Santa Cruz CA, Dec 2, 2006 - The Catalyst
I just saw James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards. Opening was a guy I never heard of, Paul Thorn. There's apparently also a comedian Paul Thorne, but this guy's not that guy. This guy is a singer/songwriter, albeit a pretty hilarious dude on stage. He's just a big ol' Mississippi drawl up there, raconteuring his tales of various life's mysteries. Funny guy, real sharp songwriter. Great voice, big soulful voice. He managed to put across the sentimental material without being maudlin, the nostalgic material without being trite, the sexy material without being obnoxious, and the between-song banter without being tedious. I was pretty impressed, even before he mentioned as an autobiographical aside how he fought Roberto Duran in '88. Apparently after he left boxing, he worked in a furniture factory for 12 years, writing songs on the side as a hobby. Eventually he put it together to cut an album, which he says was rescued from sure obscurity by none other than KPIG! Apparently, somebody there heard his album, liked it, and started playing the hell out of it.
The show itself was sponsored by KPIG (see wikipiggia), a local radio station with a global reputation specializing in folk, rock, acoustic, roots, blues, and generally other music I never heard before. One thing upon which I can rely is that when I'm in the mood for such things, I can turn the dial to KPIG 107.5 "One-Oh-Seven-OINK!-Five!" and in a five-song stretch hear at least 4, generally 5 songs I've never heard before, 3 of them great songs, and all of them at least interesting. Often when they name off what they played, I find I've heard of at least a couple of the artists, but the songs are generally brand-new to me.
I try not to get "too into" that type of music, because it's nice to be able to turn the dial and be surprised by something new and good every time. It can be extremely frustrating sometimes, though, like that time I was driving home and they played such a beautiful song, the guitar was was so spiky and echo-y, the guy's voice...haunting. The lyric seemed to be about someone flying lower and lower in an airplane that had run out of gas. The way the tops of the trees were described...the picture is still in my mind, though alas, not the specific words. Or I could google and find out who it was! I'd like to get it, and figure out the guitar part if nothing else.
James McMurtry! This guy doesn't get enough play. He's great. He's like the American midwestern badlands version of Elvis Costello. He actually looks a little like Elvis Costello, maybe crossed with Steven Wright. He's like the anti-John Cougar Mellencamp. But ah, comparisons are odious.
I had never seen him live, and I'd missed a couple chances. Only Thursday, when a friend of mine mentioned he was in town, I was able to snag two of the last tickets through quick action. Was I glad! I tell you, I'm not sure how he manages to be so cranky, irascible, dyspeptic, cantankerous, and yet so enjoyable to watch!
Actually, the man himself seemed serene enough I suppose. But his lyrics. So dry and bitter they're almost juicy with it! Juicy with dry bitterness. His dad is writer and novelist Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Last Picture Show), and for James's sake I hope most of his songs are novels rather than autobiographies. They must be, unless in addition to a successful career as a songwriter and touring musician, he's simultaneously managed to live a dozen dead-end lives in scattered locations across the country.
Oh, I paint a wrong picture. Not all of his songs feature dead-end lives. And even among those that do, there are very rousing and even uplifting ones as well. But all of the best of his songs are tinged with fatalism. It would be accurate I think to call James McMurtry the master of uplifting fatalism. No one is better at singing about a life resigned to desperation, but the music he turns it into provides the catharsis.
He has some truly beautiful songs. I can't even describe them. "Rachel's Song" gets me every time. Go listen to it.
And I will say this: the thing that surprised me most about the show was how hard he rocked! He is far from a naive guitarist. His studio recordings (at least, the one almost-complete album that was taped onto side B of a mix tape someone sent me, the only recording I knew him from) are more sedate, more produced. Yet you show up at the show all unsuspecting, and he up and hauls off kicking your ass!
I always did say that if I saw him live, and he could convince me, then I'd buy a couple of his albums. And he did indeed convince me. Well-played, Mr. McMurtry. Well-played.
EDIT: But one part was kind of weird. I have never before seen a guy tune his guitar so many times on stage! Almost in between every song. Every time he grabbed a new guitar I wanted to yell out encouragement, "YEAHH!!! TUNE IT!!" But I was right in the front row, so. I didn't want to come off like a dick.
I just saw James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards. Opening was a guy I never heard of, Paul Thorn. There's apparently also a comedian Paul Thorne, but this guy's not that guy. This guy is a singer/songwriter, albeit a pretty hilarious dude on stage. He's just a big ol' Mississippi drawl up there, raconteuring his tales of various life's mysteries. Funny guy, real sharp songwriter. Great voice, big soulful voice. He managed to put across the sentimental material without being maudlin, the nostalgic material without being trite, the sexy material without being obnoxious, and the between-song banter without being tedious. I was pretty impressed, even before he mentioned as an autobiographical aside how he fought Roberto Duran in '88. Apparently after he left boxing, he worked in a furniture factory for 12 years, writing songs on the side as a hobby. Eventually he put it together to cut an album, which he says was rescued from sure obscurity by none other than KPIG! Apparently, somebody there heard his album, liked it, and started playing the hell out of it.
The show itself was sponsored by KPIG (see wikipiggia), a local radio station with a global reputation specializing in folk, rock, acoustic, roots, blues, and generally other music I never heard before. One thing upon which I can rely is that when I'm in the mood for such things, I can turn the dial to KPIG 107.5 "One-Oh-Seven-OINK!-Five!" and in a five-song stretch hear at least 4, generally 5 songs I've never heard before, 3 of them great songs, and all of them at least interesting. Often when they name off what they played, I find I've heard of at least a couple of the artists, but the songs are generally brand-new to me.
I try not to get "too into" that type of music, because it's nice to be able to turn the dial and be surprised by something new and good every time. It can be extremely frustrating sometimes, though, like that time I was driving home and they played such a beautiful song, the guitar was was so spiky and echo-y, the guy's voice...haunting. The lyric seemed to be about someone flying lower and lower in an airplane that had run out of gas. The way the tops of the trees were described...the picture is still in my mind, though alas, not the specific words. Or I could google and find out who it was! I'd like to get it, and figure out the guitar part if nothing else.
James McMurtry! This guy doesn't get enough play. He's great. He's like the American midwestern badlands version of Elvis Costello. He actually looks a little like Elvis Costello, maybe crossed with Steven Wright. He's like the anti-John Cougar Mellencamp. But ah, comparisons are odious.
I had never seen him live, and I'd missed a couple chances. Only Thursday, when a friend of mine mentioned he was in town, I was able to snag two of the last tickets through quick action. Was I glad! I tell you, I'm not sure how he manages to be so cranky, irascible, dyspeptic, cantankerous, and yet so enjoyable to watch!
Actually, the man himself seemed serene enough I suppose. But his lyrics. So dry and bitter they're almost juicy with it! Juicy with dry bitterness. His dad is writer and novelist Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Last Picture Show), and for James's sake I hope most of his songs are novels rather than autobiographies. They must be, unless in addition to a successful career as a songwriter and touring musician, he's simultaneously managed to live a dozen dead-end lives in scattered locations across the country.
Oh, I paint a wrong picture. Not all of his songs feature dead-end lives. And even among those that do, there are very rousing and even uplifting ones as well. But all of the best of his songs are tinged with fatalism. It would be accurate I think to call James McMurtry the master of uplifting fatalism. No one is better at singing about a life resigned to desperation, but the music he turns it into provides the catharsis.
He has some truly beautiful songs. I can't even describe them. "Rachel's Song" gets me every time. Go listen to it.
And I will say this: the thing that surprised me most about the show was how hard he rocked! He is far from a naive guitarist. His studio recordings (at least, the one almost-complete album that was taped onto side B of a mix tape someone sent me, the only recording I knew him from) are more sedate, more produced. Yet you show up at the show all unsuspecting, and he up and hauls off kicking your ass!
I always did say that if I saw him live, and he could convince me, then I'd buy a couple of his albums. And he did indeed convince me. Well-played, Mr. McMurtry. Well-played.
EDIT: But one part was kind of weird. I have never before seen a guy tune his guitar so many times on stage! Almost in between every song. Every time he grabbed a new guitar I wanted to yell out encouragement,
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