Fred and the boys returned to Chicago Thursday night for a show at
Fitzgeralds. The opening act was the Mike Plume Band from Edmonton.
Here's a few observations from the show.
Every one of the sixty or so patrons seemed to all appreciate and know
Fred and his music. Which maybe isn't so surprising given it was
Thursday night and ten bucks to get in. During the ballads the place
was appropriately quiet. Between the songs Fred had no problem coaxing
the laughs and involvement from the crowd. Both the band and the
audience seemed more relaxed than usual. I rarely go to shows during
the workweek…maybe that's why it seemed a bit less hurried and a little
more intimate.
The show opened with "Blue Tick Hound", then "Mighty Big Car", then one
maybe titled "Could You Act a Little Crazier", that's new to me. It
was a slow straight country jukebox type of tearjerker that was soaked
in the spirit of Hank Sr. Here's the chorus:
Could you act a little crazier?
Throw something through the wall
Throw something through the window
This old motel room is loosing its view
Could you act a little crazier?
Just like she used to.
Next he reached way back to a wonderful old tune from "the boy who just
went wrong" lp called "Flowers in the Dell". This +/- 15 year song
sounded great and fit just fine with the entire set. This is a song
where John Prine's "Diamonds in the Rough" was a clear influence.
"Bell" was their next offering…the squirrels played and Fred, as usual,
shouted the lyrics. Fred's tendency to shout or yell rather than
singing during his live performances has been noted on the digest
before. In my opinion it's fine and appropriate for "Bell", "Big Hair",
"Got To Get Me a Gun", or "49 Tons", but it annoys me when he resorts to
it during tune's like "Wilder than Her" or "White Rose" (which was
played immediately following "Bell"). He commonly shifts back and forth
between singing and growling while performing these songs. For me, the
shouting adds no additional emotion or intensity to the song; it just
gets in the way. Maybe if they do "Summerlea" prior to "White Rose",
rather than "Bell" he'd sing and not shout?
The next four tunes were "Summerlea", "Lucille" (with the usual
introduction and the usual laughs), and two more old favorites, "30
Years of Farmin'", and "I'm Just Dreamin'".
Another new tune was "Rodeo Boy". The guitar during first part of the
song sounds exactly like another non-released tune, "Getting' To Me".
The tune has great potential but sounded like a "work-in-progress". The
background vocals during the chorus were terrible - it sounded like Skip
or Willie trying to sound like Tiny Tim. I'm not talking bluegrass
style upper harmony; I'm talking a cross between Tiny Tim and a Screech
Owl! Another interesting part of this song was Willie's mandolin work.
It seemed like he was still figuring out which of the electronics
special effects to use, so he sort of used 'em all. It was a mess. Has
anybody else heard this song?
At this point Fred mumbled something about just learning that his
publishing company was suing his record company who was suing his
management company who was suing his publishing company. Nobody,
especially Fred, seemed to care, and after we all just shrugged, the
next song began. They then played "White Trash", "Freight Train",
"Time to Get a Gun", "Alcohol and Pills", and "Harold Wilson".
The Cowboy Junkies covered Fred's "Carmelita", making one of his
best-known songs. This night they played it really hard, aggressive,
and loud. Willie's sole was amazing. The song took on a dark and
desperate feel. While listening I was reminded of one of Townes Van
Zandt's most haunting pieces, "Marie".
"Little Buffalo" was next, played just as rowdy as ever. The club
quickly quieted down when they played a ballad that sounded vaguely
familiar, but I can't place…maybe it's titled, "As Empty As My Heart".
Fredheads - help us out, do you know this one?
Next they played "49 Tons" including an extended intro and some cool
solos by Willie and Hank. This one got the band the most active and
animated of the evening. Skipper rocked his bass guitar back and forth
in a wide arc. Washboard Hank took his washboard/radiator vest
thingamajig and swayed it back and forth ala the brakeman in the song.
Then came the first encore and the real highlight of the evening. Fred
alone returned and introduced the next song as being from his next
record called "Fifty Odd Dollars", he then totally stunned the crowd
with an ode to Carter Stanley of the Stanley Brothers. Far from just a
nod to Fred's sense of musical tradition, this powerful performance may
have been the saddest song he's ever sung. Emmylou Harris should cover
it. A stab at the lyrics…
Rifles in the morning
Turkeys in the grain
Way up on that hilltop
Carter's in the ground
It makes you kind of hang your head
And cry into the morn
Cause it won't be the same
Now that Carter's gone
White Dove's in the hollow
Heard somebody say
And nobody's never gonna play
Those songs that way again
I drive through old Kentucky
Tearing through the gears
Trying no to think of him
Through all my bluegrass tears
Put that guitar beneath the bus
I can't play another one
They don't sound the same
Now that Carter's gone
Things will never be the same
Now that Carter's gone
Next, before playing "Wilder Than Her", Fred acknowledged Willie's Juno
award. I was struck by how nonchalant about the whole thing they seemed
to be. Well, the crowd wanted more, and hooted until they came out for
a second encore. Fred declared, "It's time to go home now. You're
tired. You know you're not as young as you used to be." Then they
played "Might Be The Alternator, Could Be The Coil", which ought to open
the new record. At the end we all applauded, the lights came up, people
started moving around, but it was all kind of in slow motion…or was it
that we were all still numb from, "Now That Carter's Gone"?
Riley
