Whooping Llama

I saw Ray Price, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson in Huntington last night and I’m bringing some of the experience to your interwebs. I was too enamored with the Hag to shoot anything while he was onstage, but I’ve got some stuff by Mr. Crazy Arms, Ray Price. The dude’s still getting down, even at 81…check it out.

Here’s his encore, the Hank Williams tune “A Mansion on the Hill”:

And here’s “Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)”…pay attention, he gets a very special guest towards the end!

P.S. Sorry about the quality, I shot this stuff on my Kodak Z710 and the stage lights were messin’ with it somethin’ awful. I would have used my brand new Canon GL-2, but I don’t think security would have appreciated that.

I bootlegged this puppy last night at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, KY. I apologize for the shakiness and bad framing, but I shot this with a digital camera while trying to avoid the backs of heads and power-crazed ushers. Audio’s fairly good though. Full review coming soon (hopefully).

It’s certainly no Carnegie Hall or Madison Square Garden, but Charleston’s Clay Center has drawn its share of legendary artists. James Taylor, Roger McGuinn, and George Benson have all graced its stage, and on April 6^th another name was added to the list: country/bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs.

Skaggs, currently backed by the all-star band Kentucky Thunder, has been around the proverbial block several times in his career. Early on he played with Ralph Stanley, banjoist JD Crowe, and Gram Parsons-protégé Emmylou Harris before leaving to persue a career in country music. The prodigal son eventually returned home—and in a big way. His work has garnered several Grammy’s (his latest for an instrumental album titled…Instrumentals) and his label, Skaggs Family Records, has become quite a force in the bluegrass world. All this (and the fact that I’ve idolized Ricky for years) left me expecting a phenomenal concert. Anticipation is a dangerous thing.

Things were off to a rough start before the concert even began. Originally booked for March 30^th, Skaggs fell sick and had to push the date back a week. As I was buying my “Bluegrass Rules!” t-shirt prior to the performance, I overheard the guy at the merch table say Ricky was still out of it. My expectations slowly lowered. In actuality, his lack of stage presence was the only indication that something wasn’t right (you got the feeling he didn’t want to be up there) but that lack of showmanship accounts for more than one might think.

Technically speaking, everything was spot-on. The bug didn’t hinder Ricky’s picking or singing one bit. Kentucky Thunder was also in top form, not a note out of place. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to make up for that missing energy. The fast solos and tight harmonies were great, but the soul of the music wasn’t there. It was hollow.

Another big issue for me was the night’s set list. Probably fifty percent of the songs performed that night were from the Instrumentals album—and they all sounded the same. Bluegrass instrumentals were created to show off the virtuosity of band members, and are usually used sparingly. Maybe he didn’t feel like hitting all those high notes or maybe he was just trying to sell the latest Grammy-winner, but I think Skaggs let the audience down by not singing more.

The songs where Skaggs and the band let loose on the high-lonesome vocals were the highlights of the night. This portion of the set was split between bluegrass classics and newer songs Skaggs has recorded. It was awesome to hear his hits “Highway 40 Blues” and “A Simple Life” live, buy my favorite was the cover of the Stanley Brothers’ “Little Maggie.” Banjo player NAME did an excellent job of imitating Ralph Stanley’s style, and Ricky’s lead vocal contained all the hurt and heartbreak of the original.

For an encore, Skaggs and the boys presented a bluegrass gospel quartet version of “Remember the Cross” from his Soldier of the Cross album. Huddled around one microphone at the center of the stage with only a guitar and Ricky’s mandolin for accompaniment, they delivered their second-best performance of the night (after “Little Maggie”).

Those two spectacular moments couldn’t redeem a night of so-so showmanship, however. A performance that should have been one of the best to ever hit Charleston ended with a whimper and a sigh. As the house lights came on I didn’t find myself wanting more—I wanted a refund. I hope this was just the effect of the flu. Otherwise, I’ll have to find a new idol.

Gospel music has a reputation of being…well, let’s be frank, boring and square. I for one have seen my share of tone deaf family bands in matching suits. To think this is all the genre holds, however, is like giving up on rock ‘n’ roll because of the latest Fall Out Boy record. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as good gospel music and the Geary Auditorium stage was graced with some of it recently.

Kentucky’s Crabb Family came to UC by way of the first Steadfast Homecoming, held on February 15^th (Steadfast, now called “Fully Immersed,” is a local contemporary Christian music group). Fully Immersed served as the opening act and did an excellent job. CCM isn’t my cup of tea exactly, but they’re talented musicians nonetheless.

When their set was finished, two shaggy looking dudes (one of which was sporting a University of Charleston hoodie) came onstage. They sat on stools, electric guitars in their laps, patiently waiting for the MC to finish his patter. Thinking we were in for another opening act (ugh), I began to get antsy. Just as I was about to make a break for the restroom a booming voice came out of the UC hoodie. I sat back down.

It turns out one of those shaggy looking dudes was Jason Crabb. He proceeded to belted out the bluesiest version of “Shout to the Lord” I’ve ever heard. I’m still amazed how a big voice like that can come out of a skinny Kentucky boy. His guitar playing, accompanied here by lead picker Zach Smith, was just as impressive, sounding like a John Mayer who found religion.

After that wrecking-ball opening number came to an end, Zach and Jason were joined by the rest of the band and two more Crabb’s, Adam and Terah (Jason’s younger brother and sister). I’ve known and loved the Crabb Family’s music for many years, but they’ve never sounded like this. The vocal harmonies have always been pristine, even in the early days, but the stage band was one of the tightest ensembles I’ve heard…in any kind of music. Each musician was completely tuned in to what the others were doing, so much so that at times the band sound became more than just a group of several instruments, it became a single entity.

Pulling triple-duty as lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and emcee, Jason Crabb worked the crowd with the style and grace of an old-time preacher. He didn’t just introduce songs. He took the songs and related them to way we all live this life, believers and nonbelievers alike. This discourse may have bothered some who were just there for the music, but I loved it. The man believes in a loving God, and he isn’t afraid to tell people. In a perfect world, every singer would believe in their songs as deeply as Jason Crabb does.

My favorite moment of the night (if I have to pick one) was the band’s moving performance of their hit “Through the Fire.” A mid-tempo roots gospel romp, the song is the best example I can give of real gospel music. The siblings sang as if their life depended on every note. When they finished the song there was a tense feeling in the air, as if something had not been completed. Without missing a beat they jumped back into the chorus, the crowd whooping and hollering and shouting like it was Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, August 1^st will be the Crabb Family’s last date as a group. Each family member is going on to pursue their own personal ministry, and the Steadfast Homecoming will likely be their last southern West Virginia performance. If by some bit of extreme luck or divine intervention they do come back, I implore everyone to go hear them. No matter your religious beliefs, you’d be hard pressed to find a better group of musicians or singers.