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Thursday, August 24, 2006
Dale Watson back in Austin, Texas
Yeah, I know I should be doing some local stuff reviewing Kasey's new album or previewing Catherine Britt's show at the Vanguard in Sydney last night (or at least trying to review the excellent Andy Baylor show at the Bridge Hotel at Rozelle last Saturday) but I was distracted while browsing around and discovered a bittorrent of a live country music show in Gruene Hall, just out of Austin, Texas, performed just a few weeks back (is that a record for the most links - 9 - within one sentence?).
I think it was 1998 when Dale Watson first came out here (pictured at the right as he performed at the front of Tamworth's K-Mart store that year) as part of Tamworth's 10-day Country Music Festival and also played various venues around Sydney (and interstate maybe, but I'm not sure).
He was the flavour of the month every time he appeared anywhere. The gals literally fought over who was going to stand in line just to talk to him. I remember having many conversations with the one female who claimed him for her own. Heady days indeed! Dale's last visit was soured by being ripped off by promoters (what else in the music industry?) and the word was he'd never come downunder again. So far he's been true to his word.
Meanwhile, based back in Austin, Watson had the reputation of being the hardest workin', tourin', bad-ass, drinkin' country singer since the "good ol' boys" used to rip half of the US of A apart every night before, during and after their gigs. The pace, band changes, disappointments with the reception he was getting from the music industry as a whole took its toll on his health and he had a few scrapes with issues I'm told he's well over by now.
A year or so ago he moved to Baltimore to be closer to his children after the tragic death of his girlfriend. But the lure of Texas was strong in his blood and, as soon as he was happy his kids would be well cared for, he moved back to Austin and has since been reinstated at three of his old residencies in Austin. I think Dale believes he was made to perform in Texas and to keep "real" country music alive for the whole world at large. If you've seen any of his live shows, you'd know what I mean.
These are only two of the photos included in the bittorrent and I've uploaded the other 30 of them to my Yahoo! Photo Gallery for those who can't or won't get the torrent. He's aged a little and the tats are coming along fine - a small prize to anyone who can read the lines below the portrait on his upper left shoulder. The music is as good as I remember and it's good to hear a live Dale Watson set again. The current band is listed on Watson's MySpace site as: Dale Watson - lead vocals, guitar; Gene Kurtz - bass; Don Pawlak - pedal steel guitar; Don Raby - 5 string fiddle; Herb Belofsky - drums. Finally (if it woiks!) a track, No Help Wanted, from the July 29, 2006, Gruene Hall show, which is going to be the next single from his new album, Whiskey or God, reviewed here in the Austin Chronicle - and surprise, surprise - it's a truckin' song!! You'll have to download it within the next 7 days from yousendit.
I think it was 1998 when Dale Watson first came out here (pictured at the right as he performed at the front of Tamworth's K-Mart store that year) as part of Tamworth's 10-day Country Music Festival and also played various venues around Sydney (and interstate maybe, but I'm not sure).He was the flavour of the month every time he appeared anywhere. The gals literally fought over who was going to stand in line just to talk to him. I remember having many conversations with the one female who claimed him for her own. Heady days indeed! Dale's last visit was soured by being ripped off by promoters (what else in the music industry?) and the word was he'd never come downunder again. So far he's been true to his word.
Meanwhile, based back in Austin, Watson had the reputation of being the hardest workin', tourin', bad-ass, drinkin' country singer since the "good ol' boys" used to rip half of the US of A apart every night before, during and after their gigs. The pace, band changes, disappointments with the reception he was getting from the music industry as a whole took its toll on his health and he had a few scrapes with issues I'm told he's well over by now.
A year or so ago he moved to Baltimore to be closer to his children after the tragic death of his girlfriend. But the lure of Texas was strong in his blood and, as soon as he was happy his kids would be well cared for, he moved back to Austin and has since been reinstated at three of his old residencies in Austin. I think Dale believes he was made to perform in Texas and to keep "real" country music alive for the whole world at large. If you've seen any of his live shows, you'd know what I mean.
These are only two of the photos included in the bittorrent and I've uploaded the other 30 of them to my Yahoo! Photo Gallery for those who can't or won't get the torrent. He's aged a little and the tats are coming along fine - a small prize to anyone who can read the lines below the portrait on his upper left shoulder. The music is as good as I remember and it's good to hear a live Dale Watson set again. The current band is listed on Watson's MySpace site as: Dale Watson - lead vocals, guitar; Gene Kurtz - bass; Don Pawlak - pedal steel guitar; Don Raby - 5 string fiddle; Herb Belofsky - drums. Finally (if it woiks!) a track, No Help Wanted, from the July 29, 2006, Gruene Hall show, which is going to be the next single from his new album, Whiskey or God, reviewed here in the Austin Chronicle - and surprise, surprise - it's a truckin' song!! You'll have to download it within the next 7 days from yousendit.
