Category Archives: Concerts

Concerts

Shane Smith & the Saints: Living Proof of the Value in Live Music

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Why Shane Smith & the Saints aren’t on more people’s radar I will never know. I’ve been a fervent fan ever since Medicine Stone 2016 when they blew me away in about 8.6 seconds with their a cappella opening to “The Mountain.” It was the first time I’d attended Medicine Stone, the first band I heard on the main stage, and the first I’d ever heard of Shane Smith & the Saints. It seemed the crowd went silent at the start of “The Mountain” to hear the chilling four-part harmonies. Then all at once, the fiddle broke out, and the song shifted into high gear, and my cousin, sitting next to me, broke the spell that we’d all been under by saying simply, “Wow.” I’ve been waiting for a day when I could attend and discuss a Saints live show ever since then, and it finally came Saturday (4/21) at Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City.

This is now the third time I’ve seen them live, and still I am amazed at how they open a show. Honestly, the only time I’ve seen that much energy from a band live is with Turnpike Troubadours, if this tells you anything. This time, their opener was simply a couple minutes of high-spirited fiddle music which eventually dissolved into “The Mountain.” This was a very cool way to lead into things, as one of their biggest strengths is Bennett Brown on fiddle. Again, the only time I’ve been impressed by fiddle playing quite on this level has to be with Turnpike. It’s because while the fiddle for the Saints is at times melodic, like on “New Orleans” or “Quite Like You,” it’s also used for rhythm, similar to the way Turnpike and Old crow Medicine Show use it. You’ll see that on tracks like “Geronimo” and “Feather in the Wind.” And then “All I See is You” arrives, and the fiddle is used for both, going from sweet and melodic in the beginning to just taking over and coming alive later in the song. You can find all that on a Shane Smith record, but some of that magic simply can’t be explained outside a live setting.

The same can be said for their four-part harmonies–you can hear this on a Saints release, but until you’ve actually witnessed this live, been blown away by their version of Band of Heathens’ “Hurricane” or heard the opening of “Geronimo,” you can’t fully appreciate it. Four-part harmony is perhaps their greatest strength, the thing that sets them apart and makes them unique in Texas country and beyond. It’s really not something seen in all of music that much anymore, and crowds recognize the rarity of it when they hear it. More than that, Shane Smith & the Saints recognize the advantage, and make that harmony an integral part of their songwriting.

Fans of this band will be happy to hear they’re recording new music. We were treated to several new selections, including one that’s yet unnamed, “Heaven Knows,” displaying that harmony in all its glory, and one for our town called “Oklahoma City.” This is one time where I’m really glad I don’t actually review these concerts per se, because I am free to be ridiculously biased about my love for this. This was written in honor of what Shane Smith calls their first fan base outside of Texas, people who would actually come out night after night to their shows. It was Oklahoma City, and they wrote a song about our city and the people that believed in them from the beginning. Obviously, that went over very well with us.

These little pieces are always meant to highlight the importance of live music and what makes it special rather than to be analytical concert reviews. Right now, as I type this, I’m listening to a Shane Smith record because I’ve been down that particular rabbit hole all day. But I can say that the Saints are proof of why we have to go out and take in live music and support these artists–because you just can’t get the same experience on this album. The fiddle can only run so free, and you can’t enjoy it breaking free and taking over everything right along with the crowd. It’s the people dancing to the music because it makes them feel something and stopping their conversations to hear the harmonies that make this a special experience. Even more, a song like “Oklahoma city” moved me because we were all together in that moment, all Oklahomans, all part of the fan base that Shane Smith meant when he said they wrote this song for us. It wouldn’t have been the same on an album. I realize that one is a personal and rare experience, but the point is, there are things you just can’t recreate on a record, and the magic in a Saints live show is one of them. Very glad to have been able to include them in this 2018 concert series.

Shane Smith & the Saints are:
Shane Smith, Bennett Brown, Tim Allen, Chase Satterwhite, Zach Stover

Best Live Songs: “The Mountain,” “Hurricane,” “New Orleans,” “Geronimo,” “Oklahoma City”

Concerts

Seeing Colter Wall Live is a Special Experience

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To the people that didn’t buy a ticket to see Colter Wall last night (3/21) at Oklahoma City’s Tower Theatre, somehow leaving that venue not sold out, you missed a great chance to see Wall in an intimate setting. I just saw a tweet not two days ago from someone upset because the show nearest them had already sold out. And to the people who still have the opportunity to grab a ticket to one of his upcoming shows, do it while you still can–because let me tell you, I believe there will come a time when he’s not playing intimate shows like this any longer. Take your chances while you can so that you can say you saw Colter Wall while he was still a rising talent, and before everyone else had jumped on that particular bandwagon.

You can say what you want about Wall, that he’s a niche performer, appealing to old souls stuck in the past with his songs of hopping trains and working in mines, sleeping in lonely motels and spending his days in prison for murdering his girlfriend. Even his choice of words comes from decades past. He counts his “greenbacks” instead of dollars and uses “drew myself up” instead of a more modern phrase like “picked myself up.” In “Kate McCannon,” it’s not, “I went down to the creek,” but rather, “I made for the creek.” Certainly, Colter Wall’s art calls to old souls and those longing for a different place and time.

But rather than making him a niche performer, there’s something about all of that which seems to be speaking to many people, drawing them in so that whenever he sings, people stop what they’re doing to hear every word. Originally, he was supposed to have a full band, but due to weather delays, only Colter Wall and his guitar graced our presence at Tower Theatre. And just like on the majority of his last album, that’s all he needed. Maybe it’s the remarkable voice which calls to mind Johnny Cash and seems to come directly out of the past, or maybe it’s the stories themselves, but whenever Colter Wall sings, people listen. This is not a listening room, meant for people to remain mostly quiet; spectators drink and talk and laugh, and they did so during opener Josh Morningstar’s set and between Colter’s songs. There was some talking during Wall’s set as well, but at times, we could have heard a pin drop, as if people did not want to miss any of what this Canadian-born storyteller had to say. The most any of us spoke was to sing along to his Oklahoma-appropriate closer, “UP Against the Wall Redneck Mother,” which I have to say is the best any one of these performers I’ve seen in 2018 has closed a show…but I digress.

With a voice like that, capturing people’s attention so unlike anything I can hope to put into words here, Colter Wall almost seems destined to sing tales of the past. I came away even less convinced of him needing to expand any horizons with his next effort–which is done, by the way–particularly in the way of production, since “Sleeping on the Blacktop” was actually much more enjoyable live with just him and his guitar. I can also say the same for “The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie.” Both of these came from his debut EP, Imaginary Appalachia, which, unlike his self-titled album, contained things like fiddles and more variety in production. These two songs seemed to fit Colter much more when they were stripped back, and I am looking forward to where he will go with his next album which he said will have a western feel and mentioned Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs as a record that inspired it. If this means his third studio effort will be some sort of ridiculous cross between his last album and the Marty Stuart record Way out West, I don’t have to tell you how much I am looking forward to this. I am only speculating about that, of course, but the new songs I heard from it are promising.

Go see this guy while you have the chance to see and hear him in an intimate setting because if Colter Wall is going to keep inflicting his voice upon unsuspecting crowds this way, you won’t have that chance much longer.

Best Live Songs: “Sleeping on the Blacktop,” “Thirteen Silver Dollars,” “Snake Mountain Blues,” “Kate McCannon,” “UP Against the Wall Redneck Mother”

Concerts

Celebrating Courtney Patton’s Record Release Live at The Blue Door

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So, continuing with the 2018 resolution to take in more live music, I returned to The Blue Door Sunday (2/18), to see Courtney Patton and help celebrate the release of her excellent new record, What it’s Like to Fly Alone. Now, I’ve talked about this venue a lot–and yes, the next concert I have in mind will likely be somewhere else–but I cannot emphasize enough the uniqueness of it, the BYOB policy that has people cracking beers from their ice chests in the middle of songs, the way Courtney can ask us if anyone brought any whiskey for her throat and have someone walk up onstage to hand it to her, etc.

Of course, just like John Baumann earlier this year and Jason Eady last year, Courtney Patton is an artist who thrives in this kind of setting. Jamie Lin Wilson once said to me, in relation to women filling smaller venues than men in general, that “Courtney Patton’s thoughtful, beautiful songs that make people cry” wouldn’t make someone put down a pitcher of beer and go listen. She meant that an artist like Courtney Patton shines in a small listening room like this, where people come to listen to a show–and yes, drink some beer from their ice chest–rather than to drink and hear some music in the background.

I’ve learned something unique from each live performance this year, and I’ve tried to keep these posts focused on that, making them lighter and shorter than actual reviews. After all, this 2018 exercise is more about the merits of live music in general than any one particular artist. With Patton, there were two things that stood out, one being how much you can come to appreciate songs live after hearing the stories behind them. The title track from the new record is a great example of this. Courtney told the story of how, one night after a bad show in Austin that had her calling Jason Eady, her husband, crying and threatening to quit music altogether, a hawk flew from out of nowhere and nearly hit her car. She decided it was God telling her to calm down, go home, and rethink everything. She wrote a metaphorical song about her and that hawk. That song means so much more to me now, even as someone who enjoyed it on the album. But hearing her tell the story and explain the inspiration just added a whole new level of depth to the verses about the hawk. She also talked about “Open flame,” how the opening line was inspired by her daughter after they were dancing near a burning candle on the coffee table; Courtney suggested, “Let’s not dance around an open flame,” and her daughter told her that sounded like a country song. It became an “almost-cheatin’ song,” as she says, on her new record.

The other thing about Courtney Patton was the way she handled messing up the lyrics to a song; indeed, people were talking right on the front row, which at The Blue door is pretty much within spitting distance of the artist, and she noted to us that this distracted her, but after calmly saying the opening lines to “Walk Away” incorrectly three times, she just moved on, flipped us all off good-naturedly, and skipped that song completely. I respect that a lot. It’s not about the mistakes you make; rather, it’s how you deal with them and move on, and Courtney Patton handled that situation admirably.

In short, this was another great show. As I say, I’m not really in the business of reviewing live stuff per se, but Courtney Patton is certainly another artist I’d recommend seeing live. It’s been a good journey so far in 2018, and I can’t wait to share more live music experiences with you all.

Best Live Songs: “What it’s Like to Fly Alone (Hawk Song),” “Round Mountain,” “Fourteen Years,” “Red Bandanna Blue,” and her cover of Gene watson’s “Fourteen Carat Mind”

P.S. Courtney, if you read this, I think I speak for everyone at The Blue Door when I say that you owe us a cover of “Night Moves.”

Concerts

Some Thoughts on Seeing John Baumann Live at The Blue Door

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My 2018 live music New Year’s resolution continued on Friday, (Jan. 19th), when I had the opportunity to see John Baumann live at The Blue Door, a great little listening room in Oklahoma City. I reviewed a Jason Eady show there last April, and I was excited to return to the venue.

I hadn’t known beforehand that this would be an acoustic show, but in a room like this, and with songwriting like that of Baumann, this turned out to be a very welcome thing. It became a really cool, intimate performance. Some of his songs are actually even better suited for this type of show. “Turquoise,” for example, already a highlight of his latest record Proving Grounds, actually sounded better stripped back with just the vocals and acoustic guitars. It takes a certain caliber of songwriting to be able to pull off this type of thing without it becoming “samey,” and John Baumann’s certainly qualifies.

But it wasn’t all the slow, thoughtful numbers you might expect from a show like this. There were nice lighter moments in songs like ‘bible Belt,” a story of growing up in the South and the first song Baumann says he felt like they wrote, and “Holding it Down,” a fun ode to Texas that he remarked should have been taken off the set list for a show in Oklahoma. There were also many breaks for humorous stories, like the inevitable butchering of his last name by concert promoters and his band’s fondness for puzzles. That ability to engage with the audience is great in any live setting, but it especially works at The Blue Door and listening rooms like it because in a small, intimate setting like this, it’s like John Baumann’s just gotten out his guitar and started performing in your living room. And why wouldn’t the guy performing informally in your living room take some breaks to talk about puzzles and Farkle?

I’ve seen two very different shows in two very different settings so far this year, and each one offered unique things to appreciate about live music. I’m only two into what will hopefully be at least twelve shows this year, but I’m already finding a deeper appreciation for the art of live music from these artists. Thanks, John Baumann, for another great live show to add to my 2018 concert series.

Best Live Acoustic Songs: “Turquoise,” “Here I Come,” “Bible Belt,” “Midland”

Concerts

Starting the New Year off Right with Jason Isbell

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It is the #1 goal of this outlet and especially for myself in 2018 to see and discuss more live shows. We stress the importance of albums, but in this streaming age, it’s arguably even more vital to go out and support our favorite artists through ticket sales and buying merchandise. Plus, seeing a live performance often provides a new appreciation for an artist you may already love, and it can also make us fans of artists whose studio recordings we don’t necessarily enjoy.

Both of these things happened for me on Thursday night, (Jan. 4th), at the Criterion in Oklahoma City, where I saw James McMurtry and Jason Isbell. Mostly, I’ll keep this focused on Isbell, but I’ll say this about McMurtry–here’s an independent/Americana artist I have respected but never really gotten into in the past. Seeing him live made me understand exactly what people like about his music. Honestly, he’s a better vocalist live than his studio recordings would have us believe, and I enjoyed quite a lot of these songs. It’s a testament to the value of live music in general, and why we shouldn’t pass judgment on an artist solely on the basis of their recorded material.

As for Jason Isbell, I’m not sure I can put into words his ability to interpret a lyric–and not only that, but to take a heartbreaking tear-jerker of a song like “Speed Trap Town” and make it work in a live setting with people singing along to it. He proves that you don’t have to be singing happy, fun songs live to move an audience, or even to leave an audience feeling happier and carefree when you’re done. And my apologies to the song “Anxiety,” a track which I underrated considerably on Isbell’s latest record. Granted, I still prefer the live version, but hearing Jason’s live version makes the studio version all the more authentic and believable. On the record, it’s hard to tell how much of the song is personal to Jason and how much of it is just him writing about this issue for other people; when he comes out and opens a show with a song like this, with all his heart and soul in the words, with all the hopes of bonding with the crowd hinged on that song of desperation and depression, you know it means something to him. He doesn’t come out singing something content, or even something like “Cumberland Gap,” an admittedly emotional song but one which at least is rocking and fun. Instead, he comes out with “Anxiety” and leaves the listener with no illusions about what this is going to be.

And that’s why, when you get to “Speed Trap Town” and all the other songs like it in Jason Isbell’s catalog not necessarily “suited” for such things as live shows, you damn well pay attention. “Last of my Kind” cuts even more in a live setting, and “Hope the High road,” though I still don’t enjoy that song, is more convincing. And you’d have to be a fool to do “If we Were Vampires,” a song about death and treasuring every moment with the one you love as if it were your last, as an encore of all things, but Jason Isbell can, and did.

And all of that works because he sings with such conviction that you feel whatever emotion he’s conveying, and that’s the beauty in live music, and music in general, and what makes Jason Isbell able to connect with so many people and his music able to be classified in so many genres. He just sings what he feels, and the results are proving to be timeless, as he’s becoming the face of independent music and a voice for this insurgency in the mainstream by music of substance and quality. This is exactly the kind of artist you should make it a point to see live even if you’re not really an Isbell fan because he embodies what is unique and beautiful about the experience of sharing live music. And if you’re not really an Isbell fan, don’t worry–after seeing him live, you certainly will be.

Best Live Songs: “Anxiety,” “Tupelo,” “Last of my Kind”