Review: Terry Allen at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck

By Paul T. Mueller
–Terry Allen played most of his Jan. 19 late set at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston with a small, secret smile on his face, as if anticipating the punch line to an upcoming joke. Fortunately for the standing-room-only audience (the second of the evening), he didn’t keep the humor to himself, sharing it generously over the course of more than 20 songs and some highly entertaining between-songs banter.

That’s not to say that Allen, a longtime resident of the High Plains of Texas, is a comedy act. Violence and other misbehavior also feature prominently in his gritty narratives, many of them set in the American Southwest and Mexico. Allen’s songs, several of which have been covered by better-known artists, are marked by his quirky outlook and the vivid imagery one might expect from a painter (another of his job descriptions, which also include sculptor and dramatist).

Backed by a capable if unconventional band – his son Bukka on accordion and percussion, Richard Bowden on violin and mandolin, and Brian Standefer on cello – Allen romped through a mix of old favorites and newer material, including seven tracks from his excellent new CD, Bottom of the World.

Some highlights:

•   “Amarillo Highway,” a rocking tribute to the road warriors of the West Texas blacktop
•   “Beautiful Waitress,” an offbeat love song of a sort
•   “Queenie’s Song,” a vitriolic message to the unknown person who shot and killed Allen’s dog Queenie in 1999 (Allen co-wrote the song with the legendary Guy Clark, and his description of Clark’s reaction to the news of Queenie’s demise was worth a good chunk of the ticket price all by itself)
•   “Sidekick Anthem,” a sweet tribute to Allen’s wife, Jo Harvey
•   “Gimme a Ride to Heaven, Boy,” a very funny tale about a late-night encounter with a dubious deity on a lonely highway

Allen closed out a several-song encore with “Give Me the Flowers,” in which he suggests that flowers work better as gifts to the living than as remembrances of the dead.

Terry Allen was in fine form and terrific voice for this show, but one could be forgiven for wondering how many tours a man pushing 70 has left in him. Fans of this unique voice in American music might do well to take his floral advice and reward him with the flowers of their attention sooner rather than later.

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