THE DERAILERS at Shady Grove 5-28-09

First time seeing these guys and it was their "unplugged" version, they said. So, instead of a 5 piece band with keyboards and steel we got a 3 piece guitar, bass and drums. That was a little disappointing for me.
Someone said they've been described as "Buck Owens meets The Beatles." That wound me up as I'm a big Beatles fan and thought that might be fun. I was thinking like some early Beatles stuff when they were doing Carl Perkins, "Honey Don't" etc...
I didn't hear any Beatles. I heard Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, a little Jerry Lee Lewis. They are a rockabilly band, I would say. And a good one.
However, the show was a bit dull. Pretty much every song was preceded by "this is off our fill in the blank record album, or it was written for so and so or it is about this or that. Talk about a complete lack of pacing a show. Start and stop, Start and stop. Never picked up any steam.
The lead guitar player is also the lead singer. He's really good at both. Great voice and to handle lead guitar while singing like he does, is pretty rare to see. Very fun to watch. They are all accomplished musicians and the bass player does some fine harmonizing.
I didn't feel there was much originality in their music and they also did a bunch of covers. It was kind of like being at your local bar on a Friday night when they have a classics band come in for the masses. Be Bop A Lula, Johnny B. Goode, that type of stuff.
So, overall, fun stuff but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again.
The crowd was the smallest of the year. Probably because Bob Schneider was down the street, playing at Threadgill's. Therefore, the people who arrive closer to show time and always have to sit on the lawn or stand in the back, were able to get seats up front. They talked loudly through every song, even after people asked them to quiet down. Bimbos and Bimbettes. The world is full of them. They are always the folks who clap the loudest after each song, too. What idiots.
Lastly, our great waiter, Brad, is no longer there on Thursday nights! He got an internship which cuts into his Thursday. Good for him, sad for us. We will miss him. Our new guy, Peter, seems to be a good replacement. He had a sign on the back of his shirt that said "husband #5." All the wait staff had names last night, like Sandra Dee, Tommy Lee Jones, Elizabeth Taylor. Peter said he was Elizabeth's 5th husband. He didn't know who that would be. I looked it up and it was Richard Burton when they married in 1964. Peter, a young guy, had no clue as to who Richard was! We filled him in. He felt the alcoholic part fit him pretty well and loved the distinguished British actor description also.