A BIG SHOW

In under an hour we will leave for world famous ANTONE'S in downtown Austin to see RAUL MALO, a favorite of Terri's. He's lead singer of the Mavericks, a country band, but is quite incredible himself. This is billed as HIS show so who knows who will be the musicians in this town full of them!?

The show is a sellout.

The only problem is we have to stand. And Terri is short (only in height.) I hope she can see some of the show. I can't put her on my shoulders.

They've outlawed smoking in such clubs, which is great for us.

I guess after several hundred shows, I am spoiled. Not keen on standing. But, Terri is a big fan and off we go. Tomorrow I'll post a mini-review.

Today was flat tire/defective tool strips lugnut/AAA guy can't help/tow to Sears for impact wrench... day. I hope tonight goes better!

And they say it'll rain tonight. Texas needs rain. Some of the local area is so dry... add your own punchline.

...so dry, they give kids Q-tips and tell them they're lollipops.
...so dry, Wet n' Dry towellettes are only available as Dry n' Dry.
...so dry, when you watch The Titanic DVD, it doesn't sink.
...so dry, trees are soliciting dogs.
...so dry, the cows give evaporated milk.

Back to the show, written Sunday.

Trivia:

Antone's has been famous for years. The stage was set against a long wall and was high enough all could see the act. They honor Steve Ray Vaughan.

Moments:
My foot was rolled over by a guy in a motorized wheelchair. They are surprisingly heavy, but, come on, perspective!

We were 18 feet from the star of the evening so Terri could see, but they placed a music stand and stand-up bass right in her line of view. I tried to get her to stand on the lower step up onto the stage but she wouldn't. That close, and still not close enough. We were literally at stage side.

The opening act sang for way too long. She had a hooting voice. She must have done 13 or 14 songs. I don't remember her name and hope to avoid her in the future. The audience was more receptive than I or Terri. She sang from 9:15 till 10:30 or so. Then there was another half hour of nothing. Or was it 45 minutes? It seemed like forever.

The floor was sticky.

Sound was VERY good. We mostly heard the stage monitor mix from where we stood.




FINALLY Raul Malo came out with his band. GEEZ that was a long wait. But, first song, you knew you were in the presence of talent that simply isn't that accessible and IS that good. (I saw one review that said he has the best voice in the biz and it might not be far off the mark!) Wished for my camera. Because I am a foot higher than Terri I could clear the music stand obstruction and with a camera, I could have held it higher. I did experiment with my cell phone camera. Pitiful attempts I fear. If I can figure out how to get the pictures OUT of it, I'll show you.

Raul sang till about 1, with several encores. (he said they had done everything they knew, but then did a Born on the Bayou slow and chugging, with other song lyrics seemingly improvised and thrown in... I loved that. I love swamp! The show was mostly mellow, MAN he can sing. He can sing old standards - REALLY old standards and make them sound completely wonderful as he puts you in the moment (unlike, say, oh, Rod Stewart, despite his mega sales of same.)

At one point Pine Top Perkins, at 92 years old, ambled across the stage. Raul asked the sound guy, "What am I supposed to do?" which we could hear due to where we stood. He plugged the man and Pine Top went off to sell CDs in some corner.

Pinetop Perkins is one of the last great Mississippi bluesmen still performing. He's made a living playing blues since 1926 and is widely regarded as one of the best blues pianists. (He didn't play, just ambled across the stage. At the top of the three steps he darn near fell - luckily the soundman caught him. Catching/helping a legend - that's pretty cool.)

And as we exited, it had begun to rain.