WOMEN'S NIGHT at Antone's 9-19-08

CAROLYN WONDERLAND
LOU ANN BARTON
THE BLUEBONNETS
BETTYSOO

That was the lineup and 3 of the 4 I was familiar with. Didn't know The BlueBonnets. Naturally, I would spend a whopping $15 for a ticket. Isn't that crazy, how cheap great live music is here in Austin?
First up, Bettysoo. She is the main reason I wanted to go. She is terrific! I've seen her twice previously, but in small doses. For some reason I had convinced myself she would get to play an extended set at this bash. Well, after 30 minutes she & her band were off the stage. I can't wait to see her when we can hear a nice, long set of her music. Darn good songwriting with a voice that is BIG and a band that really drives her music. One night she had Will Sexton on lead guitar but on this night it was Jeff Plankenhorn. He has played with a number of people, including Ruthie Foster, Bob Schneider, Eliza Gilkyson and is one of my favorites. He has a nice record out himself called "Plank."
You see/hear a number of awfully good singer/songwriters here in Austin but there is something about Bettysoo that sets her apart from the others. I guess you always have to start with the writing. I realize now I feel the same passion for her music as I did the first time I heard Shawn Colvin's "Diamond in the Rough" playing on the radio. All you know is you want to hear more and sometimes that's all you can say.
You can buy her latest record "Little Tiny Secrets" thru her website:
http://bettysoo.com/shop.html or at ITunes or at the best little record store in Austin, Waterloo.
Next up was The BlueBonnets. They rocked, as in garage rock! It was loud and it was fun. This is a four piece band with bass, drums and 2 women who took turns on lead guitar. One of the guitar players is Eve Monsees. She had opened the night before for Gary Clark, Jr. at the Unplugged show at Shady Grove. With this band it was an entirely different vibe. At Shady it was bluesy, Americana, Bo Diddley type stuff while The BlueBonnets are straight ahead rock and roll. They played 45 minutes, boom, boom, boom, firing one rocker after another.
Third set of the night was Lou Ann Barton - a Texas icon. Before moving to Austin I was not aware of her by name. Didn't know this was the voice from the early days of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Until I heard her last year on the song "Jimmy Reed Highway" with Omar Kent Dykes, I was clueless, I am sorry to say. What a soulful voice. You can't be white and sing like that unless you're from the South. It was great, finally getting to see her live, fronting a traditional blues band.
Lastly, Carolyn Wonderland. You know with her you will get a passionate set of blues rock and we sure did. She started with "Walk On" and it was on fire. That set the tone and it was full steam ahead for her set. I can't state enough how great a guitar player she is. If she comes anywhere near your town, you need to go. Her latest record, "Miss Understood," is awfully good. On this one she really came into her own, I think, and put together a record that is good from beginning to end.
Lastly, I did video each performer. However, the lighting is so bad at Antone's that they are a bit dark and you lose too much quality on the blog so I will not post them here. They are posted on YouTube and I must say, the video of Carolyn doing "Walk On" is killer!