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The Fillmore March 13, 2001 Review by Squid We weren’t really sure what to expect with this one. We knew we’d get a healthy dose of twang, but that was about it. Granted we usually like our country a little less produced, but there was still good loud gee-tar rock being played. This was the tour for the album Transcendental Blues which is a return to rockin' and a little less twangy than previous albums. Daz is a big fan of the new songs and really appreciated the balance between old and new material. Earle’s outstanding attribute, as far as Squid was concerned, was his no nonsense attitude. He delivered successive songs with a minimum of chatter, and any prolonged talktime was dedicated to his personal cause, criminal rehabilitation. Now, normally a musician talking politics sets our alarm bells off, but it was fairly obvious to anyone there that Earle was not fucking around, especially as he related the tale of witnessing a man’s execution. It was actually cool to listen to a mainstream country artist whose onstage banter entailed something grander than flagwaving. What’s really important to point out about this show was that we almost didn’t stay. To our right was "Drunk girl who was having a mini-reunion and wanted to talk throughout the entire show". To our left was "Unhip dude who has learned every thing about Steve Earle". He would sing the first line of every song a beat before it started to prove that he knew the words, and then, halfway through the song, he would shout at his friends, "Yeah, but he should really play (insert obscure song title here), since that song rocks!". But at least he was enthusiastic about the music in some way, whereas Drunk Girl had spent $25+ to not listen to the band in front of her and make sure we couldn’t either. Earle has collaborated with his pals the Supersuckers, amost others (John Doe, L7, Tom Waits) on an compliation album Free The West Memphis Three - A Benfit for Truth and Justice to free the West Memphis 3. |