My Mind, Satisfied

Tinsel and Rot's March Country Music Spectacular ended with Friday night's Porter Wagoner and Marty Stuart show at Joe's Pub. On my way home from the show, I figured out that Porter Wagoner was the last current Opry member that I wanted to meet. I'd be psyched to see a few others, but they wouldn't give the same thrill that meeting Little Jimmy Dickens, Charlie Louvin, Bill Anderson, John Conlee, and others has. That's why it was such a bummer when Wagoner cancelled his appearance in Lancaster. Luckily, it was only about a week later that the Joe's Pub show was added, so my distress was short-lived. Then I found a perfect copy of "The Carroll County Accident" LP (maybe my all-time favorite record cover, competing with Hank Thompson's"At the Golden Nugget" and Wagoner's "The Cold Hard Facts of Life") in Academy Records soon after that. All was right with the world.

Turns out the show was pretty damn good. Accompanied only by the suavely coiffed Stuart, Wagoner told stories and jokes before carefully delivering songs like "Committed to Parkview" (written for him by Johnny Cash, who gave the song to Stuart to pass along, which he did, several decades later), "Green, Green Grass of Home," "A Satisfied Mind," "The Rubber Room," and "Men With Broken Hearts." Wagoner never had a particularly booming voice, but he has always had a way of telling a story with that voice. He draws the listener in with a down-home, neighborly tone, and you wind up hanging on his every word, wondering where the story's headed next, even if you've heard it before.

Wagoner's probably best known these days as the unofficial rhinestoned leader of the Grand Ole Opry, as people routinely dart out of their seats to take a picture of him in his shiny, eye-catching suits. And though he did wear just such a suit at Joe's Pub, the focus was more on the songs and Wagoner's way with them. The show was, in part, a teaser for his upcoming Anti Records release "Wagonmaster," which Stuart produced. The record, as Stuart noted, makes him labelmates with Tom Waits, Neko Case, and Mavis Staples, and will, with any luck, lead to a resurgence of interest in Wagoner's work. For his part, Wagoner, only about a year removed from an aortic aneurysm, seems genuinely touched by any adulation he receives. He expressed his thanks to the warm NYC crowd several times throughout the show, and made sure to stay until the last person got an autograph and/or photo. I know, because I was the next-to-last person, though I was on my second go-round. I normally try not to get too greedy, but after my six albums, I had a Porter Wagoner figurine I kinda wanted signed. So I got back in line to get that signed and a photo with him. It's unfortunate that I look like I'm pained in it, but sometimes that's how it looks when I smile.

If you're interested in learning more about some of Wagoner's darker stuff, a collection was recently released on CD. I haven't picked it up yet, but it looks like a good selection of tunes. And that's a swell cover.

So, the final total for Tinsel and Rot's March Country Music Spectacular: 3 shows, 12 performers, 28 autographs. Nice.