Gruene, TX
June 29, 2002
~ Tracy
The weather was rotten. Gregg and I got down to Gruene early in order to partake of the required pre-show dinner at the Gristmill, and had to wait 40 minutes in the bar, which was packed with other soggy people,
most of whom had been also caught without rain gear in the downpour. Fortunately, two (or five) of the Gristmill's sangrias make all that
nasty weather disappear.
By the time we got over to the Hall, it was 8:00. Ordinarily this would be plenty of time to grab a beer,
stake out a table, and visit with the guys and other RK fans (Iris and Mike and David, where were you? I
didn't get your new e-mail addresses at the last Gruene show, so I was hoping you'd be there Saturday...).
But, the rain had driven people inside that would normally be out in the yard playing washers or
horseshoes, or lingering in the streets at the shops.
Packed! The place was absolutely packed. Normally at Gruene, an RK fan can hang back during the
opening band, and let the dancers have some room
for some buckle-rubbing. But, the opening act,
the Benjamin Allen Band*,
had quite a following of their own, so people were congregating up front early. In order to secure our "preferred" positions in front of David and Cody at stage right,
we ended up standing at the stage for the whole show.
RK started at 10:30, with the Sopranos walk-on that has really grown on me (but, please please
don't bring back the fog machine).
You can check out the larger set list image here.
As you can see, the show was Millican-heavy -- in fact, the first half of the set was the entire CD,
all 11 tracks in order. Now... please don't write me and tell me to go to hell... but I didn't love that.
I've been hearing the Millican tracks for going on five years, and they're great as always,
but if I am braving the rain and the 17-year-olds yelling and shoving and
talking through the ballads, I'd sure rather hear "Motel Cowboy Show", "My First Love"**,
"My Soul Ain't Sold", "Hard Fight to Win" or "I Saw it Comin'." I totally understand that the Millican
sound plays better at Gruene, whereas the more rock-oriented sound is heavier at Antone's, etc.
But to me, the 11 consecutive tracks were too much. [Gregg has since pointed out that my opinion in re the Millican stuff is biased... he hasn't been around as long so he enjoys it. This is probably how most people feel. - T.]
Getting to hear "Laredo" was a treat, and the "Desolation Angels" and "Wild Western" renditions were spot-on. I love "Desolation" more and more
every time I hear it, and I'm almost afraid of what will happen when the guys take it into the studio... I am terrified of
getting weary of it.
It seemed like a very tight show to me. The crowd energy was high -- but I'll take an Antone's or
Stubb's crowd any ol' day. I have seen for the first time
how the RK fans are going the way of Robert Earl Keen's... there was a higher percentage than ever of "the rowdy crowd"--
you know, the ball-cap/frat shirt wearin', beer-bottle dropping, talking over the music sort. The kind like those standing in line behind us to get in, who don't even know
what band is playing -- they just came down to float the river and didn't find any keg parties to attend.
I know those fans pay the bills, and I'm glad for their existence for that... but they don't add anything to my
experience. Does that make me selfish? Fuck yes. My $10 spends just as good as theirs...
I have the right to want my RK experience as hassle-free as possible. And before you go thinking
I am 70 years old, ("not that there's anything wrong with that..."), pulling the Old Coot Rant -- you know the type:
"those young whippersnappers... why, when I was going to hear Reckless Kelly,
we had to walk uphill in the snow both ways..." -- I'm not. I'm 28. I just have a low tolerance
for the Youth of Today who like to act as though they were raised by wolves.
Okay, no more ranting. The highlights of the show were the tribute
to John Entwistle (long-time bassist for the Who, died on Thursday) in the form of a chunk
of "My Generation" popped into "Hey Say May", the "Lonely All the Time/Little Mama" combo, and
the "Copperhead Road" encore (although I have to note with affection that Willy missed the third verse).
Also performed in the encore was the "So Lonely/Next to You" medley,
which was nicely enhanced by a chunk of "People Get Ready." David has done this a couple of times -- I know I've seen
it before at Antone's. I got a secret kick
out of the fact that the Generation Y sections of the crowd didn't recognize it.
As I've said elsewhere on this site, I have never seen a bad Reckless Kelly show.
But, I definitely enjoy them more when the kids in the audience aren't waiting disinterestedly
for "AC/DC" , forcing the guys to play to the lowest common denominator. I prefer a show where
they can stretch themselves a little, get the new stuff ready...or even pull a rare cover,
like what was -- for me personally -- the absolute best moment of the show: the
cover of Tom Waits' "Ol' 55".
And now the sun's coming up,
* the Benjamin Allen Band was enjoyable. They sound like a group that's been playing together much longer than they have, and
the sound is very pop and jam. Their stage energy made me think a lot of George Devore and the Roam (with whom
Dave Abeyta and Jimmy McFeely used to play), while the sound is very Dave Matthews. My friends laughed when I said this, but I thought
Troy, the lead singer, sounds a lot like Darius Rucker, of Hootie & the Blowfish fame.
** Some of these RK songs that are as-yet-unrecorded might have different "official" names.
I call them by what I think of as the working titles... which are what I
pick up from the set lists.
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
and I lead the parade...
