Kyle, It was just Bill and his wife. As you said, she played keyboards and sang harmony on some songs, but he was really good. He’s one that just sings his heart out and, as cheesy as it might sound, he’s the real deal. I do have to say that I was less than impressed about his choice of words on ocassion (which prompts all sorts of other thoughts about language and its use, but that’s neither here nor there), but as you know, the music speaks for itself. I’m certainly glad to finally have seen him live and I’m glad I chose that over Jandek!
Jim, in order to elaborate on my comment, let me set things up for you. The concert was at a place called Bend Studio in Dallas. It’s a Yoga studio by day and they host what they call “Intimate Evening” concerts by night. The venue seats a maximum of 80 people but there were only about 30 there for this show.
The opener, as you know, was Doug Burr, whom I had never heard of prior to that. It was he and another guy who alternated between guitar and keyboards. The one song that I have in mind is called “Graniteville,” and its’ about a true story that happened in a true town called Graniteville. There is a railroad track that runs right through the town and one night, in the middle of the night, there was a train wreck and a chemical spill. The chemical could not be detected but was deadly, so many people died in their sleep and the song was about trying to wake people up and warn them.
So with all of that in mind, the intimate venue, the backstory to the song, you can see how the setting was just right for a powerful chorus like: “Wake up baby, there’s a train coming. Don’t you know how much I love you?”
It was just one of those moments that reminded me why I love music so much, where everything about the moment seems tailor-made for that song by that singer in that venue.
If you can’t tell, I was thoroughly impressed by Doug Burr. He’s got a new CD coming out any time now on Velvet Blue, and I can honestly say I’m very excited.
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