown to the Rockafeller stop to Radio City Music Hall but on this wet, muggy Spring evening I had an occasion to do so. The brief “Last of the Breed” tour showcasing three legends of Country Music – Ray Price, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson – accompanied by nine-time Grammy winning Western-swing band, Austin’s Asleep at the Wheel was making a stop on their brief tour in New York City.

Southern emigres and enthusiastic wanna-bes from miles around have descened on this sold-out transformed house of honky-tonk in a kind of red state / blue state détente to pay tribute to great, timeless music.

Three men with careers spanning over 150 years and 300 releases between them could easily be defined (along with George Jones and Kris Kristofferson) the most influential living figures of country music. Their paths have cross-crossed the country music landscape over the years (Willie used to be Mr. Price’s bass player, Mele and Willie topped the charts with a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty). If there can be a unifying force between of all of them it would be the genre-bending Texas swing master Bob Wills and his fiddle-playing,improvisational style, and that style was on full display this evening.

You respect your elders, so Ray Price (81) kicked things off with a half-hour set backed by his Cherokee Cowboys. Dapper in a suit and red tie Price exudes the smooth baritone that has defined him all these years while highlighting some of his greatest work- Steel guitar and twin fiddles set down the foundation for San Antonio Rose, Crazy Arms, Heartaches by the Number, Please Release Me, Help Me Make it Through the Night. Songs of love and heartache from a man that makes you believe he’s been there.
A brief instrumental interlude and in Mele Haggard shuffles nonchalantly onto the stage as though he were just one of the band, taking center stage, takes up a fiddle and gets things moving with “Take Me Back to Tulsa.” The packed hall went nuts and I almost smell the holy hillbilly sacrament of whiskey and old leather right there on 6th Avenue. The sound of the ages rode on Merle’s voice that night, “I Wonder if You Feel the Way I Do This Morning, This Evening, So Soon”, “Silver Wings”, “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink”, songs of the downtrodden- “This goes out to all the convicts here tonight.” he announced before breaking into Sing Me Back Home, and taking sly jabs at current events – “Honey, don’t worry about what George Bush does” was slipped into the lyrics of “That’s the Way Love Goes.” Haggard was full of passion, piss and vinegar.

Then just when you think it couldn’t get any better in strolls Willie, saddle up ‘ol Trigger and he and Merle take off with the classic Haggard 60’s retort “Okie From Muskogee” where I assume Willie sang the line “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee” with some sense of irony. Then “Pancho and Lefty” and “Reasons to Quit,” “Ramblin’ Fever” and a new song by Willie “Back to Earth.” Mickey Raphael, Willie’s faithful band harmonica wizard punctuated Willie’s off-kilter phrasing and Merle’s solid-as-stone baritone with sounds reminiscent of a whippoorwill call or a lonely train whistle.

Ray Price reappeared to cover a few songs from the release, honoring Wills with “Roly Poly” and “Please Don’t Leave Me Any More Darlin” and one of my favorites, “Night Life” this portion brought the two rambunctious youngsters to heal by the old-school elegance of a master and they followed suit willingly on support.

Willie then took the reins and did cuts he can now do in his sleep – “You Were Always on My Mind”, “Whiskey River” and “On the Road Again” introduced his song “Superman: as one he wrote while taking time off recuperate from carpal-tunnel and introduced a new song “You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore” that was genuinely hilarious.

The years of classic country music strata was unearthed before a rabid New York City crowd which was on their feet, wooping and hollering, after almost every song. For a moment the fervor was so genuine, the dotted Stetons in the crowd, the drunk in the lobby being “handled” by the cops- I felt the soul of a honky-tonk permeated the Hall that Rockefeller built leaving it altered forever. It took these legends – this music that Nashville seems hell-bent to squelch as a result of market-testing or sheer embarrassment of their hillbilly roots – to make myth live this warm city night.

Bloodshot Records 11th annual CMJ (weasels!) BBQ

Yeah those weasels at the CMJ denied yours truly a press pass to attend their precious conference (don’t they know that tens of people worldwide read this blog?!) but who cares there’s only one show I want to  go to anyway and it’s open to the public and CHEAP! from the label:

BLOODSHOT 11th annual CMJ BBQ
Saturday, November 4th @ Union Pool in Brooklyn (Williamsburg)
Sponsored by KDHX, eMusic, and Oskar Blues Brewery.

Tickets $10 or $7 with a CMJ badge.
Public welcomed and encouraged.  No invite needed!!!
Beer, BBQ and goodies provided
Doors at noon, music PROMPTLY AT NOON!!

Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Chicago IL) (chamber folk punk)
Mark Pickerel (Seattle WA)
The Silos (NYC)  New CD in Feb 2007
Deadstring Brothers   (Detroit MI)
Scott H Biram   (Austin TX) (That dirty ‘ol one-man band-Twang)
Bobby Bare Jr  (Nashville TN) 
THE MEAT PURVEYORS  (Austin TX)   LAST SHOW EVER!!!!!(RIP dammit-Twang)

Wayne Hancock -Rodeo Bar -New York City (10/25)

Coming to a city built on attitude and pretense Wayne “the Train” Hancock would have none of it. Instead he won over the packed and adoring crowd at the Rodeo Bar with his signature brand of straight-up hillbilly swing in support of his current Bloodshot Records release “Tulsa.” Wayne Hancock is the real deal. No attitude, image consultation or arrogant disdain for his fans. Wayne was a genuine gentleman when I introduced myself and shook his hand (as was his smoking band – Eddie Biebel on lead guitar and the rhythm slappin’ Jake Erwin on Doghouse Bass.)

Rebellion by way of tradition is part of the typical Hancock MO. A tough ex-Marine, Hancock has likened himself to a stab wound in the Nashville fabric of country music. Playing his standard 2 1/2 hr plus show and good-naturedly hamming it up with his band and taking shouted requests from the refreshingly rowdy Manhattan crowd (Yeeehaw booooeeey!) Hancock and his band tore up the stage with a Texas-sized attitude. Hancock covered most of his career, burning through versions of “That’s What Daddy Wants”, ” Highway 54″, “Flatland Boogie” All songs done without a net , no set list, songs called out on the fly or taken from the audience. Near the break Mr. Mark O’connor joined the band onstage for a few songs and a killer version of the fiddle classic “Orange Blossom Special.”

Wayne’s voice has some of the same characteristics as Hank Williams, grandson Hank III likes to say that Hancock sounds more like Hank than Hank did, but Hancock is far too modest to take that compliment to heart. Wayne said in a recent interview: “I always say that’s a nice compliment, when people say that, but could you keep your voice down a little bit?” he says, laughing. “That’s kind of a silly thing to say. How can you sound better than the person who sang it? You can’t. It’s a nice compliment, but it’s like, ‘Geez, man, get a life. Is there a bull’s-eye on me or what?’”

But the sound and style are there, there’s no doubting it. For some of the best in no-bullshit Texas honky-tonk music done with style, passion and grace you can’t do any better than Mr. Wayne “the Train” Hancock.

Wayne “the Train” Hancock in New York

Neo-traditionalist and purveyor of honky-tonk, western swing, blues, Texas rockabilly and Juke Joint Swing, Wayne “the Train” Hancock is bringing his tour in support of his Bloodshot Records latest “Tulsa ” to the
Big Apple. October 26th at the Rodeo Bar.

Sure it’s not as cool as having one of your CDs taken aboard a space shuttle, but it is pretty great!

See ya’ll there!

Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys Fall Dates

Yep Roc recording artists Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys are brinnging their brand of western rockabilly swing from out of their base in Anaheim, CA clear on over to the East Coast. This stretch will also feature ex-BR549er Chris Scruggs on the steel. Check out these cats if you get the chance.

Wed Oct 4 Music Mill Indianapolis, IN
Thu Oct 5 Cowboy Monkey Champaign, IL
Fri Oct 6 The Abbey Pub Chicago, IL
Sat Oct 7 Tall Stacks Music Festival Cincinnati, OH
Tue Oct 10 Cafe Nine New Haven, CT
Wed Oct 11 Iron Horse Northampton, MA
Thu Oct 12 Maxwell’s Hoboken, NJ
Fri Oct 13 North By Northwest Philadelphia, PA
Sat Oct 14 IOTA Club & Cafe Arlington, VA
Sun Oct 15 Taphouse Norfolk, VA
Tue Oct 17 Gravity Lounge Charlottesville, VA
Wed Oct 18 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC
ThuOct 19 Grey Eagle Asheville, NC
Fri Oct 20 The Earl Atlanta, GA
Sat Oct 21 Private Nashville, TN
Sun Oct 22 Automatic Slims Memphis, TN