Your last concert was to see who and when?

Oops, I meant to say Western Swing above, not Country Swing. Hey, when I wrote that at six something this morning I hadn't been to sleep yet 😊 .

Well fellas, did I see a great one last night!

Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper, doing a set as a trio on the stage at Mississippi Studios in Portland Oregon. Kelly and Brennen playing acoustic guitars, Melissa an upright bass almost as big as herself, and all three singing solo and in perfect 3-part harmony. And I mean per-fect!

I’ve been a fan of Kelly for decades, and just recently discovered Brennen (her 2022 album Obsessed With The West is a Country Swing project, produced by Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel, who serve as her backing band. This Year’s Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet was produced by Chris Scruggs, and features a guest appearance by Marty Stuart on mandolin. Both are available on both LP and CD). Melissa I had not yet known about. All three have roots in the South and Midwest, and I believe crossed paths in---where else?---Austin Texas, Texas.

The set was the three of them each singing a song of their own composition, one after the other. Mississippi Studios is an excellent sounding room (capacity 250), as is the Studios’ sound system and the ears of the mixing engineer; not too loud, not too bright or boomy (though the bottom string of the bass was vibrating the walls of the room pretty strongly). Their was lots of humour, and great stories about the origins of each song. Plus, the sight of three chicks in cowboy hats and boots was pretty hot 😉 .

They are making their way across the U.S.A., so catch them if you can. Last night tickets were only twenty bucks, less than I paid for a double shot of Johnnie Walker Black!

@rpeluso: As is Jackson, whom I have somehow never heard live. Gotta do that before he or I die.

Iris is very charming live, with lots of self-deprecating humour. Her piano playing is somewhat reminiscent of that of Randy Newman, with those New Orleans chord voicings. And my gawd, what a voice!

Monday night is Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper at Mississippi Studios.

Hmm, all chicks.😉 Speaking of which, this time Iris had two accompanying musicians along; a redhead playing a beautiful Gretsch 5120 plugged into a Fender Deluxe Reverb---great tone!, and another young woman playing an electric upright bass

And I couldn’t help but noticed that the audience was about 3/4 female. I’m not complaining.😉

Iris DeMent tonight at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR. She closed the show with this fantastic song:

https://youtu.be/FikZwgj89HI?t=1

Harmony vocal sung by Emmylou Harris, dobro played by Jerry Douglas.

I saw Dylan in the early 1990’s at The Hollywood Bowl, the worst show I’ve ever witnessed by anybody (though The Stones at The Staples Center a decade later was close. Time to hang it up, fellas). Both he and his band (G.E. Smith / guitar and mugging, Kenny Aaronson / bass, and Christopher Parker / drums) were atrociously bad.

I then saw him in the early 2000’s at The Hollywood Palladium (a beautiful Deco-style theater on Sunset Blvd.), and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever witnessed. Bob was on fire, absolutely spitting out the lyrics, fully engaged with both his excellent band (Larry Campbell / guitar, mandolin, and harmony vocals, Tony Garnier / standup and electric bass, the great David Kemper on drums, and Bucky Baxter / steel) and the audience. Bob even played some Chuck Berry-style guitar solos as Larry looked on, bemused. A great, great night of music.

Marty, have you seen any of the pics of Lindsey and Stevie when they were in The Fritz Reiner Memorial Band (original name, later shortened to merely Fritz)? They were just another local San Jose cover band, playing at local High Schools and Teen Centers like the rest of us. There are pics of her on stage in a Prom dress, with a bouffant hairdo! I saw them live only once, as the opening act at the Santa Clara (valley) Folk Rock Festival in the Summer of '68. Also on the bill were The Electric Flag (fantastic!), and The Doors, who closed the show.

Maybe it was San Jose's The Doobie Brothers getting a Warner Brothers record deal that inspired them to move to L.A. in '72 or so. They've done pretty well for themselves ;-).

She was fantastic Spencer, as were her accompanists. A really good guitarist on Gibson acoustic and Gretsch electric (into a small Fender combo amp---looked like a Deluxe), and pianist on an acoustic grand and electronic with Leslie rotating-speaker. I thought I would miss drums and bass, but their absence made Joan’s voice and the players parts and excellent harmony vocals all the more audible.

And, for a change, excellent sound-reinforcement! All three sang into Shure SM58’s, so there was the to-be-expected presence elevation, but very mild. Our seats were third row center, so when Joan backed off the mic I could hear her voice acoustically, and the amplified sound was pretty true to it. And not too loud---a very welcome change from normal live sound. The very good acoustics of the room (Portland's Aladdin Theater) was welcome too. If Joan comes to your town, I highly recommended spending the $32.50 per ticket (cheap these days!) I did.