Billy Joe Shaver CD release at Cheatham Street
On the 20th, my concert calendar said i was supposed to go see Billy Joe at the Cheatham Street Warehouse. i'd been to a # of shows in recent days, and i didn't have anyone to go to this show w/ me, and it cost a decent amount of $, so i contemplated skipping it. i thought about it all day, and decided that i had to go. shows like this were what i moved to TX to see. BJS is one of my favs, it'd be stupid to not see him, especially since he was playing on 15 minutes away (much closer than Austin). so i put on my best cowboy attire and headed out.
I figured the place would just be some old saloon, w/ people packed in, and that it'd be pretty easy to be insconspicuous there. boy was i wrong. i walked into the place and it was tables. just tables. tables everywhere. people sitting at tables. my heart sank. it's hard to sit at a table by yourself. i didn't know what to do. i wasn't drinking that night, so i didn't really feel comfortable standing w/ the couple of people that were milling around the bar. over by the pool tables were some seats, so i sat there a little, but soon enough people wanted to play pool so i had to move. i was not enjoying the experience in the least so far. i was so stressed, i didn't even get to pay much attention to the opener Adam Carroll's set, and i've heard some really good things about him and had wanted to check him out.
just as despair was about to set in, i saw a lady that looked familiar. there's a couple really hardcore BJS fans on the internet (amongst which i'm one), and 1 of the biggest was supposedly going to be there that night. i had talked to her several times before, as it was her that i helped out by selling merch in DC for BJS last fall. i'd seen pics of her and BJS, but didn't really remember what she looked like. a group of people come in, and one looked like it might have been what i sort of remembered her looking like. stupidly, surprisingly, i just tapped her on the arm and asked if she was who i thought she was. she was! woo hoo! she was excited to meet me, and invited me to join them at their table up front. thank goodness. the night was much easier after that...
i got to listen to a couple adam carroll songs. i liked what i heard. i want to hear some more of him though. i do have one comment about him though--- he was wearing tevas. sandals. what the heck? now maybe it's just me, and maybe it sounds superficial, and maybe that's just who he is, but in my mind, if people don't really know you, and you're playing an old country bar, and opening for a country legend, maybe you should wear boots. i would. but maybe that's just me.
tevas kind of struck me as dissrespectful or apathetic. if you get famous, where whatever you want. hell, one of my favorites, Todd Snider doesn't even wear shoes when he performs, but until then, dress the part. that's what i would do. he sounded good though.
as for billy joe, most people know what i think about him. (if not, you can read an old review i wrote about him here: this was the first time i'd seen him with his new band, and without Bob Brown, who sadly, unexpectedly passed away while on the road the Billy Joe and band last year. i had heard great reviews of his new band Diamondback, and heard they were more in the style of the late great Eddy Shaver. and i don't know. maybe i just miss Bob, but i didn't enjoy this performance as much as the others i've seen. billy joe sounded great, despite admitting he was mighty tired after a whirlwind publicity tour for the new cd. i have no actual complaints about Diamondback. they seem like a super bunch of guys, and very talented musicians. the show just wasn't as good as others i've seen. by my count only 16 songs got played, which is a little short for a cd release party. but that's ok. i still had a great time.
and truthfully, about 2 songs into the set, i was just sitting there listening and my mind started to wander a bit. and for the first time since i got to TX, i really felt like i belonged. like i was where i was supposed to be. everything felt right. and that was really cool.
one of my favorite moments of the night was when billy played "star in my heart" for Eddy, and played it solo acoustic. Diamondback did not leave the stage, they simply lowered their heads and turned their backs out of respect for Eddy. at the end, one of them took off his cowboy hat and gave a little salute. very very cool.
all in all a super fun night. i met 3 hardcore Billy Joe fans. i thought i was pretty hardcore, but they have me beat by a long shot. all 3 were heading north and see Billy Joe again in the coming days. the new songs that Billy played sounded good. and for only playing with Diamondback for a couple months, the future looks wide open. it's apparent that billy joe really enjoys playing with those guys, and that they enjoy playing with him.
and since i'm so late in writing this, i have now since found out perhaps another reason why billy joe was a little tired that night. it appears he was planning for his wedding, as he just got married last weekend. congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Shaver.
may they have many years of success!
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