What a great past week of shows here in the ATX…
Wednesday July 13th I went to see Cowboy & Indian at Momo’s and immediately after saw The Greyhounds at The Gallery. Cowboy and Indian is just incredible and anybody who has seen them recently knows that they are definitely on the rise. They make such soulful music–it takes me back to the Great Depression-era, white gospel, travelling minstrels, Appalachian life. I’m honored to know these people. And The Greyhounds?! Again, anybody who has seen them knows that this band is the real thing. Ferrell, Trube, and Sniz are all on a short list of best musicians around, anywhere in this country, in my opinion. Ferrell and Trube have been backing up J.J. Grey in Mofro for the last two years, that’s a great way to see them in a town near you as they are almost always on the road.
Thursday night I played with DeadEye at Ruta Maya and thought it was a killer set. We had a great time trying to channel the muse. Here is a link to the show on Archive…the second set is worth checking out.
http://www.archive.org/details/deye2011-07-14.deye2011-07-14&reCache=1
Friday was a short BOH set at the do512.com lounge in front of small lively studio audience (they were all taking full advantage of the open bar, courtesy of Shiner beers). Immediately following this I zipped over to the One2One to sit in with Noble Dog. Taylor and Preston have written some amazing tunes together, and they are just fantastic people to be around. We had the great Robbie Kidd on drums and Lee Brock on bass. The groove was thick.
Saturday was The Band of Heathens’ big night back in town after being out for a good while. We played at The Parish, right in the heart of 6th street, which was sort of new for the band, but nonetheless the show sold out 30 minutes before we took the stage. Just a great night all the way around. Cowboy & Indian opened the show and again they just blew everybody away. Jazz Mills knocked everybody out with her solo accapella rendition of “Sailor Boy”. I was thrilled when they invited me up for the last song of their set, the gospel-infused tune “Virginia”. Look out for their new record which should be coming out really soon.
Sunday was a nice way to wrap up the weekend at Momo’s. I sat in with King Corduroy after the great Warren Hood’s set. Just a whole lot of great people there that night, including the ‘Wizard of Austin’ himself, Erik Hokkanen.
After a session with the BOH this afternoon at Big Orange Studios in east Austin, I was pretty well spent. Really looking forward to getting out on the road next week. We have a great tour through the Midwest and East coast that I know every one is looking forward to.
This week’s suggested listening:
Mavis Staples, You Are Not Alone
Billy Preston, Encouraging Words
Dawes, North Hills
The Soul Stirrers, Shine On Me
TN