KJames199
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|  #1 Posted on 8.10.17 1308.11
Reposted on: 8.10.24 1308.23 | Feels like it's been a while since I've done one of these. Not really by choice; I bailed on a few recent shows. Sorry if you pay attention to that UPCOMING CONCERTS blurb and were real interested in my takes on The Sadies and BA Johnston. (I would have said "they were good") I blame work. Had some late nights to prep for a new product launch, and I get to do it again shortly. So it goes. I made a little extra coin and got a pile of tickets to new shows to make up for it.
Onto Steve Earle. Good fella. Good songwriter. Good musician. Saw him last year. He came back to town surprisingly quickly, and I was on the fence about going. Not because I had a bad time last time - liked him a bunch - but I'm starting to feel the pinch from going to a million shows a year and I need to dial it back a bit. Plus the casino switched to a new ticketing system and it was tricky, at first, to actually select a seat - you could only pick a section. But then they got their act together (or I did - who really knows?) and it became one of those "I'm having a rough and/or boring day at work, I need a treat" concerts. I'd say there will be fewer of those going forward, but history shows that only lasts for a month or two and then I'm back at it.
I can think of very little of interest surrounding this show. It sold out, I guess that's important to mention. And it was relevant upon arriving, as the drive into the parkade was ridiculous. I screamed helpful advice from the inside of my car ("POINT YOUR CAR TOWARDS THE RAMP AND THEN DRIVE UP IT") but nobody heard or heeded it. It was slow-moving mass chaos. Someone would try to park and nobody would know what to do. There was no danger of running out of spaces - the parkade has an entire extra level that nobody seems to know is there. Except me, I guess. I parked up there, above the rest of humanity, free from the maddening crowds but an observer thereof. Then I walked down the same pee-smelling stairwell as everyone else.
I had a cheap aisle seat at the back row of the balcony. The folks in my row were pleasant and didn't make me get out of their way too often. You're bored right now but I assure you this was nice. And I don't have a whole ton to talk about.
Our openers were The Mastersons, who I'd never heard of except it turned out I'd seen them before. They were two members of Earle's band last time he was in town. And this time. Earle himself opened the show by introducing them, which I thought was a really nice touch. Their songs were country-ish singer/songwriter stuff with him on guitar and her usually on guitar or fiddle. That's not saying much but I feel like you get the gist of it. The sound wasn't great for their set - the instruments were fine but the voices were mic'ed really high (so it was the opposite of my usual complaint, at least) and came in kind of shrill. Nearby fellow old people said the same thing.
Earle and his band, The Dukes - I want to say six people in total - entered the stage to the sounds of Johnny Cash's cover of Rusty Cage. Last time out, they were on the anniversary tour for Guitar Town and played the whole album start to finish. With a little more freedom in the setlist this time, I thought I might hear more songs I knew, but that didn't really happen. Instead I just got a wider variety of tunes that were new to me, along with a lot of the same hits and covers (Copperhead Road, Guitar Town, Devil's Right Hand, Hey Joe) as before. And like before, this was all real good. The vocals were a little muddy but still better than they were for The Mastersons.
Apparently, I don't have much to say. It might also be apparent that I wasn't 100% into this show. Not the band's fault - I was just kinda tired and I was ready to be done a little bit before they were. But whatever. I still had a nice time and all. | Promote this thread! |             | pieman
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|  #2 Posted on 13.10.17 0639.06
Reposted on: 13.10.24 0639.59 | | I love this kind of honest review! And I felt like I was with you in the parking garage, too. | | ALL ORIGINAL POSTS IN THIS THREAD ARE NOW AVAILABLE |
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