The Wormy Dog Oklahoma City, OK - September 7, 2003 ~ Mike I had been touting this as the first time Reckless Kelly had played in OKC, but after talking with Cody before the show, I was told that they actually opened for Robert Earl Keen at the Will Rogers Theater a while back. I missed the first RK performance in OKC, but not the second, nor will I miss any future OKC performances. I arrived at the Wormy Dog at 8:15 to find about 30 people watching the Oklahoma State football game on the giant screen TV. In addition to the OSU game, there were about 6 other televisions each showing a different event. At least they had one of them tuned to the OU game, so I could watch the Sooners escape defeat. In fact, the OU game was the reason my friends decided not to come. But that’s their loss, not mine. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. I’ve introduced them to the music of Reckless Kelly - the next step is up to them. The Wormy Dog is really one of the coolest places I’ve been to in quite a long time. In addition to having an upper level that looks down at the stage and dance floor, everything is wooden. The tables, the chairs, the floor, the ceiling, the bar, and here’s the best part: the barstools are saddles! I imagined that it would be a little awkward to sit on a saddle to wait for the show, and my suspicions were confirmed when a guy decided he had been standing too long. He sat “side-saddle” at first, and I guess he realized he looked like a girl, so he mounted the saddle like a man, and looked even more uneasy. He soon went back to standing. I was talking to the manager, Eric, about upcoming shows, and let me be the first to tell you that OKC is soon going to be a hotbed of Red Dirt, Americana, Roots, Hick-rock, whatever you want to call it. One quick stop at Wormy Dog’s website will confirm this. Bleu Edmonson, Stoney LaRue, Cooder Graw, and many others are playing in the future. Micky and the Motorcars are playing on October 3, and Eric also mentioned that he is trying to get RK back on Halloween (shhhhh….[Ed. Note – After this review was written, RK was confirmed to be playing in Houston on Halloween]). In the course of my conversation with Eric, Cody walked over and he and I started talking about the video shoot, the tour, and life in general. OK, we didn’t really talk about life, but it looked good when I typed it. I purchased my bucket of Budweiser about half a second into “Castanets” so I could get up front and watch from the best spot in the house. The opener caught the crowd’s attention and their eyes never left the stage for the next 2+ hours. I was the only one standing in front of the stage, and felt a little awkward about it, so I moved my position off to the right about the same time everyone started dancing. Not being much of a dancer, I thought it would be in my best interest to get moving. It was actually a pretty good move since I wasn’t directly in front of the speakers anymore and my innards stopped vibrating. The only drawback was that I didn’t have the best view of David’s solos but he sounded great, and the lap steel of “Willamina” is always one of my favorites. I think they really turn up his volume when that song is played. A few songs later, the crowd started to slow down on the dancing, and started to really watch the band. About 8 of them stood front and center for the rest of the set. Now I figured I could join them. The rest of the show went by way too quickly. You know that feeling when you are having so much fun doing something and you don’t want it to end, because you aren’t sure when you’ll have the chance to do it again? That was me for the last half of the show. Now don’t get me wrong, I love listening to RK, and I love all their songs, but when they played “Vancouver” then “Walk Out Now”, followed by “Drown,” I REALLY didn’t want it to end. “Vancouver” has become my second favorite song to hear live, behind “Little Mama.” It’s the one I play twice in a row when I’m listening to UTTAATS. “Walk Out Now” was great, too, and I know Jimmy had a good time with it, because he told me before the show that he likes playing it, because he gets to lead the band into it (I think I gave him a high-five after it was over). I don’t even feel the need to describe the vibe during “Drown.” Y’all already know. The show ended with “Crazy Ed” (spelled that way on the set list), and they guys were as tight as I’ve ever heard them on that song. Grady Cross’ older brother Nathan was working behind the bar, and I wondered if he thought they were playing a cover of his brother’s song. It’s amazing how many people in Oklahoma think that is one of Cross Canadian Ragweed’s songs. Up here they have a following like RK does in Texas. I will never forget this show. I felt proud to be there. It is very hard to describe why I felt proud, but I think it has something to do with the fact that, by my guess, there may not have been a whole lot of people there who know about RK as much as I do. I felt proud because it was like watching a transformation in the crowd. A transformation I went through about a year and a half ago. I felt proud because I know what the future holds for those people who opened up to the music last night. I felt proud because I know the greatness that Reckless Kelly is about to happen upon. I know all of you feel proud too. Mike

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