Dale Watson and Redd Volkaert 7/11/09

complete honky-tonkin fun and musical excellence..

i came from an outdoor world music event on the east side of Austin-- i performed with Lannaya, a west african dance and drum ensemble-- (more about us some other day)-- and saw Sudanese musician (and refugee) Ahmed Arbab perform original songs with a standard acoustic guitar. he first learned to pluck strings on an Oud guitar though, so he was creating melody on a standard acoustic much differently than most of us have ever heard. his songs were quiet pleas and prayers for Sudan: peaceful and trancelike. peace be to Sudan!

.. it was saturday night in Austin, and just barely midnight when i got home. i live in walking distance to an old-school honky tonk dance hall, so i went a-walking. after a musical visit to Africa, this was a very different world to walk into.  to my complete surprise and joy, it was not only Dale Watson and his Lone Stars playing, but Redd Volkaert as well on the same stage! (this is nothing less than a complete treat..) these are two classic-style country powerhouses of Austin, with Dale being the more traditional honky tonker of the two. (note, Dale avoids the word country, and chooses ‘Ameripolitan’ instead, due to the musical bunk that has brought the phrase ‘country music’ shame..) usually both Redd and Dale play a healthy mix of covers and originals.

i caught less than an hour of the show, and i only wonder what i missed. because what i did see was complete superhero musicianship, not to mention 2 guys who enjoy playfully fighting for center stage. both Redd and Dale are incredible guitar players, have impeccable timing, and have two of the strongest voices in country music today. Dale’s band is stocked with very talented players too, complete with steel guitar. a dance hall floor is the happiest place to be on a Saturday night in Texas-- don’t you know, “honky tonkers don’t cry?”…