Wed. 10/5 and Thu. 10/6--Charlie Louvin, Rodeo Bar, NYC, 10 p.m., FREE
A few years ago (or maybe it was last year...my sense of time is poor and my book o' ticket stubs is not at my disposal at the moment), I found myself in the Roseland Ballroom, full of just about as much anticipation as I'd ever felt before a concert. Charlie Louvin, half of the Louvin Brothers, possibly the greatest country music duo of all time, was about to play an opening set on the Unlimited Sunshine tour (a tour headlined and curated by Cake, a band I actively dislike but who at least have good taste in music). The guy standing next to me asked me if I was there to see Cake or Cheap Trick. I told him neither. I was there to see Charlie Louvin. He looked at me as if I would have been better off in a mental hospital. It is a look I am very accustomed to, as you might have guessed.
Anyway, I explained who Charlie Louvin was, rattling off the people who have been influenced by the Louvins and trying to pound it into this guy's skull that the guy whose last name he couldn't pronounce was probably one of the more important people in country music history. "More important than Johnny Cash?" he asked. I thought about it. "Well, yeah, I think so." The guy stopped talking to me soon after, as he was now convinced that I was indeed insane. To him, no one could be more important than Johnny Cash, who I am confident was one of the two country guys he knew, with Willie Nelson being the other.
But screw it, I do think Charlie Louvin is at least just as important as Johnny (at least within country music itself). And the fact that he's playing two free shows at a small bar with a stuffed buffalo head on the stage is phenomenal. So this is a big deal, which is why I'll be there both nights. You oughta be, too.
Wed. 10/12--The Waco Brothers Bloodshot Records Revue w/ Sally Timms, Jon Langford, and Dollar Store, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ, 9 p.m., $12 (also at Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY on 10/14)
The Bloodshot CMJ BBQ was really kinda lame this year without the Wacos. There's something about watching Jon Langford's (see photo, he's on the left) drunkenness slowly progress over the course of seven hours that is quite exciting. Luckily, the Waco express is pulling into town with partner in crime Sally Timms, Waco guitarist Deano's side project Dollar Store, and a solo set from Langford. A Waco Brothers show by itself is usually a pedal-to-the-metal, careening, glorious wreck of a thing full of jokes, self-mockery, copious amounts of rocking, and lots of abuse of Marc Durante, the Wacos' pedal steel player (on the right in the photo). Throw in Timms and Dollar Store and, well, I can't wait until next Wednesday (though Thursday morning, maybe not so much).
Thu. 10/13--The Avett Brothers, Mexicali Blues, Teaneck, NJ, 10 p.m., $10
You're likely getting bored with the Avett hyperbole, so I'll just say that this show, if it's anything like the last Mexicali show, will kick ass. And the Tinsel and Rot money-back guarantee is back in effect. Go to the show, and if you hate it, it's free. But you won't hate it. So come on down and watch Scott Avett sweat through his pants, one of my mom's favorite parts of the last show. She's hooked now; you're next.
Fri. 10/21 and Sat. 10/22--Marah/The Drams, Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ, 9:30 p.m., $10 (Fri.); Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY, 8 p.m., $12 (Sat.)
I'm gearing up for a long Marah post leading up to the release of their new CD, "If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry," on October 18. And I'll be pimping these shows further at that juncture. But since this is the Brothers edition and Dave and Serge Bielanko are the brothers who drive Marah, it seems appropriate to beat the drum a little early. I have seen Marah somewhere between 30 and 40 times. I've been underwhelmed and/or disappointed maybe twice. So the odds are looking pretty solid for this being a good time. And the opening band, The Drams, is most of the band formerly known as Slobberbone, who used to put on a pretty good live show themselves. Really, you'd be crazy not to go
There is nothing quite like a Marah show on a Friday or Saturday night, so do whatever you have to do to get to one or both of these shows. And I now officially extend the Marahctober Tinsel and Rot Money-Back Guarantee to these two shows.
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3 comments:
And how do you pronounce Louvin?
I'm down the block from the Rodeo, but tonight is a bad night, and I didn't read the post yesterday. :-(
It's LOO-vin, rhymes with groovin'.
The show last night was so-so. The band was sort of learning songs on the fly and the years are wearing on his voice (he's 78, so I'll cut him some slack). If I wasn't a country music fan, I probably would've thought the show was lame. But as someone who likes to see as many old-time country people as I can, I was fine with it. If I had a time machine, I'd go see the Louvin Brothers in their prime, but since I don't, I'll take Charlie at 78.
The Drams is what's left of Slobberbone?! Why don't I know these things!? I really need to address that blank subsciption form to No Depression that's been sitting on my bedroom floor all summer. Oh my, ignore the comment about the 10/21 show I made in that email. I'll try my best!
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