|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Click to subscribe to our newsletter. |
|
|
Click to subscribe to the Rockzilla.net discussion group! |
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
The evening's venue was new to me, although it's a long-standing local institution anchoring a main corner in the high-tone (insert shameless correlation to Tom's record label here) NoDa Arts District. NoDa's short for North Davidson, the artery that runs through the neighborhood, and it's got aspirations along the lines of Sixth Street or what Dallas' Deep Ellum used to be (and still is on certain nights). NoDa's got some work to do to get there, but for funky galleries, funkier people and occasional exposure to transcendent music you won't do any better in this town. As with Deep Ellum, you can pretty much get whatever kind of vibe you're looking for at the particular hour or moment when a fancy strikes. The Neighborhood Theatre is perhaps one of the more buttoned-down of the venues available and, as its name suggests, is a wide-open and airy old movie house laid out now for a variety of offerings. Jerry Jeff plays here with semi-regularity and commands 40 bucks a head. It's the sort of place where artists one can catch for six bucks in Fort Worth or Austin or San Antone will draw a crowd that wants to sit back in ancient movie seats and soak in the ambience of a master at work. Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen and Todd Snider have held the spotlight and, while it's not the honky-tonk or roadhouse one might associate with names like these, it is a place that respects the art and artists. As Jud Block (one of Rockzillaworld's newest writers who also happens to be a displaced Texan lost in Charlotte) and I settled in with favorably chilled Shiners, we scanned the crowd and decided Tom Russell would do well in this town. It was obvious that a good number of those in attendance were here to see him. Shortly after 8pm (I'll never get used to that, but it's the norm here) Tom and Andrew Hardin walked onstage with minimal fanfare. Opening with the striking and beautiful "The Angel of Lyon," they served notice that they were there to do exactly what they've done so well together for so long. From France, with barely a second for breath, they hopped to Oslo for "St. Olav's Gate," another of the songs drawn from places Russell's been that sweep you into the picture he's painting and make you completely forget where you are. The European odyssey continued with a striking twist on "Sitting Bull In Venice" from Tom's recent The Man From God Knows Where. Russell stayed in that vein for a few songs, mining his family's immigrant history and their strengths and blindnesses and resilience in both the Old and New Worlds. During this stretch Hardin, who's long been considered an outstanding talent and terrific accomplice for Russell's style, let his guitar turn the duet into a trio and splashed broad, vivid colors across the montages of life and "becoming American" that make Russell something special. There were occasions through the evening when Tom backed off and Hardin took the spotlight. In those interludes, the sounds he seduced from that piece of wood and string bordered on the ethereal. The first real story-telling from Tom came right before one of those sessions, as he introduced the story of his gambling daddy as a preface to "Throwin' Horseshoes at the Moon." The two men made this song a journey through small town America and the ghosts of Route 66, turning the Neighborhood Theatre itself into a projector for their own vision of the past. And then, as if to say the hell with the past anyway, they tore the lid off "Next Thing Smokin'," the first selection of the evening from Russell's latest album, Borderland. Several songs from that album followed, with the Tom and Dave Alvin collaboration "Blue Wing" thrown in for good measure. Stories abounded through the evening, ranging from pecan tree carving shrines for Tejua Indians to family truths through the usual insight, wisdom, and bullshit. Audience participation became a significant part of the show, and it was clear Russell and Hardin have a following on the Eastern seaboard. They closed out with several requests, the obligatory "Gallo del Cielo" bringing down the curtain and shutting out the lights just shy of 10pm. All too short a visit, but more than worth the wait. For info on Tom, check www.tomrussell.com.
If you're swinging through Charlotte anytime soon, check out
www.neighborhoodtheatre.com
for info on artists you may want to catch while you're here.
If you do make it into town, let Jud and I know you're here
and come say hello. And bring Lone Star. Contact David Pilot at: |
||
 Read Rockzilla's Guestbook Sign Rockzilla's Guestbook |
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|