Obligatory post...
Robert Earl Keen last night
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Last: 1 day ago by LawHall88
Which many years ago after I learned more about James McMurtry, the fact he wrote a song about how a guy that didn't fit in and couldn't wait to leave some desolate craphole was the least surprising thing ever
Was he taking a dig at his father, concerning draining the aquifer?
Here's a link to the first single off "The Horses and the Hounds", which includes some of my favorite JM lines:Hey Nav said:
Thanks for the heads up. Didn't realize McMurtry had a new album. I believe I have every other album of his. Thought he had retired.
Will have to check it out.
In a way back corner of a cross-town bus
We were hiding out under my hat
Cashing in on a thirty-year crush
You can't be young and do that
As for him being a grouchy MF, my favorite example is when he played Waterloo Records for a CD release party. One of the rowdy frat guys in the back of the store yells out "What was the name of that song?!" when he finishes playing "Choctaw Bingo". Without looking up JM muttered "It's on the album - buy it."
Thanks. I ordered the CD already It will be here in 48 hours .
Hey Nav said:
Was he taking a dig at his father, concerning draining the aquifer?
Supposedly he wrote it for a friend from Floydada. But Levelland flowed better
Floydada.
HOLY COW. Levelland is Manhattan compared to Floydada.
HOLY COW. Levelland is Manhattan compared to Floydada.
Specifically, this guy: Max CrawfordDannyDuberstein said:Hey Nav said:
Was he taking a dig at his father, concerning draining the aquifer?
Supposedly he wrote it for a friend from Floydada. But Levelland flowed better
JM gave him Out Here in the Middle as well so I guess he got over it.DannyDuberstein said:
Prior to singing Levelland at the Dallas show, REK told a story about McMurty being a grouchy MF. He was disturbed at being bothered while eating a hamburger by REK calling for permission to do the song
Noticed on REK's website that he's live streaming his last three shows at Floore's for $20/each or all three for $50. I may drop $20 to watch his last show.
McMurtry is the ****in' man
Fuzzy Dunlop said:
I saw the other day that we'll get James McMurtry at the Floores show on Saturday. Looking forward to that as I have liked him for a long time but have never seen him live.
According to Floores website, opening Saturday is James McMurtry and Eric Church. I had heard Eric Church was opening one of the nights but had no idea it was same as McMurtry. Not a fan of Church but given his status in the current landscape of country music, he doesn't open for REK unless he wants to.
REK tonight ACL- very good show! (Also got a kick out of Todd Snider). Robert is finishing strong- don't miss him if you get a chance.
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Looks like REK is doing a surprise gig at Cosmic Coffee in Austin tonight
Wow - guess he wants to play one last small gig before hanging it up. Not doubting you, but just curious where you heard this.Stormblitz II said:
Looks like REK is doing a surprise gig at Cosmic Coffee in Austin tonight
Aston 91 said:Wow - guess he wants to play one last small gig before hanging it up. Not doubting you, but just curious where you heard this.Stormblitz II said:
Looks like REK is doing a surprise gig at Cosmic Coffee in Austin tonight
Very cool - thanks for the heads up. If I hadn't just paid to see him, I'd definitely be trying to make it to this. I would imagine it's going to be a clusterf*** if the word spreads, but would still be a cool to catch him at such a small place.
It's not that big of a place. Would think this is an acoustic set. Parking sucks in that area and that was for mid-week happy hours. Would have considered attempting to go if I was already in that part of town this evening, but not worth it considering just paid too.
I moved from Austin a few months ago, otherwise, yeah - this sounds potentially cool (and a potential maddening cluster ****). Anyway, cosmic confirms it:
https://instagr.am/p/Ch4tSWdO1rX
https://instagr.am/p/Ch4tSWdO1rX
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
I hope they make Church go first since the first rule in show business is never follow a better act. I'm not a fan, but I guess it's good he's potentially exposing REK's music to a much bigger audience. There must not have been a basketball game he was more interested in on Saturday night.walton91 said:Fuzzy Dunlop said:
I saw the other day that we'll get James McMurtry at the Floores show on Saturday. Looking forward to that as I have liked him for a long time but have never seen him live.
According to Floores website, opening Saturday is James McMurtry and Eric Church. I had heard Eric Church was opening one of the nights but had no idea it was same as McMurtry. Not a fan of Church but given his status in the current landscape of country music landscape, he doesn't open for REK unless he wants to.
For anyone watching this thread and thinking of going to Cosmic tonight - my husband and I just got here.
Parking is filling up but there are still some spots in the lot and along the street.
He will be playing inside which is a super small space. There's like 15-20 seats in front of the stage that are taped off and the rest of the space is SRO in front of the bar. Not sure how tight or crowded that will eventually feel.
They're supposed to be playing the music throughout the patio space (which if you're unfamiliar is 90% of Cosmic). Chairs are wet - bring a towel.
Edit to add there is currently a ton of outdoor seating.
Parking is filling up but there are still some spots in the lot and along the street.
He will be playing inside which is a super small space. There's like 15-20 seats in front of the stage that are taped off and the rest of the space is SRO in front of the bar. Not sure how tight or crowded that will eventually feel.
They're supposed to be playing the music throughout the patio space (which if you're unfamiliar is 90% of Cosmic). Chairs are wet - bring a towel.
Edit to add there is currently a ton of outdoor seating.
Post photos! Enjoy the show
Wife signed up for the last show and won tickets. Have a lot going on but we can't miss that one.
The best former Aggie to go see is Seth James. He is more in line with Delbert Mcclinton lately, but he did have his red dirt moment with "Cody Canada and the departed". Use to see him play at the Third Floor Cantina back in the day.
I had no clue that Seth James went to A&M
Apparently, he left ACL then went and did a surprise midnight show at the Continental ClubGuppy91 said:
Saw in Austin at ACL Moody Theater last night. Very good show! Thoroughly enjoyed the LA Freeway encore played on the acoustic guitar Jerry Jeff gave him. My buddy wore a "Beat Alabama" shirt and got compliments all night. Hard for Aggies and Sips to disagree on that one! Lots of Aggies in attendance.
REK was dressed in the awful yellow suit and standard ballcap. Put on a good show and seemed sober enough do his job!
This whole thing kind of feels like the George Strait "final tour", REK is still going to play several times a year at Flores, Gruene, Billy Bobs, etc., he just done "touring".
Ag CPA said:
This whole thing kind of feels like the George Strait "final tour", REK is still going to play several times a year at Flores, Gruene, Billy Bobs, etc., he just done "touring".
What do you base this on? When he announced his farewell tour, he explicitly said he will no longer perform publicly. Now, he wouldn't be the first to change his mind, but as of now, he is absolutely not doing what you suggest.
JCA1 said:Ag CPA said:
This whole thing kind of feels like the George Strait "final tour", REK is still going to play several times a year at Flores, Gruene, Billy Bobs, etc., he just done "touring".
What do you base this on? When he announced his farewell tour, he explicitly said he will no longer perform publicly. Now, he wouldn't be the first to change his mind, but as of now, he is absolutely not doing what you suggest.
Did something change since this rolling stone article then?
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/robert-earl-keen-retirement-final-concert-1341072/
Quote:
Let's say there's a tribute show to an old friend of yours somewhere in Texas and you were asked to play a song. Are you ruling something like that out?
No, no, I don't think that's off the table. If we wanted to put a boundary around it, I'm just not going to play for pay. That's it.
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
BenFiasco14 said:JCA1 said:Ag CPA said:
This whole thing kind of feels like the George Strait "final tour", REK is still going to play several times a year at Flores, Gruene, Billy Bobs, etc., he just done "touring".
What do you base this on? When he announced his farewell tour, he explicitly said he will no longer perform publicly. Now, he wouldn't be the first to change his mind, but as of now, he is absolutely not doing what you suggest.
Did something change since this rolling stone article then?
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/robert-earl-keen-retirement-final-concert-1341072/Quote:
Let's say there's a tribute show to an old friend of yours somewhere in Texas and you were asked to play a song. Are you ruling something like that out?
No, no, I don't think that's off the table. If we wanted to put a boundary around it, I'm just not going to play for pay. That's it.
I guess I don't understand. You're making my point. You quoted something that says he's not ruling out singing a song every now and again if asked by a friend but he won't book a gig for money anymore; i.e., he's not playing any more concerts. He very well may change his mind. But that's what he's saying right now.
I guess I should edit to add, his announcement that he would not perform publicly anymore, I took to mean shows where he's the draw, so to speak. Not that he'd never show his face or sing a song ever again. That quote is consistent with that. He's not saying he's going to disappear entirely. But if he's true to his word, you won't see him in concert again.
I read it basically as he's done touring on his own. Hell still be popping up at festivals and the like I bet.
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
BenFiasco14 said:
I read it basically as he's done touring on his own. Hell still be popping up at festivals and the like I bet.
You may proven to be right. And he wouldn't be the first to "unretire." But I don't think that is consistent with what he's saying right now. Right now, he's claiming he's not going to be booking any more gigs period. We'll see if that holds.
Ag CPA said:
This whole thing kind of feels like the George Strait "final tour", REK is still going to play several times a year at Flores, Gruene, Billy Bobs, etc., he just done "touring".
Little different than George Strait… he can make a million or two with a couple of appearances ….get the feeling it isn't worth the pay for REK.
Glad to see he's getting his fastball back on his final leg. i think someone mentioned it on the first page, but I was there at the Whitewater show this summer and it left quite a bit to be desired. i hope he channels his inner Aggie and really gets up foe the opening of Aggie Park because he's not going to find an audience that loves him more.
One of the things he's dealing with is he's lost a lot of his ability to play and his band adjusts. Live #2's greatness is very much attributable to his band and how good and sharp they were. That was a freaking all star lineup of a supporting band and REK just can't keep up. It's not really his fault, age is just undefeated.
Anyway, just to defend him a bit, and i know his reputation as an insufferable ass is likely earned, he did something very cool for me last year and i thought it should be shared. One of my favorite lines of any song is from "Dreadful Selfish Crime" because I pretty much lived that one in my college days. Terrible musicians wasting youth, brain cells, grades, and all that and it was the best times of our lives. So much so that i wanted to get it tattooed but the only way i'd do it is if it was in his handwriting. I sent him an email and explained it to him and he thought it was really cool, and two days later he sends me a note with the handwritten lyrics and a thank you for being a fan. threw some other stuff in there too.
anyway. just a story. doesn't mean much but figured i'd share
One of the things he's dealing with is he's lost a lot of his ability to play and his band adjusts. Live #2's greatness is very much attributable to his band and how good and sharp they were. That was a freaking all star lineup of a supporting band and REK just can't keep up. It's not really his fault, age is just undefeated.
Anyway, just to defend him a bit, and i know his reputation as an insufferable ass is likely earned, he did something very cool for me last year and i thought it should be shared. One of my favorite lines of any song is from "Dreadful Selfish Crime" because I pretty much lived that one in my college days. Terrible musicians wasting youth, brain cells, grades, and all that and it was the best times of our lives. So much so that i wanted to get it tattooed but the only way i'd do it is if it was in his handwriting. I sent him an email and explained it to him and he thought it was really cool, and two days later he sends me a note with the handwritten lyrics and a thank you for being a fan. threw some other stuff in there too.
anyway. just a story. doesn't mean much but figured i'd share