10/26/10 Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys

It was time to jump into my wayback machine with Mr. Peabody and Sherman and land myself squarely in the 1950s. That's right it's time to bee-bop with Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys like it was 1955. If you enjoy that amalgamation of western swing and bee-bop rock, then Big Sandy is the man for you. He fills the stage with his larger than life persona leading his band of wayward troubadours through the annals of early American rock music.
The band hit the stage with Joe Perez on drums, Jeff West on upright bass, Ashely Kingman on electric lead, and Big Sandy on acoustic guitar to the delight of a medium sized but enthusiastic crowd. They opened with Little Cabin Home On the Hill and the dancing started. OK that should really be that one couple did some swing dancing and a few women from "the party bus" did that dancing that girls do at rock shows. You know, stick the arm in the air and start gyrating the hips. Sandy kept the mood light and really engaged the crowd as always. He was the picture of the perfect 50's rock star with his guitar hung high on his chest and schtick well in hand. At one point in time during the show the Band took a "request" via text to show that they were thoroughly modern and embracing the new technology. The best crowd moment had to be when the most consistent dancing girl of the night gave Sandy a shot of tequila and they brought her on stage to dance while they played Tequila Calling. It was a great show that also included Jeff West singing Mad in honor of there being family memebers in the audience at the show. The only potential downer for me was the lack of Black Berry Wine in the set, but I guess you can't have everything, and they were a great warm up for Los Straitjackets.
Here is the show info.
Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys
10/26/Mojo's
Columbia, MO
SBD+AUD recording
1) Little Cabin Home On The Hill
2) Hey Lowdown
3) If You Fall Out Of Love With Me
4) Chalk It Up To The Blues
5) The Greatest Story Ever Told
6) Spanish Dagger
7) Mad
8) True Blue Papa
9) Good Bye Little Star
10) Don't Sweetheart Me
11) Tequila Talking
12) My Eyes are Open (But There Ain't Nobody Home)
13) I Thought It Over*
*not sure of this song title if you know it let me know.

10/03/07 Yonder Mountain String Band The Blue Note, Columbia, MO

This was my first time seeing Yonder Mountain String Band, and witnessing the Kinfolk in action. I have to say I was impressed, and the crowd was CRAZY about this band. this was the first show of the fall tour, so the band was full of energy and ready to play, and The Blue Note was packed to the rafters and ready to party from the first note to the last. It was pretty obvious that Jeff Austin and Ben Kaufmann front the group, doing most of the singing and crowd interaction.
The band played two solid sets of music full of covers and originals. The first set consisted of 13 songs and ended with If There's Still Ramblin' In The Rambler (Let Him Go) leading into Catch A Criminal and then back into If There's Still Ramblin' in the Rambler (Let Him Go). This mash up of songs is a Yonder tour staple from what I can tell, and they did it with another set of songs when I saw them the next year. I will say that the transition wasn't from Ramblin to Catch a Criminal was not smooth like it was the next year, in fact the blending of songs was actually done at the transition from Catch a Criminal to Ramblin, and not between Ramblin' and Catch a Criminal. Of course, when you transition between songs with a shot, that is still a good transition.
The second set had 14 songs that varied more in temp, texture, and mood compared to the first set. Ranging from the barn stomping (most of the set) to feedback laden I'd Like off, an outrageous 15 minute version of Snow On the Pines, and the rollicking Town. I think the emotional peak of the whole show happened during My Gal when the crowd stomped so hard that the balcony actually shook. I had never seen that happen at the Blue Note before, and I have been to a LOT of shows at the Blue Note. They ended the show with Crow Black Chicken, and I have to say I never felt that song was dirty until I heard Yonder play it live.
Here is the show info:
The Blue Note
Columbia, MO
10/03/07
SBD+AUD matrix
Set 1
1) intro
2) Years With Rose
3) The Bolton Stretch
4) Fine Excuses
5) Mental Breakdown
6) 40 Miles From Denver
7) Only A Northern Song
8) Ain't Been Myself In Years
9) If Lovin' You Is Killing Me
10) Night Is Left Behind
11) Kentucky Mandolin
12) If There's Still Ramblin' In The Man (Let Him Go)
13) Catch A Criminal
14) If There's Still Ramblin' In The Man (Let Him Go)
Set 2
1) Intro
2) Sideshow Blues
3) Elzic's Farewell
4) Another Day
5) Just The Same
6) How 'Bout You
7) Snow On The Pines
8) I'd Like Off
9) Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
10) Town
11) My Gal
12) Angel
13) Ten
14) Raleigh And Spencer
15) Crow Black Chicken

09/23/10 Robbie Fulks & Jenny Scheinman Mojo's

This was another great Robbie show at Mojo's. I didn't know what to expect from this show since he was bringing Jenny Scheinman along instead of a band, so I wasn't sure how the set list would go. However, since half the fun of seeing Robbie live is the banter, I wasn't too worried about the songs they were going to play. It turns out I had nothing to worry about because Jenny's songs fit in nicely with Robbie's songs.

For those who don't know, Jenny Scheinman played violin and Robbie played acoustic guitar. During sound check Robbie played banjo, but sadly, it didn't make an appearance during the set. They played 20 songs, but only 18 of those were from the normal catalogue of Robbie and Jenny shows. The musical highlights of the night for me were Cocktails, The Hangman's Reel, and I'll Trade You Money For Wine. I also really enjoyed Moses with Robbie providing a stomping beat to drive the song along.

The Robbie moment of the show had to be the proposal that happened during Little Darling. It turns out that if you need a little help popping the question to your lady, Robbie is your man. Of course his way of helping is by writing you a soliloquy that you read on stage while he plays the song of your choice. It's Romantic Gold, and hilarious! I always learn something at a Robbie show and this show was no exception. Turns out Robbie's kid isn't going to get an Ipad, and Jenny really like New Castle Brown Ale.

If you like Robbie I am sure you will love this show. I imagine this is the kind of show he been putting on at the Hideout or the Old Town School of Chicago. I have heard about these shows and it is nice to get a chance to experience the show in person. If you listen the to show and realize it is nothing like the shows at the Hideout or the Old Town School of Chicago, don't tell me. I like to keep my illusions alive.

Here is the set list and show details:
Robbie and Jenny Scheinman
09/23/10 Mojo's
Columbia, MO
Multi SBD+AUD matrix
1) Bill Cheatham
2) Goodbye Virginia
3) Houston
4) Shanty In The Holler
5) Newspaper Angels
6) Run Run Run
7) Cocktails
8) Waitin On The New Things To Go
9) The Broken Spoke Waltz (Alvin Crow)
10) Brother
11) Little Darling-Proposal (The Diamonds)
12) The Honeymoon Song
13) Hangman's Reel
14) My Old Man
15) Satisfied
16) I'll Trade You Money For Wine
17) Moses
18) The Palms Of Maracaibo (Lionel Belasco)
19) Busy Not Crying
20) Let's Kill Saturday Night