This was a crazy night in Austin, far too many good choices for music. You had Marcia Ball at the free Blues on the Green, Kevin Welch at the Continental Club ($5), Radney Foster at Hills Cafe (free) with his guests Ray Benson, Pat Green, Jack Ingram and others, Suzanna Choffel at Momo's followed by Jess Klein($7), Southpaw Jones with Matt the Electrician($5)or The Patrice Pike Band at Scholz, also free.
Started out, Marcia Ball all the way. Then Kevin Welch got tossed into the mix. Finally, the Radney Foster show was announced and that was very enticing. He's great, doesn't perform that much, new record coming out, all of the special guests, free, etc...
By mid-afternoon, with the temperature going over 100 for what seems like the millionth time this year, Blues on the Green started not sounding too fun. It's at a smaller park this year due to renovation at Zilker. I've heard you're packed in like sardines, it's very dusty with nothing but dirt. Bleck!
This was Kevin's last show at the Continental so that was tempting but I had seen him there a couple of weeks ago.
Radney was the real hand wringer for me but in the end we went with Patrice. For a couple of reasons. We hadn't seen her in quite a long time, well over a year, probably closer to 2. That's just nuts. Her show is always good. We had friends going who had never seen her. Lastly, it was taking place at Scholz. This is where we lived every Wednesday night last year as Bruce Robison had a weekly show and we really missed the place.
This year Scholz is having a free concert every Wednesday but with different artists each week.
Patrice was a breath of fresh air. I am so glad we ended up at this show. She has a new band since I've last seen her. A killer lead guitarist which, you know, is redundant here in Austin, along with a bass and drummer. Patrice plays rhythm guitar, percussion and occasionally the drums.
I think I'd forgotten just how good she is. Her music is always soulful, bluesy, funky, rocking, you name it, she plays it. She works hard up there and puts on a good show, whether it's in her singing, moving around the stage dancing, playing the congas, whatever, her heart and soul is in it and that is all you can ask. And, she has fun. Did I mention she and this band rock? Because they really, really do.
She played 2 sets so the show lasted about 2 1/2 hours. Along with her older material she played much from her last record, "Unraveling," which is a really good album, by the way, along with a lot of new stuff. She said the new cd will be out in September, I believe. Brought the house down with an extended "Kiss Me, Baby" that also morphed into a bit of "I Want To Take You Higher." On this song she did some percussion, some drumming, including drumming from the top of an amplifier while the drummer played, too. It was awesome!
Plus, it was great to be back at Scholz. Our favorite waitress is still there so we got a chance to catch up with her. The patio was shaded, food was hot, beer was cold and the fans were blowing. So all in all, it was a great night.
Took 2 videos and they turned out pretty well. View them here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUY6sKF_i8Y&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-En7iVemwU&feature=channel_page
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