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.

Jason Boland "High in the Rockies"

Jason Boland & the Stragglers recorded a new live CD entitled "High in the Rockies" over the course of four scheduled tour dates in the west including Laramie Wyoming at the Cowboy bar, Ft. Collins at the Aggie theater, The Musicfest in Steamboat and the last show at the BlueBird theater in Denver.
I was at the Musicfest but i didn't make that show because i didn't want to leave the show at the Grand Ballroom but i did make the show at the Bluebird and had all access to photograph the show. The Bluebird theater is a very small old theater off Colfax and seems like it will only hold about a hundred people but they have a very impressive and steady list of bands that roll through.
I talked with Roger Ray about the shows and he said that
all of them have gone very smoothly, no songs had to be stopped and re started and if any mistakes were there they haven't heard them yet and they can be corrected later. The first single to be released to radio which Jason stated that "Its not like it matters, they wont play it anyway" will be their cover of the old Danny Flowers song "Tulsa Time" which was made famous by Oklahoma's gentle giant, Don Williams. Each show had the band playing some different songs each night so i cant say that the songs they played in Denver will all make it onto the new CD but i know they were pulling out some good old tunes as well as some songs off the latest "Comal County Blue" disc. Cowboys in Laramie Wyoming was mentioned as their favorite place they visited out of the four stops and they mentioned how good the crowd was and the energy they returned to the stage. I was asked to submit a few photos from the Denver show so i am hoping at least one will be used in the packaging! Click here to view a video of "Proud Souls" shot that night and my You tube channel has a few more videos from that night too.http://secondaryamp.blogspot.com/ UPDATE: Two of my photos from this show have been chosen to be used in the packaging on the new "High in the Rockies" CD to be released 4/20/10 and one will be this shot above used as the back cover!

Friday the finale of the Musicfest

Friday came way too quick, i could have easily stayed for another week in Steamboat, i didn't feel like i met everyone i wanted to meet although i did meet most of the people i have been talking with for the last two years on Facebook but have never actually met in person. I also met plenty of new people that shared the same passion for this music as i have and made quite a few business contacts that may pan out later on down the road.After Jack Ingram played his outdoor show, i rushed over to the big tent to check out a band that all my friends in the Carolina's and the rest of the Southeast have been talking about called Sons of Bill and their manager contacted me to ask if i was able to catch their show and maybe get a few photos. I was impressed with their tight harmonies, musicality and versatility, playing many styles of music ranging from Americana to good ole southern rock & roll. Sons of Bill recently started to venture into the state of Texas and are receiving positive press from Texas media outlets and from music fans. Sons of Bill are from Charlottesville, Virginia and are five guys of which three are brothers hence the name Sons of Bill. Hayes Carll was scheduled to open the day in the tent but had to leave the Musicfest because of the flu which unfortunately also put Billy Joe Shaver out of commission earlier in the festival so Sons of Bill got things started.
Johnathan Tyler & the Northern Lights took the stage after them and i missed their shows in other venues during the week so seeing them on the big stage in the tent was something i was looking forward too, they too are another group i have heard great things about but have not seen yet. A few minutes into the first song i realized that these guys just plain rock, big time seventies southern rock and blues influences with a slight jam band feel. I saw Jonathan walking around in Steamboat at some of the venues and you could not help but notice him with his white fur coat and long hair.


These guys can do a power ballad, a blues standard or a straight up rock and roll song with with attitude and mojo. Reckless Kelly was up next, i had to leave to go back to our condo to get my laptop because i was out of space on my cards. I thought i could quickly take the shuttle up to Storm Meadows Christie Base, get it and head back but the shuttles were pretty slow and not at all on schedule like they claimed, one driver said that another one would be by in five minutes and 20 minutes later i was still waiting. When i got to the condo ambulances and fire trucks were still there after just responding to a fire in our complex and the alarms were still going off. I decided to just unload my cards then so that i didn't have to do it in the tent but i still brought the laptop back so i could do it again.
I made it back just in time for Katie Key and her Best in Texas and the Texas Music Chart awards presentation with Chicago Cubs baseball player Randy Wells. Randy is a recent convert to Texas and Red Dirt music and thanks to Stoney LaRue he has discovered many other bands in the genre. Randy is a frequent concert goer at Joe's bar in Chicago and i got to talk with him after they handed out awards to Cross Canadian Ragweed (twice) and Jack Ingram and also John Dickson of Dickson Productions who's company spends all year prepairing and working to put on the Musicfest as well as many other festivals in various parts of the country such as the Big Music Cruise.Cross Canadian Ragweed then took the stage rocking out crowd favorites like Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Wanna Rock & Roll" who later joined them on stage ith his son Lucas on guitar along with Stoney LaRue, Willy and Cody Braun, Micky Braun, Adam Oder, Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights. Lee Ann Womack joined Ragweed on stage too and later Cody and the band played an all star version of "Boys from Oklahoma" with various guests including KNBT, New Braunfels Texas radio's Mattson Ranier making up words to the song on the spot.After the finale in the big tent i made it to see Wade Bowen and his band do their finale in the Grand Ballroom, Lee Ann Womack joined Wade on stage for a song and Sean McConnell also sang along on his song "Somewhere Beautiful" and later an all star line up gathered together on stage to sing "Hey Jude" as the final closing song to what many have said was the best Steamboat Musicfest yet. Dont forget to check out all the videos i have taken everyday too by clicking here.

The outdoor concert with Jack Ingram.

Friday was the last day of the Musicfest and part of the festivities always include an outdoor concert and Jack Ingram performed the show again. I wanted to see this show because i think Jack is a great entertainer and because it was outdoors whereas all the other shows during the week are indoors, so it makes for some different photos.


Doug Moreland started the show off and i didn't make it on time for that but i did manage to catch most of Jack's set before i had to run to the big tent to get some shots for a band called Sons of Bill. Everytime i see Jack i have been treated to a high energy show sometimes filled with surprises and this time i wasn't let down, some may think he's crazy but Jack was barefoot and Crazy on the outdoor stage where it was below 10 degrees, maybe less. Before starting the song he removed his ski boots and his socks and performed his hit "Barefoot and Crazy" in bare feet and a t-shirt claiming that "this is about as good as i am gonna get my guitar tuned" in such a cold environment. The outdoor concert is always free for everyone, not just Musicfest attendees and walking up to the base and hearing the music reverberate off the mountain was a great way to start my day.

Click here to see my video of Jack singing "Barbie Doll"

Thursday (day three) at the Musicfest in Steamboat.

Well i tried to keep updates going everyday when i could, about what was going on but because of another horrible Internet connection (time to get a broadband card) i had to give up and wait until i got home. So going through all the shots i took, i realized just how many shows i did miss that i wanted to see. It is nearly impossible to make every show, even if you only stay for a few songs just to get some photos, by the time you get to another venue and wait in line its just not worth it. So i went to the shows i was interested in as much as i could, i still missed a lot and what photos i did take did not turn out as good as i had hoped, here are a few that i like.Thursday the 7th was a tough day to decide which shows to see, i was out till the early morning the night before and really didn't get around to anything until the afternoon, so that made the decisions a bit easier since i had already missed some good shows. I ended up going to the Grand and staying there. The line up there was full of bands and musicians that i either really like or haven't seen before like Walt Wilkins and later that night Chris Knight but Ray Wylie Hubbard, Wade Bowen, Lee Ann Womack, Dean Dillon, Randy Rogers, Cody Canada and Stoney LaRue were also on hand. So i felt pretty confident about my decision and after a song or two i knew there was no second guessing.
Walt Wilkins, Ray Wylie and Wade sharing the stage together was a great start. Ray Wylie Hubbard released a new CD at the Musicfest called "A: Enlightenment B: Endarkenment Hint there is no C" and i just love that guys deep dark gritty blues mixed in with his great sense of humor. The Wylie Lama played "Drunken Poet's Dream" which is a Hayes Carll song that is now on Ray's new release. Wade played a new song that i have heard he has played elsewhere but i had yet to hear it called "Matches" and i finally got hear Walt Wilkins perform "Trains i Missed" which is one of my favorite songs.
After a short break Chris Knight, Stoney LaRue, Randy Rogers, Cody Canada, Dean Dillon and Lee Ann Womack stepped onto the stage. Stoney started things off with the song "Straight Faced Clown" and Chris Knight did "Heart of Stone" and "Crooked Road" and Dean Dillon, who has written over 50 songs for George Strait alone performed "The Chair" and "Set em up Joe" which nearly brought down the house but it was Cody Canada and his son Dierks singing "Bluebonnets" complete with Dierks introducing the song and then singing it along with his dad for the first time ever that had everyone talking, smiling or crying. I also tried to take a lot of videos of some of the performances and you can view video i took of this and some of the other songs played at this show here on my other site i have set up for this just click here:
http://secondaryamp.blogspot.com/ Lee Ann Womack performed "Last Call" and "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" and "I Hope You Dance" with Stoney Larue and Randy Rogers singing harmony that sounded absolutely beautiful. Randy Rogers performed the bands new song "Interstate" and "Don't Tell Me the Truth" one he wrote with Dean Dillon. Stoney also sang "Empty Glass" by Gary Stewart with everyone playing guitar at the same time. Cody Canada also performed "Brooklyn Kid" before Bruce Robinson and his band took the stage and i went out to talk with friends and meet some new ones. Texas music fans are some of the most passionate music fans i have ever met, and i think i made a lot of new friends.I ran into Stoney probably at least twice a day going in and out of condo's and venues and he is such a phenomenal talent and such a nice guy, always willing to stop and say hi.
Seeing Walt Wilkins and especially Chris Knight perform for the first time was also one of the highlights of the festival for me, Walt is one of the nicest people i have met and Chris is just as intimidating as the dark themes running through his songs.
I also really liked how Dean Dillon explained to the crowd that the real country music was there with him on stage and coming from places like Texas and not Nashville.