Stuart says that the character exhibited by line dancers is
pale pale pale (in the polyvalent sense) compared to a bunch a
lit up oldsters doin a polka. No matter how advanced they
become, the mechanisms still remind of something more appropriate
for half-time at the big game vs. State U.
Having seen both, and a lot more dancing of one type or another, I can't say
that I agree with that.
I went over to Coyote's tonight to see Sara Evans. The place is huge - 3
bars on the main floor, a dance floor big enough to hold 150 or so line
dancers, and a balcony around 3 sides with tables, and 2 more bars upstairs.
It was reasonably well filled, maybe 500-600 people - and to my immeasurable
surprise, they looked like pretty much normal people. A few hats, but about
as many feed caps. About 50-50 male/female, and I would say, though I'm
notoriously bad at estimating ages, that it was mostly 25-35, with some
older folks sprinkled around (hmm, how much does that differ from P2? I
hope Stacey posts the results from the survey soon, hint hint). Jeans,
mostly. Not a whole lot of dressing up, though a few folks were pretty
duded out. A lot of smoking and drinking (duh). Not a very rich crowd,
judging by the cars in the parking lot and the clothes folks wore; I saw a
lot of Wal-mart and K-mart type shirts and shoes.
The opening act was a 5-piece - girl singer, guitar/vocal, bass/vocal,
keyboard/vocal and drums. Kodie Montana is the name - not of the girl, but
of the band, though it took me a while to get that straight. They did an
hour's worth of covers, mostly of mainstream country radio stuff: "When Love
Starts Talking," a Trisha Yearwood song about "perfect love," a Michael
Peterson number, "There's Your Trouble" (with a decent banjo patch on the
keyboard), Jo Dee Messina's "Bye Bye Baby" (probably their best number; they
had the arrangement down cold). For his turn in the spotlight, the keyboard
player sang Bill Monroe's (via the Kentucky Headhunters) "Walk Softly On
This Heart Of Mine." They veered between competence and something less; the
bass player had trouble with the battery in his wireless unit (serves him
right). Not very twangy, I'm afraid.
Evans was another story. She came on with "Shame About That" from her first
album, and delivered a 75 minute set that was solid as a rock and plenty
country. From her albums she did:
from Three Chords And The Truth:
"Shame About That" (Evans co-write)
"Three Chords And The Truth" (Evans co-write)
"If You Ever Want My Lovin'" (Evans/Melba Montgomery co-write)
"Imagine That" (Justin Tubb)
"I've Got A Tiger By The Tail"
"I Don't Wann
and
"Walk Out Backwards" (Bill Anderson)
from No Place That Far:
"Cryin' Game"
"No Place That Far" (Evans co-write)
"I Thought I'd See Your Face Again"
"Fool, I'm A Woman" (Evans/Matraca Berg co-write)
"Time Won't Tell" (Beth Nielsen Chapman/Harlan Howard)
"The Knot Comes Untied"
"These Days" (Evans co-write)
"Cupid" (Kostas co-wrote, George Jones sings harmony on the record)
There was also a section in the middle where she did a set of covers, which
she introduced by saying that she grew up playing in a family bluegrass
band, but that she liked a lot of different kinds of music. These were 1) a
country classic I'm blanking on at the moment, 2) "Right Time Of The Night"
(uh, Jennifer Warnes? a great song) and 3) some rbish song I only vaguely
recognized. She also did another fairly lengthy rb type number about an
hour into the show, mainly as a vehicle to introduce the band (she sang a
couple of verses, then they broke it down to the drums, intro'd the drummer,
added the bass, intro'd the bass player, you know the routine). Encore was
"I Can't Stop Loving You," introduced as an Elvis number (!), and done in
what I presume was Elvis' arrangement, with a 6/8 rb feel.
Evans was carrying a seven piece band: bass, drums, guitar *plus* keyboards
*plus* fiddle *plus* pedal steel *plus* a backup singer (Evans' sister
Ashley). If being on a major label has anything to do with that - and I
suspect it does - then that would be a noticeable advantage right there,
that and the big green Silver Eagle out back g.
Anyhow, aside from a few glitches here and there, like the drummer's
premature ending lick when the band went into the "Tiger" outro, the band
was tight. Evans herself was great, in good voice, looking relaxed; she
was, in fact, almost chatty. She ID'd most of the songwriters in her
introductions, lectured g a bit on the virtues of traditional country
music, and intro'd "Time Won't Tell" with a long spiel about how her company
had felt that her first record was too traditional, and how she had worked
hard to find material that could get airplay on mainstream country radio
while still being "good country music." She got cheers at the mention of
Buck Owens, George Jones, Patsy Cline, Garth and Trisha (who she said had a
hold on "Time Won't Tell" until she persuaded Howard to give it to her), and
a few scattered ones
