my car’s struts are being examined and i’m wavering on the edge of sleep because i only caught 4 hours last night. after a 45 hour workweek, i didn’t plan on a full night of music on a Friday night, but Jonny Burke was opening solo acoustic for James McMurtry, also solo acoustic. i couldn’t resist.
Jonny is, was, the frontman of the Dedringers, a young-faced band who opened up for James on his spring 2008 national tour. Jonny might be 23, and is downright talented. his guitar playing– which falls under that perfectly nebulous genre Americana, perhaps can be called alt-country–
is grounded, tight, and perfectly suited for the combination of blue jean vernacular and mythical poetics of his songs. the Dedringers, who broke up just recently, were a youthful powerhouse of alternative-country rock, spiked with raunchy riffs that are fondly reminiscent of Keith Richards and showcased songwriting that is impressively sophisticated for the band members’ ages. many of those songs were Jonny’s. in the words of a friend i brought to the show, Jonny is precious.
a major radio station, KGSR, was broadcasting most of the show live, complete with Roger Allen as DJ host. James recently completed his first European tour in the winter of 2008, and the tour was solo acoustic. i imagine this was quite the switch after evolving into the rather electrified roots-rock trio (his own Heartless Bastards) he toured with in recent years. he dusted off some old ones (“Melinda”, “Down Across the Delaware”, “Lights of Cheyenne”, “Rachel’s Song”) and reached into the bare bones of new ones– the crowd dead still during songs even as the room filled to maximum capacity. my friend Brent and I were slightly alarmed when we turned around from our front table–the people were packed in, and stone still. we had no idea they were there. that’s the power of James McMurtry on a chair with an acoustic guitar.. i would have danced to “Choctaw Bingo”, shredded open on the 12-string, but i would have blocked many people’s view of the stage–and my ears were too busy swallowing every little note of this “hit”.
Roger Allen and James had a real nice banter at first, James illuminated on stage sitting in a chair, and Roger’s voice coming from the dark. James stated he didn’t like voices coming from the dark, and recalled the phrase on a convenience store clerk’s T-shirt he recently read on his way fishing. the phrase was: the voices aren’t real, but they have good ideas. James turned to the darkness where Roger sat, and asked, “So. What’s your good idea?”
the radio program is called Lone Star State of Mind, and at one point Roger referred to the point of the show: highlighting Texas musicians. James pointed out that he grew up in Virginia, and there was a little uh-oh that came from Roger–not a serious one–perhaps he was stuck on what to say next. And then James did only what James can do, which is cut a situation down right to the bone with no niceties. “What difference,” he asked, “does it make if I’m from Texas or not?”… James is a bonafide Texan, was born here and lived here as a child. on a major Austin station, on a program called Lone Star State of Mind, James did what does best: Rip on a twelve string and call it like he sees it.
the conversation evolved, with Roger Allen pointing out that Ray Benson (from Asleep at the Wheel) is from Pennsylvania, and Slaid Cleaves is from Maine, and… i was drinking, so i don’t remember what exact name came next.. but Roger said “he’s not a Texan, he’s an Austinite”. James quickly quipped: “that’s another thing altogether.”.. and the whole room shared a good laugh. the conversation was live on the air-- perhaps all of Austin laughed..
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