Tag: Joe Ely

Joe Ely and Terry Allen, with Jo Harvey Allen at the Heights Theater

 in Americana Music, Reviews, Songwriters

 

By Paul T. Mueller – Fans who bought tickets to the Jan. 26 show by Joe Ely and Terry Allen at Houston’s Heights Theater might have expected an entertaining song swap. They got that, and so much more. When the lights went down in the restored historic venue, the two veteran singer-songwriters were joined by a third, previously unannounced performer – Allen’s wife, Jo Harvey Allen, a writer, actress and artist.

For the next 40 minutes, the trio performed selections from “Chippy,” the Allens’ 1993 play about a Depression-era prostitute in West Texas, as well as other songs from their expansive canons. Ely, accompanying himself on guitar, and Terry Allen, on keyboard, took turns singing; between songs, Jo Harvey Allen read selections from the play and from the diaries of the real-life Chippy. It added up to an impressive display by three accomplished artists, whose performing skills were fully matched by their appreciation for each other and for their audience. First-set highlights included Ely’s “Cold Black Hammer” and “Wind’s Gonna Blow You Away” and Allen’s “Lubbock Tornado” and “Gimme a Ride to Heaven.” The two teamed up on “Fate with a Capital F” and Ely finished the set with his “Goodnight Dear Diary” from the play.

 After an intermission, the show continued minus Jo Harvey Allen. Ely opened with a nice rendition of Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s “Dallas,” drawing laughter with his “Pick it, Joe!” aside after a brief solo. Allen matched him with “Beautiful Waitress,” maybe the funniest song ever about loneliness. More brilliance ensued until Ely closed the second set with “All Just to Get to You.” The two left the stage to thunderous applause and returned after a few minutes, opening the encore with Allen’s “New Delhi Freight Train,” punctuated by Ely’s harmonica.

 “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling Guy Clark in this room,” Ely told Allen, before launching into a quietly dramatic take on the late Americana icon’s “Magdalene.” The two closed their evening of musical magic in the most appropriate way possible – a heartfelt (and heart-rending) rendition of Clark’s classic “Old Friends.”

 This venue enforces strict limits on photography, but the visuals of this show were almost worth the price of admission. With his black vest, white hair and big smile, Ely looked every bit the musical royalty he is. Allen projected a more diffident demeanor; with his craggy features, gray hair and cowboy shirt, he could easily pass for a West Texas rancher or oilman. Each sipped occasionally from a glass of brown liquid while ignoring nearby bottles of water, and both were clearly having a great time.




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Concert review: Joe Ely at the Mint in Los Angeles

 in Reviews

By Terry Roland
-It’s been a long four-year stretch without a solo Joe Ely show in Los Angeles. Our drought ended November 17th as he and supporting instrumentalist, Jeff Plankenhorn, made a rare appearance at L.A.’s famous club, The Mint.

The capacity crowd was treated to a 90 minutes-plus show, which included a rich set of songs, old and new. While his Flatlander friends are country-folk singers, Joe Ely is a born rocker. His stage presence was dynamic, even while his performance style has become more relaxed over the years. His vocal skills, both live and on record, are full of character, presence and the kind of soul that can inhabit country ballads and raw-to-the bone rockers with equal conviction.

Featuring songs from his new album, including the title track “Satisfied At Last,” Ely took the audience on a journey through his song catalogue that demonstrated the breadth and depth of his songwriting and performing ability.

Switching between acoustic lead guitar and slide dobro, Plankenhorn brought the kind of instrumental magic to the songs one usually expects to hear from Ry Cooder or David Lindley. He is that good. The exchange between the two brought a spontaneous feeling to much of the instrumental work, the kind you’d expect to hear from good jazz or blues. But Ely can bring this sensibility to the stage.

As he opened with the poetic and lyrical song of modern America, “Not That Much Has Changed,” he seemed like a reflective philosopher speaking to us from the front porch of his Lubbock home.

Other songs from the new album speak to mortality, the impermanence of life and our restless dance with trying to find meaning amidst its risks and dangers.

On the gospel-like “You Can Bet I’m Gone,” he sings “When I die don’t toll no bells/Just put my ashes in some shotgun shells/Get all of my friends some windy day to say goodbye/Watch me blow away.”

In contrast, his interpretation of Billy Joe and Eddy Shaver’s “Live Forever,” is as clear-eyed a look at death and the certainty of immortality delivered with a sweet immediacy. The rest of the songs performed included old ones, “I Had My Hopes Up High,” classics like “Billy The Kid,” and nods to his Flatlander pals, including Butch Hancock’s “If You Were A Bluebird.”

What remains unique about Ely both on stage and on record is his voice and stage presence. He calls up the country soul of a balladeer like Marty Robbins or the raw energy of a Buddy Holly rocker, while his lyrics reflect the Texas literature of Larry McMurtry and Cormac McCarthy.

Hearing this produced on record is one thing, but experiencing him bringing these elements to the concert stage is quite another. Once you’ve seen him perform you know you’ve experienced something unique, original and legendary, much like those who influenced him. This was the experience last Thursday at The Mint in L.A., where the audience reluctantly let him leave the stage after two encores.