Robert Earl Keen last night
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Last: 4 days ago by LawHall88
bumping this thread....saw video of REK at yell practice last week. Didn't appear drunk, but his walking looked horrendous. No wonder he sitting on stage, and just seems out of it. To me the way he was dragging his leg around I wonder if he had a stroke, or parkinsons.
He's getting up there in age but from my eye it seems he's dealing with something other than age. Sad to see.
He's getting up there in age but from my eye it seems he's dealing with something other than age. Sad to see.
he has chronic back pain (hence the reason he is playing sitting down and has trouble walking) and bell's palsey.
What do you boys want for breakfast BBQ ?.....OK Chili.
He moves like my 70 year old FIL. Just an old dude with sciatica. I'd be sitting too. That didn't bother me at all
Maybe he's got bursitis in his hip. It stopped Dusty Hill from touring.
Having had that ailment, I'll tell you it sucks and that after walking very far you start to drag your leg and kind of throw it in front of you.
Having had that ailment, I'll tell you it sucks and that after walking very far you start to drag your leg and kind of throw it in front of you.
I streamed the last shows and there was a bonus fan appreciation show.
It was really great, 3hr of rotating talent with a house band. I don't think anyone played more than three songs, most all were covers. Just a real fun show.
REK came out to close and did a Buddy Holly jam and another cover with several guests, and ended with a solo Paint the Town Beige.
Hate to see him hang it up, but excited to see what he does next.
It was really great, 3hr of rotating talent with a house band. I don't think anyone played more than three songs, most all were covers. Just a real fun show.
REK came out to close and did a Buddy Holly jam and another cover with several guests, and ended with a solo Paint the Town Beige.
Hate to see him hang it up, but excited to see what he does next.
Just saw that apparently 10 years ago tonight I was at the REK/Lyle Lovett show at Kyle Field. Was a pretty solid show from what I recall.
Damn good show. Pretty fun how they didn't do an opener and closer but basically just kept alternating after a few songs and also joining in on the other's songs some times.Jock 07 said:
Just saw that apparently 10 years ago tonight I was at the REK/Lyle Lovett show at Kyle Field. Was a pretty solid show from what I recall.
7nine
They played Bass Hall in Fort Worth during that "tour" and it was great.
chick79 said:
Isn't REK pretty well known to be drunk at most of his concerts? I've never seen him but I've heard from more than one person this is generally the case.
I saw him play the Fredericksburg county fair years ago. He was so drunk/high that he tried to do the little trick with a bottle on the guitar neck but used a can instead. Ended up popping the strings during the middle of five pound bass. His band kept the song going while the crowd watched them bring him a new guitar and tune it. When he was finally done he screamed "It's a five pound bass!!" And finished out the song. It was so cool how they kept the song going for ten minutes while all that was going on and that's what he yelled out…but damn…he was wasted.
TCU let him do the national anthem for the A&M game in 95 (he played at Billy Bobs the night before prior to yell in the Stockyards, it was a good time). He was so wasted that he didn't finish it.
I was there and after that performance was thankful that they didn't mention he was an Aggie when they introduced him. Lol.Ag CPA said:
TCU let him do the national anthem for the A&M game in 95 (he played at Billy Bobs the night before prior to yell in the Stockyards, it was a good time). He was so wasted that he didn't finish it.
Know Your Enemy said:I was there and after that performance was thankful that they didn't mention he was an Aggie when they introduced him. Lol.Ag CPA said:
TCU let him do the national anthem for the A&M game in 95 (he played at Billy Bobs the night before prior to yell in the Stockyards, it was a good time). He was so wasted that he didn't finish it.
Yeah, that was my BIL's (who had just exited the 82nd Airborne after 12 years) first exposure to REK. My BIL is a low key guy and didn't get visibly riled up, but let's just say he never became a REK fan. And if the topic of REK ever came up, he was "that guy that was too drunk to sing the Anthem at the TCU game"
I saw Aaron Watson in Nashville a few weeks back. Still a great show but he didn't play any of his classics (honky think kid/off the record/shut up and dance or my personal favorite cover of his Silver Wings).
He also no longer had a steel guitar in his band like he did back around 05-08 when I saw him often. Not sure when he ditched that.
I'm curious why so many no longer have the steel when some of their best songs featured it? Randy Roger's, Pat Green, etc.
He also no longer had a steel guitar in his band like he did back around 05-08 when I saw him often. Not sure when he ditched that.
I'm curious why so many no longer have the steel when some of their best songs featured it? Randy Roger's, Pat Green, etc.
It's getting harder to find people that play it.
Just got home from a Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt show and remembered this thread discussing how REK has become as a performer. I saw him earlier this year and still enjoyed the show but after tonight's show you can tell there seems to be a large difference in the enjoyment of the two old roommates.
Really enjoyed the song swap format tonight and makes me wish even more that I would've been able to catch him & REK together when they were doing that string of shows a few years ago.
Really enjoyed the song swap format tonight and makes me wish even more that I would've been able to catch him & REK together when they were doing that string of shows a few years ago.
camelclub said:
I saw Aaron Watson in Nashville a few weeks back. Still a great show but he didn't play any of his classics (honky think kid/off the record/shut up and dance or my personal favorite cover of his Silver Wings).
He also no longer had a steel guitar in his band like he did back around 05-08 when I saw him often. Not sure when he ditched that.
I'm curious why so many no longer have the steel when some of their best songs featured it? Randy Roger's, Pat Green, etc.
We saw AW when he opened the HLS&R several years back. Wife and I were excited to see him since we hadn't since A&M days. We were at his Texas Hall of Fame CD recording and release party. He didn't play anything we knew. Went very Jesus-y. We thought it was almost like a praise band.
Texas Monthly has an article about him that's really damn good.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/businside-robert-earl-keen-epic-final-tour/
Some interesting stories in there. It does go into their bad luck on this tour...he was definitely in pain, or at least as the story goes.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/businside-robert-earl-keen-epic-final-tour/
Some interesting stories in there. It does go into their bad luck on this tour...he was definitely in pain, or at least as the story goes.
Jock 07 said:
Just got home from a Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt show and remembered this thread discussing how REK has become as a performer. I saw him earlier this year and still enjoyed the show but after tonight's show you can tell there seems to be a large difference in the enjoyment of the two old roommates.
Really enjoyed the song swap format tonight and makes me wish even more that I would've been able to catch him & REK together when they were doing that string of shows a few years ago.
I really need to see John Hiatt. One of my all time favorites
Thanks for the link. That was a good read. Enjoyed this bit about his show in NYC
Quote:
There were, of course, a fair share of homesick Texpats sprinkled throughout the cavernous, ballroom-style venue, and I noticed a conspicuous amount of maroon for Manhattan. (If Keen played a secret show in an unmarked cave in the middle of Kazakhstan, at least a handful of Aggies would show up.)
That article in Texas Monthly was about as glowing an article as anyone could ever hope to receive.
Well written. I learned some things.
Thanks for posting it.
Well written. I learned some things.
Thanks for posting it.
camelclub said:
I saw Aaron Watson in Nashville a few weeks back. Still a great show but he didn't play any of his classics (honky think kid/off the record/shut up and dance or my personal favorite cover of his Silver Wings).
He also no longer had a steel guitar in his band like he did back around 05-08 when I saw him often. Not sure when he ditched that.
I'm curious why so many no longer have the steel when some of their best songs featured it? Randy Roger's, Pat Green, etc.
You answered your own question with the word "Nashville"…
Came to post this. That was a fantastic article. Thanks to dreyOO for posting.walton91 said:
Thanks for the link. That was a good read. Enjoyed this bit about his show in NYCQuote:
There were, of course, a fair share of homesick Texpats sprinkled throughout the cavernous, ballroom-style venue, and I noticed a conspicuous amount of maroon for Manhattan. (If Keen played a secret show in an unmarked cave in the middle of Kazakhstan, at least a handful of Aggies would show up.)
Just reading it all makes me sad he's done. Glad I got to see a couple of the last shows and happy to hear the recording won't be stopping any time soon.
Lots of positive and negative about REK here, understandably. I'll always have to look past the negatives as he'll forever be associated with A&M and my time there in a positive way. Below is a good story about what he did for Jason Workman, a Navy Seal killed on Extortion 17.
REK Plays Tribute To Seal
REK Plays Tribute To Seal
ElephantRider said:Jock 07 said:
Just got home from a Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt show and remembered this thread discussing how REK has become as a performer. I saw him earlier this year and still enjoyed the show but after tonight's show you can tell there seems to be a large difference in the enjoyment of the two old roommates.
Really enjoyed the song swap format tonight and makes me wish even more that I would've been able to catch him & REK together when they were doing that string of shows a few years ago.
I really need to see John Hiatt. One of my all time favorites
yes. yes, you do!
I was at that show as well. He dedicated the show to Jesus and witnessed, but he played all his current hits and it was a typical HLS&R performance, very similar to Cody Johnson's show a couple of nights later. If you thought that was "...a praise band...," you've never seen an authentic praise band or show.JABQ04 said:camelclub said:
I saw Aaron Watson in Nashville a few weeks back. Still a great show but he didn't play any of his classics (honky think kid/off the record/shut up and dance or my personal favorite cover of his Silver Wings).
He also no longer had a steel guitar in his band like he did back around 05-08 when I saw him often. Not sure when he ditched that.
I'm curious why so many no longer have the steel when some of their best songs featured it? Randy Roger's, Pat Green, etc.
We saw AW when he opened the HLS&R several years back. Wife and I were excited to see him since we hadn't since A&M days. We were at his Texas Hall of Fame CD recording and release party. He didn't play anything we knew. Went very Jesus-y. We thought it was almost like a praise band.
Cody Jinks still has a steel guitar
GreasenUSA said:Drawkcab said:
Seeing him tonight. Hope it's good!
So how was it?
Late answering this, but I thought it was great! I was kind of worried about it because of this thread. Sure he's getting older and sat the whole time, but we got Road Goes in Forever, Feeling Good Again, Merry Christmas from the Family, Coming Home, and a lot of others I was hoping for. I left happy I went.
Cody Jinks has been my go to for awhile now.. The steel guitar is good. In Vegas 2021 he had Randy Rogers (who opened for him) fiddle player join him for a song or two. It is amazing what a difference those two instruments make.
I will always enjoy Robert Earl Keen's music as it influenced my youth, but he had been phoning it in for years.
I will always enjoy Robert Earl Keen's music as it influenced my youth, but he had been phoning it in for years.
I saw REK over 40 times at 17 or 18 different venues over the last 20 years, including 3 times on the farewell tour. I disagree with your statement about "phoning it in for the last few years". As he got older the shows varied in quality - as can be reasonably expected for most musicians - but I never saw a show where I thought he "phoned it in".
I believe the shows suffered when Rich Brotherton left the band and was not replaced with a full-time guitar player. Marty Muse (pedal steel) leaving during Covid didn't help either. I think the arrangements and musicality of the shows was not as good after they left, but I don't think it was ever lack of effort or of joy of performing.
I believe the shows suffered when Rich Brotherton left the band and was not replaced with a full-time guitar player. Marty Muse (pedal steel) leaving during Covid didn't help either. I think the arrangements and musicality of the shows was not as good after they left, but I don't think it was ever lack of effort or of joy of performing.
My comment on phoning it in wasn't about the live shows. I understand the variety, and I probably have seen him close to 40 times since the mid 90's. How much new music was put out by him over the last ten years? THAT is where I believe that he phoned it in. A masterful storyteller just kept telling the same old story or one that no one wanted to listen to.
Sometime in the aughts I saw him live at a small venue in Solana Beach, CA. It was a fantastic show, went solo as my friends said "Who?!" Met a bunch of random Ags and that's the way I want to remember him.
aTm '99
I think Covid was a factor. I think the Happy Prisoner bluegrass experiment was an issue. I think the record he did under an alias with Randy Rogers as The Stryker Brothers is "new" music.CanyonLakeAgbu said:
My comment on phoning it in wasn't about the live shows. I understand the variety, and I probably have seen him close to 40 times since the mid 90's. How much new music was put out by him over the last ten years? THAT is where I believe that he phoned it in. A masterful storyteller just kept telling the same old story or one that no one wanted to listen to.
But, I think the biggest thing that happened was Rich Brotherton leaving the band.
CanyonLakeAgbu said:
My comment on phoning it in wasn't about the live shows. I understand the variety, and I probably have seen him close to 40 times since the mid 90's. How much new music was put out by him over the last ten years? THAT is where I believe that he phoned it in. A masterful storyteller just kept telling the same old story or one that no one wanted to listen to.
I was going today Rose Hotel was newer and pretty good, but that album is somehow almost 15 years old.
Is there a way to post something from REK's instagram without an account? I have one but I don't know how to just post a single clip of someone from IG when logged out.
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