January 4, 2013

An evening with Boland, Canada, & Knight


As if this time of year wasn’t enough to put you in a good mood, sometimes a little treat comes to town and reminds you why you love music.  You see, musicians celebrate the holidays just like the rest of us, only in a slightly different fashion.  While we turn to them for excitement and a release and to gather with our friends, they are the ones that still have to hit the pavement in order to sustain their livelihood.  But in keeping with the holiday spirit, they often break out in small groups and do scaled back tours revolving around the key ingredient, music.  In this particular instance; three men, three guitars, and a wealth of good times to share with all in attendance. 

Sitting from (stage left to right) it was Jason Blond, Cody Canada, and Chris “the ornery jubilee” Knight.  The show was set up in your traditional snake format (1,2,3, repeat) but the true delight in these shows is to have the guys almost trying to one up each other throughout the night.  “Oh, you have a song about drinking?  Well so do I”.  It is all in good spirit and the crowd is always the winner.  It almost borders on the amazing side that these gentlemen are able to retain such a catalog of knowledge when all they do is add to it year after year.  The hits were plentiful, some rarities unearthed, and a small preview of upcoming works to be released. 

Jason Boland used his usual deep baritone to inspire a two step or two while playing some favorites such as “Somewhere Down in Texas” and “False Accuser’s Lament”.  He also revealed that the next studio album will be entitled The Dark and Dirty Mile and will be released next year.  Cody Canada used his nasally growl to burn through a few CCR hits such as “Dead Man” and “51 pieces” as well as some new cuts from the Departed’s brand new album, Adventus.  Those cuts included “Worth the Fight” and “Cold Hard Fact” and were rounded out by Neil Young’s classic, “Rockin’ In The Free World”.  It is an excellent listen and if any CCR fans are still crying for a return to form after this album, then they are missing out on some amazing new stuff.  Get over it people.  This was a slight coming out party for Chris Knight.  Many people know the songs, know the man, but don’t put the two together.  If he were a baseball player, he would be referred to as the “the crafty veteran”.  He is a timeless story teller and a force to be reckoned with on stage.  Note to crowd: Mr. Knight would like your attention when he’s on stage and he damn well deserves it.  His songs translate excellently to an acoustic format and tonight was no different, playing “Down the River” and “Enough Rope”, among others.

These acoustic shows are great as we get to see the guys in their rawest element, playing the songs they love and wrote and delivering them in a much more intimate style for their fans to gain a different take on a song they may love.  Also the stories behind the songs are a great listen and often exceed the folklore that preceded them.  The Love, Conspiracy, and a .45 tour has wrapped but keep your eyes open for 10 man jams, holiday prize pack shows, and even Randy Rogers hitting the road with Sean McConnell.  One or all of these are bound to be in a city near you.  Do yourself a favor and go and remember why we all fell in love in music in the first place.   

Article by: 
Matthew R. Ricketts
Senior Journalists @ LoneStar Outlaw Review

Photos courtesy of © Kelley Strout Photography

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