Gary Allan @ Joe's bar, Chicago

It doesn't get much better than seeing Gary Allan for free and thanks to Chicago's US99, Blue Chip Casino and Coors Light fans lucky enough to win tickets got another great show at Joe's bar. The line to get in stretched down the block and the place was packed early and after Easton Corbin's opening set Gary came out swinging with the title song on his latest album "Get off the Pain" released March 9Th. Playing a few more tracks off his new album including "Today" and "Kiss Me When I'm Down" and he attempted to run through his long list of hits like "She's so California" and "Watching Airplanes" even stopping one song near the beginning to play another, which tends to make things sound like a medley but thankfully Gary didn't fall into that and it was the only time during the show that happened.
Gary may not write too many songs himself but he is so good at choosing his material that its tough to decipher which songs of his were written by other people. He tries to use the same studio musicians on every album and has a very loyal band with him on tour that is very versatile on a variety of instruments. Much has been written already about the tragic events in Gary's life and three years later he has "No Regrets" but you always get the sense that the past will haunt him the rest of his life and that it goes hand in hand as a protagonist for the material he records. I have never seen Gary Allan live before and have been looking forward to that chance for a long time, he is one of the true artists on a short list of people i still listen to in Nashville and he also is well liked by Texas artists often sharing the stage with bands like Cross Canadian Ragweed. I had hoped for a longer show than the hour and ten minutes Gary gave us but all in all it was a fantastic high energy show that left me willing to see him again next time through.

The Randy Rogers Band @ Joe's

Thursday March 4th The Randy Rogers Band was back at Joe's and i was looking forward to hearing more polished versions of the new songs they have recorded for their new CD "Burning the Day" which guitarist Geoff Hill said will be released later this summer in June or July but the first single "Interstate" will be released to radio in May. If the songs "Interstate" and "Holding on to Letting Go" are any indication then this is going to be another great album from these guys. Radney Foster produced the last few albums and this time they changed things up and went with Paul Worley. Paul was vice president of Sony BMG records and later was chief creative officer at Warner Brothers Nashville, he is better known as a producer and session guitarist having received Grammy awards for best country album with The Dixie Chicks albums "Wide Open Spaces" and "Fly" and he helped to sign the duo Big & Rich. Paul's recent credits also include production on "Need You Now" from Lady Antebellum.
The guys were nominated again this year by The Academy of Country Music for top vocal group and are back on the road in a brand new custom built from scratch tour bus after taking some time off to record the new album in Nashville and recently completed a successful West coast run through California. I read an interview done a few years ago by Micheal Devers and Lone Star Music magazine that gave some insight into the rest of the band and how Geoff writes some of the darker themed songs but always seems to be the happy guy with the great sense of humor which i noticed was still there even though the guys were pretty worn out from the last few shows. Brady is always up for conversation and meeting new people and we talked a little about his days as a kid on the farm growing up around Amarillo Texas. I didn't see much of Les at all and Randy was around but seemed very tired.
Jon "Chops" Richardson the bass player is the only single guy in the band and so he was downstairs in the crowd and walking around talking to the ladies while we were upstairs talking about music and the good beers that Geoff and i like because earlier in the day i saw a photo he posted on his Facebook page of all the beer in the aisles of the huge Whole Foods market at the end of Weed Street and Kingsbury where Joe's is located. The back of fiddle player Brady Black's T-shirt read "Love Live Music" and these always deliver the goods here in Chicago.

Jack Ingram Acoustic Motel Tour @ Joe's

If you ask anyone that is really into Texas music to name some of the best albums in Texas music, Jack Ingram's Acoustic Motel record often gets named as one of the best, Just Jack and his guitar. Joe's bar was the intimate setting revisiting those days and more on a "Acoustic Motel" tour that took Jack to audiences like here in Chicago, Minneapolis and New York state. Joe's bar set up candle lit tables and the stage was set up with a couple of couches for fans to sit on behind Jack if they got the nerve to jump up there and be in the spotlight. After the first few people dared to do it it wasn't so hard for a few other groups to take their place and take turns in one of the best seats in the house only a few feet from Jack. Starting off with a song he said he was doing lately, a Patty Griffin song called "When it don't come Easy" and he does a fantastic rendition of it. Jack also has a song on his most recent album "Big Dreams and High Hopes" with Patty called "Seeing Stars" which he did later on in the show. Its a great song that should have received much more airplay than it did. The second song he played was the title to his "Hey You" album from 1999. Following that up with His song "Biloxi" about how his father often wasn't around when he was growing up and he stated "I wrote that song when i was 25 years old, before i got married, now i am married and i re-thought that song a little bit, then i had a couple kids and i thought well man maybe my dad wasn't such an asshole after all, probably doing the best he could under some pretty intense circumstances" he then said that around that time he found another song, which was a song that his friend Radney Foster sent him one day after he had heard "Biloxi" and thought of him. He sent a shout out to Chicago's US99 radio saying that if you listen to them you probably heard this song and he played "Measure of a Man" and after that song Jack said "I couldn't help but notice that after i mentioned Houston and Texas that i got an audible response" and he said "I'm from Texas too" and he preceded to talk about high school football and played the song "Great Divide" off the "This is it" album. Next he said "I got a daughter at home, her name is Ava Adele" and he launched into that beautiful song written about her after saying that he used to dislike songs about other people's kids and that he cant get away with playing the song at home because he isn't Hannah Montana.
The night went on with some great stories between the songs that only an acoustic show like this one at Joe's can afford. Shots were being passed to Jack on the stage and beers were consumed, songs were sung and laughs shared. Jack also performed "Make a Wish (coming home again)" and "Seeing Stars" which he said that after having chart success with many songs written by other people that he convinced his record company to let him have a go at it with that song and he said sarcastically said that it shot all the way up to number 56 but adding that he considers any of his songs a hit if they make it into the double digits and passed the triple digits. Jack has a recent release which is the first track on "Big Dreams and High Hopes" that he released at the start of this acoustic tour called "Free" its a perfect springtime and summer rocker written by Jay Knowles and one of my favorite writers, Trent Summar, request it on your local radio, it sounds like a hit. At the end of the show Jack came out to the edge of the stage to sing "Goodnight Moon" without a microphone encouraging everyone to sing along.
Jack studied psychology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and i think some of the songs he chooses or writes have that kind of insight and fascination into the human psyche and when you meet him it seems like he looks at you as if he is trying to read into you a bit and see what your all about. Jack announced that he will be back this summer with his band at Joe's so if you get the chance come to the show you will be entertained because like i have said here before, he is one of the best entertainers in the business and gives it all he's got. Jack is off to Australia in March and then he's on the bill for the "Country Throwdown" tour that will be coming around this spring. Click here for more photos. Some of them will be in the March 15th issue of Country Weekly magazine!

Robert Earl Keen @ Joe's

Back in September or so there was the possibility of Robert coming up to Chicago with Todd Snider and Bruce Robison on their acoustic tour and i was hoping that would happen at Joe's but it ultimately did not so i was thrilled to hear that Robert was coming up in February with his whole amazing band and so was everyone else because the place was packed. Robert Earl Keen is revered by his contemporaries and is someone to look up to if your an aspiring Texas musician. If you want to learn about great songwriting you do not have to look any further than any Robert Earl Keen song. Nearly all of the songs Robert has written since his days of hanging out on the front porch with Lyle Lovett can be used as movie scripts or the basis for a good novel. He packs so much detail and so much character study into his songs that they offer a visual picture in your mind of what the land, the people and the conditions are like that inspired the songs. He may not have lived out each one but trying to figure out which ones he has and has not is not easily done. Trying to write something about Robert Earl can easily take up the whole page and trying to say something that hasn't already been said is nearly impossible so all i can do is write about what i know, which is good advice for songwriters too.Bobby Bare Jr. opened the show for Robert and i have to admit that i just don't get that guy, i have tried, i liked his dad's music but maybe there is just something i'm missing when it comes to him but i heard that the crowd was disrespectful to him and it affected his performance unfortunately but it made me want to have Robert on that stage even more which is actually sometimes a good thing as far as an opening act is concerned because you don't want the openers to be better than the headliner right?
Robert has been in a great mood lately, he's happy and it shows in his stage presence and in his song choices, he dug back all the way to his first self funded independent album "No Kinda Dancer" from 1984 right up to his latest release "The Rose Hotel" on Universal Nashville records. Robert is on a major label but this one seems smart enough not to mess with his creativity so things seem to be going well. Robert has retained his sly sense of humor throughout the years and its as sharp as ever but he can also convey a serious side as good as anyone through some of my favorite songs like "Mariano" and "Shades of Grey" as well as "Flyin Shoes" which is a great cover on his latest album originally done by the great Townes Van Zandt and i was thinking that if Townes were still with us maybe he would play a show at Joe's one day.The crowd seemed to be very familiar with Robert's music and when he mentioned "I always have to play a fishing song after i play a love song" everyone immediately yelled out "Five Pound Bass" and a lot of people seemed to connect with his between songs story telling about life in Texas. Robert lives the life as close as he can and he lives on a working ranch with his wife when he is not on tour so a lot of the Texas borderland and rural Texas experiences come through in his songs.Robert Earl Keen's band is absolutely top notch with Tom Van Schaik on drums, Marty Muse offering up some phrases on the Pedal steel guitar, Bill Whitbeck on Bass and the fantastic playing on lead guitar by Rich Brotherton. Rich has lent his talent to everyone from Eliza Gilkyson to Rich O'Toole and many more as a musician and producer. Bill Whitbeck has contributed to albums by Aaron Watson to Rodney Hayden and also has his own record out called "Radio Caroline" which was released back in November to good reviews. Marty Muse has been featured on many recordings too, ranging from Robbie Fulks to Bruce Robison to Dwight Yoakam and as of 2009 he is working on his own release. Tom Van Schaik was the original drummer with the Dixie Chicks for over 6 years before joining Robert. Each of these guys have their own websites or Myspace sites. Robert came out to sign merchandise for fans and i bought a copy of "Undone" for him to sign and he also signed my hat and that just about completes that one and its about time to start another and i also got to talk with Robert after the show for a while. I would highly recommend "Undone" to anyone who is new to Robert's music or to long time fans because it really puts Robert's songwriting skills on display as each song was chosen by his peers and performed acoustically at a tribute to Robert at the Musicfest in Steamboat Springs Colorado back in 2008. Just like Charlie Robison stated on stage next to Robert at the Musicfest "ive been out hatted by Robert Earl" no one can out hat REK. Click here for more photos from the show at Joes in Chicago.

Stoney LaRue @ Joe's bar

February 5th after Micky & The Motorcars opened the show Stoney LaRue took the stage. What can i say about Stoney LaRue that i haven't already said in writing about him here many times before? He's one of the most infectious and enthusiastic entertainers in Texas music. He is also one of the most talented with one of the best voices in the business. Stoney recently released a live acoustic CD of mostly covers from artists like Mike McClure (Tie My Boat) of The Great Divide a groundbreaking band from Oklahoma and John Hiatt's "Train To Birmingham" as well as a song he co wrote with Mike McClure and Tom Skinner (Love You For Loving Me) that is one of the new songs he's been doing lately. Stoney is also working on a album of all new material, and we have all heard that before but it will happen, just be patient. After seeing Stoney play a few acoustic shows lately i was looking forward to seeing him with his amazing band again and i will just talk about them here right now. His keyboard player Steve Littleton has quite a set up, combining old technology like a Wurlitzer keyboard with a rotary horn speaker with modern technology like today's latest synthesizers. Steve is also a keyboard player in an Austin Texas band called "Live Oak Decline" and Live Oak Decline recorded an album and were talking about recording their second which i'm not sure has been done yet. Jesse Fritz is the bass player for Stoney LaRue, he is responsible for laying down all those funky bass lines like the one in the Mike Hosty song "Oklahoma Breakdown" and he is an avid motorcycle rider often going for rides on his Harley Davidson with Stoney when they are not on the road in a tour bus. Kevin Webb is Stoney's lead guitarist and he's the one who plays that distinctive slide guitar intro on "Oklahoma Breakdown" and he also has various side projects and produces bands now and then. He is from Norman Oklahoma and you can hear some of his cool music on his Reverbnation.com page. Jeremy Bryant is Stoney LaRue's solid drummer, Jeremy also has lent his talent to various other artists like Mike Mancy on his album "Blue Sky" and he also drums for a band called "Willis Brownstone" a jam band made up of Waco Texas locals including Wade Bowen's bass player Caleb Jones. Jeremy Watkins is the fiddle, mandolin and harmony vocalist for the band. Jeremy also has performed with another fellow Oklahoma singer and songwriter by the name of Travis Linville and back in 2003 Jeremy was involved in an auto accident with Jason Boland heading back to Stillwater Oklahoma, thankfully they both were ok although Jason had to have some major surgery to repair his leg and hip. Stoney and the band played a great set returning for an encore that became a jam session weaving in and out of songs by the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd which really showed off Stoney and his band The Arsenal's love of classic rock.

Micky & The Motorcars @ Joe's

After seeing Micky & The Motorcars for the first time in Steamboat at the Musicfest but only listening to their music occasionally before that i was looking forward to seeing them in Chicago because i think their "Live at Billy Bob's" CD is one of the best live albums i have heard, it just has a great sound, and it was recorded right. After reading the liner notes and credits i found out Adam Odor (Austin recording engineer and mixer) and David Abeyta (Reckless Kelly) and a few others were involved. If you listen to some of the older "Live at Billy Bob's" recordings the sound is often not quite as good as recordings done at other venues so Micky & The Motorcars were aware of this and were able to get around this by bringing in their own crew to record and film this special occasion. Micky & The Motorcars (if you are not familiar with them) consist of Micky Braun on lead vocals and Gary Braun on rhythm guitar and vocals, mandolin and harmonica (you maybe more familiar with two more of the Braun brothers, who are founders of the band Reckless Kelly) other members of the band include Kris Farrow who studied at the Berklee college of Music and also is a very talented Sax player and lead guitarist. Shane Vannerson on drums and Mark McCoy on bass round out the rest of the band.
The band writes their own songs and they also carefully choose songs from their favorite songwriters and their versions fit their style so well that you would have a hard time figuring out who wrote what. Songs by fellow Idaho songwriter and musician Pinto Bennett (Carolina Morning) Austin's own John Dee Graham (Twilight) and co writes with Kevin Welch's son Dustin (Bloodshot) which is one of my favorite songs and Kevin's daughter Savannah who is part of the Trishas also co wrote one (Amber) with Micky. There are also some other covers that they have done live but have not recorded like The Faces "Stay With Me" and Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and Todd Snider's "Looking For a Job" help to round out the recording which has 25 songs in total on two discs along with the complete show included on DVD. My only wish is to have the band come back and play a longer headlining show but as openers for Stoney LaRue the crowd was ready for him to take the stage. The Braun family is incredibly talented, Muzzie is the talented father of the family and Kathleen his daughter is also a singer and songwriter and the whole family holds the ever expanding Braun Brothers Reunion music festival in Idaho in August and it is drawing more and more people each year.

Cross Canadian Ragweed @ Joe's bar.

After Seth James was done with his set, Cross Canadian Ragweed came out to a packed in and sold out Joe's bar in Chicago and again had ole blue eyes, Frank Sinatra's "My Kind of Town, Chicago is" playing over the house sound system before taking the stage and ripping into "Don't Need You" from their self titled CD known as the "Purple" album. They played about half of the songs on their latest release "Happiness and all the Other Things" including "Drag" and bass player Jeremy Plato's version of the Stephen Bruton song "To Find My Love" that Jeremy sings. They also did the songs "Overtable" and the Overture also called "Blackrose" and then went into their tribute to Betty Page with the song "Pretty Lady" before going back to some old songs. After playing older favorites like "42 Miles" and "Brooklyn Kid" inspired by their friend Robert Hanson, they played quite a few older songs and there were the usual obnoxious guys in the crowd that seem to be at every show yelling out to the band to play "Carney Man" and "Boys from Oklahoma" and usually they will not play it unless they feel like it but this time they did. I was quick to judge the guys that were so insistent on getting them to play those two songs but sometimes you learn that maybe you should not be so quick to do that because later i talked to them outside and they told me they were heading to Iraq two days later.

Cody Canada, Cross Canadian Ragweed's lead singer and guitarist split the set up by doing a short acoustic set with the songs "Carry Me Home" and a surprising cover of "It Ain't Easy Being Me" by Chris Knight, plus a few more. The show went on with some more older material like "Late Last Night" by Todd Snider and "Wanna Rock & Roll" by Ray Wylie Hubbard. Seth James and Geoff Queen came out and joined them for the last song before the night was over and Seth and Cody had to catch a plane to perform an acoustic show in New Braunfels the next day. I am writing this one day before seeing Cross Canadian Ragweed again tomorrow night at the Intersection in Grand Rapids, Michigan so look for a write up on that soon too. More color photos. More black & white photos.

Seth James @ Joe's

Texas guitarist and singer songwriter extraordinaire Seth James has been touring off and on with his friends Cross Canadian Ragweed and opened for them at Joe's bar in Chicago Saturday November 21st. Seth has a firm grasp of the blues mixed in with his Texas style country and rock. Raised just North of Abilene in a musical family he began by learning piano and trumpet but was drawn to the guitar in high school. Honing his skills while working part time in a local music store, he soon moved to Austin and has since released three albums full of rock and blues riffs set to his introspective song lyrics. With a sound comparable to Doyle Bramhall and a very adept backing band that although has changed over the years are always are right there to back up his explosive expressions he creates on the guitar. Seth's latest release is "That Kind of Man" which is earning him critical acclaim and an ever expanding fan base and thanks to exposure from opening guys like Cross Canadian Ragweed that fan base is growing much faster. Over the Summer Seth sat in with Ray Wylie Hubbard as his lead guitarist and it was the first time i had seen him although i had heard about him before then, i was very impressed with his natural blues playing ability. His latest album has a great variety of material that stays with the rock and country genres but not many artists have the underlying base of the blues in their music the way that Seth does. The crowd at Joe's bar was very receptive to him and the show was sold out. Seth took the stage playing the perfect choice of song to open a Ragweed show with "Two for Tuesday in America" off his current album. The songs lyrics have the line "I'm in love with this road, i'm in love with this car, I'm in love with the radio station that's playing me some CCR" which i have to think is a shout out to KNBT in New Braunfels Texas and Cross Canadian Ragweed (not Creedence) that station plays a lot of CCR as well as a non stop variety of Americana music (including Seth) from bands and musicians around the country. Seth also played two of my favorites from "That Kind of Man" like "Slow Roll" and "Again" that unfortunately were missing the beautiful harmonies of his wife Jessica Murray who did not make the trip up out of Texas. He included material from his past two albums also and later sat in with Ragweed at the end of their set. View more photos of the show by clicking here. Photos

Wade Bowen @ Joe's bar

When i heard that Wade Bowen was returning to Joe's bar in Chicago i knew i had to go and the fact that Radney Foster was the opener and Wade was headlining this time was the seal on the deal. Wade and his band joined Radney on stage for a rocked up version of the title track to Radney's latest album "Revival" which they rehearsed only briefly during the afternoon's sound check. After a short break Wade and the band came back to the stage to a pounding kick drum beat by Brooks Robinson that further got the crowd excited before the first song. Wade has added a keyboard player named Ross Smith and the rest of the band with Gary Wooten on Lead guitar, Matt Miller on Rhythm guitar, Caleb Jones on bass and Brooks Robinson on drums sounds tighter every time. Wade has some serious songs but that doesn't mean everyone wasn't having a good time on stage. The crowd was small, maybe because it was a Thursday night show, but i talked to Brooks after ward and he reminded me that "Its the quality of the crowd, not the quantity" and this show did have a quality crowd who knew every word, not only of Wade's songs but also most of Radney's.
For those who have seen a Wade Bowen show over the last year or so you will hopefully recall a time when Wade has taken a hat from where it hangs near the drum rack and has spoken of a soldier from Waco Texas named Doug Matthy's, Waco is also Wade's hometown. Wade and his band have proudly displayed a Boonie hat belonging to Doug who is an Army soldier who Wade's father heard about from Doug's wife and has kept it with him on stage every night praying for a safe return for Doug and his platoon from Iraq. Right before singing his song "If We Ever Make It Home" Wade would talk about Doug and his platoon. Well about two months ago Doug surprised Wade with an emotional return walking on stage at Gilley's in Dallas. Although the band knew this would happen, Wade did not and it was something unforgettable and overwhelming for everyone in attendance. Sincere moments like these are just another reason why i love this music and this community of musicians and fans involved in it. Its good to hear this story finally came full circle and with great news. Thank you to my friend Crystal for her great photos from that show.
Wade very recently announced plans for a live album to be recorded this month (November 21st) at Billy Bob's in Ft. Worth Texas and it will be great to get the songs they play from Wade's latest album "If We Ever Make It Home" recorded live, the energy in these songs is amazing with Gary Wooten's aggressive guitar playing and unique tone and Brooks's energetic drumming. Brooks Robinson has been drumming for Wade for just about the beginning and has an a rock style influenced by everyone from John Bonham to Tommy Lee, and makes for some great photo ops with his showman ship, unfortunately i did not get anything usable from this show of him. Wade and Radney came out and signed autographs after each of their shows and talked with fans before heading out to another venue. Click this link to view a video of Wade singing his latest single "Trouble"  My other site

Radney Foster @ Joe's

If your old enough to remember the big hit song "Nobody Wins" that was released in 1992 by Radney on his first solo album, or you go back further and remember the duo known as Foster & Lloyd then i am sure you recognize the name Radney Foster. If you are relatively new to country music then maybe you have not heard of Radney but chances are you have heard his songs and did not know it. Radney has written some pretty big hits for Sara Evans "A Real Fine Place To Start" and Keith Urban's hit "Raining On Sunday" and one that Dierks Bentley covered on his Greatest hits album called "Sweet and Wild"
Radney is still writing and recording great music on his own and his latest recording "Revival" has to be one of his best and most personal albums he's ever done. Radney has gone through a lot in the last year, celebrating his fiftieth birthday as well as the unfortunate loss of his father and the return of his son who was living in France. The album "Revival" which is on Radney's own label "Devil's River" is a permeating statement to overcoming heartbreak and personal loss and pulling your self up and back on your feet with a good mix of ballads and gospel style upbeat songs. The most poignant songs on the album to me are the ballads such as the one recounting how he feared punishment as a child from his father and tying that in with being beside his hospital bed before he passed a way using the lyric "I Know You Can Hear Me" to relate the story. Then there is the song "Made Peace With God That Day" about having to wait in the waiting room at the hospital while doctors were treating his two year old son and praying he will be able to take him home. Many songs in country music circles have been written about soldiers and the fighting in the Middle East but none have approached it from the angle Radney has with the song "Angel Flight" which is written with Darden Smith after an inspiring conversation with a member of the National Guard. They wrote it from the perspective of a pilot of a C-130 Hercules aircraft that has the unfortunate duty of returning fallen American soldiers back to United States soil. Darius Rucker sings harmony and Proceeds from the song are donated to a charity that helps families of fallen soldiers. Serious subjects yes, but there are some fun songs here that are of a much lighter subject matter too. Radney performed a few of those at Joe's too like the song "Trouble Tonight" about going out and stirring up a bit of mischief all in good fun and the title track to his latest release "Revival" which he performed with Wade Bowen and his band as the last song before Wade returned to play his set. Radney also played a few older songs like the ones i mentioned he's had major country music stars cover as well as some of my favorites like "Texas in 1880" and "Half Of My Mistakes" as well as "Nobody Wins" and although he did not have his band "The Confessions" along, hearing these songs done acoustic made them even more personal and emotional. Click this link My other site to view a video my friend Rob shot of Radney performing "I Know You Can Hear Me" from this show at Joe's.