Sometimes its nice to stay close to home on a Friday night.  Last Friday I did just that.  With the kid in bed and the wife on the way there, I finished my 5th gin and tonic and walked out the door.  Hanover’s, in downtown Pflugerville, is just over a stones throw from my house.  So when I don’t want to drive, or when it would be illegal to, I just grab the camera bag and walk on down.  Sometimes its fruitful and the bands are bleeding Texas blood all over the stage.  Other times I wonder why I made the effort.

As I walked in I knew that Guy was playing.  I have been seeing this guy since the old Austin Music Network had him on every hour it seemed.  I have watched him with the Asylum Street Spankers as well.  Tonight it was just him and two other fellas.  As I settled into a Spaten Munich at the bar, I was astounded to see Guy playing a ukulele accompanied by a tuba and a stomp box.  Wow!  It does not get more Americana than that.

As a guitar player myself, I was doubly impressed with his collection of six string goodness.  He was playing this gorgeous little electric resonator from National.  I had never seen one quite like it.  There were a Telecaster and a couple of hollow bodies in there as well.  I did not get there soon enough to see him play the singing saw, but what I did see renewed my interest in this guy named Guy.  So if you find yourself in the proximity of the Asylum Street Spankers or a Guy Forsyth gig, do yourself a favor and go and see them.  They put on a great show and are very gracious and accessible.  These guys genuinely love what they are doing and it shows.

Hanover’s is under new ownership, by the way. If you’re in the neighborhood come on by and check it out. They have a great beer selection.

Arnold Wells

Antones-Austin Tx.

Man, I just love these shows where everybody and their father shows up to jam.  The occasion this time was the Voices of a Grateful Nation show and CD release party at Antones.  Its always fun to see a show at this legendary venue, but when the cause is also great it adds that extra something that makes it a night to remember.  The place was packed to the gills with veterans and family and yes a few of us photographers as well.  It became very difficult to move around after the first hour.

While there were too many musicians for me to remember here, there were some noteworthy performances.  Walt Wilkens gave an excellent performance with his wife singing back up vocals.  Malford Milligan and Shelly King rocked a great blues tune they wrote for the project.  The Band of Heathens made an appearance as well.

I was really touched by the set that Sally Allen did.  Such a sweet sounding voice and she had a great presence on the stage.  An absolute Beauty to boot, I will be looking for her shows in the future.

Miss Lavelle White and crew sang a rousing Gospel song that tore the house down, with the always fun and talented Leanne Atherton and Shelly King doing back up vocals.

When Del Castillo hit the stage they jammed.  Incredible frontmanship from Rick Del Castillo.  He literally ruled the hall during their song.

The list of astute musicians goes on and on for this show, but the stage transitions were flawless.  Everyone came to play and did so with the utmost soul for this cause.  All of the proceeds go to various veterans groups to lend a hand to those that fought so bravely for us at home.  What ever you think of the conflict we are in, one can not deny the men and women that put their lives on the line for us each and every day.

So kudos gang.  It was a great show and the albums are as touching as they are rocking.

Arnold Wells

I have lived in Austin for well over a decade.  In that time I have seen many, many shows.  Before “The Live Music Capitol of the World” moniker, before the coolest clubs downtown had to close shop and make room for progress, I was doing jello shots and freak dancing at any club that was open.

Without a doubt, my favorite place to slam margaritas and enjoy awesome music was The Backyard.  It used to be in the middle of nowhere, but by the time it closed it was surrounded by a bright shining strip mall.  Progress my ass right?  Well over the years I saw Jeff Beck, the Gypsy Kings, The Allman Brothers, David Bowie, ZZ Top, Polyphonic Spree, and more Willie shows than I can remember.  Two of these I hold to be the best musical experiences of my life.   All of this leads me to lament the demise of this wonderful venue.

As chance would have it, my best friend, and off again - on again drummer of fifteen years, was doing a slot with Carolyn Wonderland on Sunday October 26th.  This would be the last time anyone played on that stage.  I did not have to work very hard to get an all access backstage pass.  This was my ticket to ride.  I would enjoy the music from the back stage area and shoot photos from the pit.

First up was Elizabeth Wills.  With a super sweet voice and a tremendous accompanist, she really set the mood as the first of the revelers arrived to witness the end of an affair.  Lucky Tomblin hit the stage next with the guitar gymnastics of Redd Volkaert.  Country music never felt so hot!  Nakia and His Southern Cousins cruised into their set with Joe Cocker’s version of High With A Little Help Form My Friends.  Not only was that intro pulled off with great gusto, he proceeded to tear the stage down with his high energy vocals.

I jumped in the photo pit, flashing my credentials to the very laid back security guard.  This was it.  Carolyn Wonderland was up next and I was in the best seat in the house… except for the fact that I was standing.  Anyway, as usual she blew the crowd away with her mix of blues diva vocals and bone crushing guitar playing.  She was joined on stage for a song by Shelly King for a sweet duet. I left the pit satisfied and in search of liquor.

Fresh from some eats and drinks, I was back in the pit when The Gourds started their set.  I am a fan from way back and it was really fun to see them doing Gin and Juice to the, by now rowdy crowd. Kelly Willis gave a good serenade with Kevin McKinny on lead guitar and a delightful looking Eleanor Whitmore alternating between fiddle and mandolin.   A truly inspirational set.

By now the stage lights were on and Groupo Fantasma was playing those tight three/three rhythms with the abandon of early Santana.  In fact there was an homage to both Santana and Led Zeppelin.  From sweet Americana to hard core Latin Jazz, the audience responded to this whip crack like a Roman mob.  By the time Ruthie Foster came out my neck was hurting from trying to keep time.  Her mix of Reggae and soulful acoustic funk was soothing, and it made me smile deeply as she glowed in blue light on stage.

Jimmy Vaughn was up next and I have never seen him more animated.  He moved like a cat, prowling the stage.  Leaning into his guitar and yowling at the crowd. He played Texas Flood saying “We had to do this one!”.  Later he was joined by Lou Ann Barton for a few tunes.  Incredible.

By the time Willie Nelson come on stage I had yawned three times, but my adrenaline pulsed as he began those famous notes to Whiskey River.  I shot over a hundred shots in 5 minutes like some orgasmic rube, as I fumbled for more memory before the three song limit slammed shut the photo opportunities.  Willies was joined by Carolyn and Shelly for the last hooray at the end of the night.  It was nearly 1:00 a.m. when they finally waved goodbye.

Man, what a show.  Everyone brought their A game.  Everyone cared so much that the music seemed sweeter, more meaningful than I remember seeing it.  I had seen several of these bands before, but none of them were as on as they were for this… The Final Celebration of our favorite place to party, The Back Yard.

R.I.P.

Arnold Wells

If you ever get the chance, you need to go hear Walt Wilkins. He’s a wonderful lyricist, a great singer, and a fine guitar player. Most importantly, he never seems to tire of the effort to keep getting better. He came to Cosmos this Thursday night (4/12/07) along with guitarist Marcus Eldridge and gave a nicely honed, relaxed set of his best music.

His work with which I am most familiar comes from his latest CD, Hopewell, one of the nicest collections of songs to be released in recent years. I think in a different day and age with more independent radio stations around, he probably would have garnered decent airplay and been well on his way to stardom.