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Jesse Dayton
Live in Las Vegas
Stag Records
By William Michael Smith
 Of all the bands
under the umbrella of the alt.Texas genre, Jesse Dayton seems
like the perfect Texas band for Las Vegas, the perfect combination
of musicianship and, just as importantly, showmanship. Dayton
and his band are not only some of the best pickers on the scene,
they've got the flash and eye-grabbing showmanship to go with
it.
It doesn't hurt that Dayton bears a striking resemblance to
the former King if you don't look too closely. Vegas loves
the King and Vegas loves a show. It doesn't take too much imagination
or shrewd observation to see that Dayton has cultivated some
of the crucial Presley performing traits -- not the glitzy, absurdly
costumed schtick of the Vegas Presley that spawned an industry
of cheesy imitators but the stripped down, hubba-hubba rockabilly
electricity that propelled that Tupelo, Mississippi boy to mega-stardom
in the '50s.
Recorded during a weeklong engagement at the Venetian Room
on the Vegas Strip, the seven song EP Live In Las Vegas
documents one of the blazingest, hell-for-leather, show-blow-get-the-dough
musical outfits Texas has unleashed on an unsuspecting world
in ages. What is truly impressive is that this is a sound board
recording completely devoid of production tweaks and mastering
wizardry. It's as raw as a cut from a straight razor. While the
drums come across a bit tinny in the mix, the overall effect
is a dagger through the honky tonk heart of the impression that
alt.Texas bands are loose and undisciplined and musically limited.
These tracks catch a moment of such musical precision that, if
the crowd screams were filtered out and the mix was retouched,
they could be mistaken for carefully sculpted studio takes. After
a while, one can't help but think, "Don't these guys ever
miss a lick, muff a pick up, slide slightly out of harmony, or
get upside down? And how many Gawd-damn fingers do Dayton and
that steel player have, for Christ sake?" The speed of light
picking on the album is simply awe-inspiring and a further testament
to why Dayton was a favorite of Waylon's and the lead guitarist
in Ray Price's orchestra, and why Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers
can be heard telling the crowd as the final track of his Must've
Been Live album fades out, "That's Brian Thomas, y'all,
and he's a motherfucker on anything with strings on it!"
Dayton and Thomas play with an intensity and authenticity that
instantly distinguishes them from the technically proficient
but canned-sounding licks of Nashville's studio giants.
While five of the tracks are simply live versions of songs
from Dayton's Raisin' Cain and Tall Texas Tales
albums, his core fans will recognize two longtime crowd favorites,
Greg Wood's "Tall Texas Trash" and Trent Summar's "Let's
Go Get Stoned (And Listen to George Jones"). The old rockabilly
Road King Dayton is one of the heppest cats on the alt.Texas
scene and he masterfully handles these tongue-in-cheek anthems
with the sense of aplomb and hyperbole his lineage demands.
No Depression editor Grant Alden wrote in his review
of Dayton's previous release, Hey Nashvegas, that Dayton
had yet to fulfill the promise of his live shows with his studio
recordings. Though only a seven track EP recorded on the fly,
Live In Las Vegas should go far towards removing that
criticism. These guys don't need any pyrotechnics.
*www.jessedayton.com
and www.stagrecords.com
Catch Dayton at the Continental Club in Houston March 21, and
in April at the Houston International Festival.
Contact William Michael Smith at wms-at-rockzilla.net
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