Flanfire

Friends, I thought I had done well to have my friend Laura Jean Thompson down from Chicago and play at the Whip In, Romeo’s, Cheatham Street, Baker St.,and the Ham Jam Concert Series — and to meet with Charlie Stewart and work on plans for Folk Alliance and beyond — but that was just the prologue (and indeed Laura and i had some fine adventures togethe!).

No sooner than I had dropped Laura at Austin Bergstrom on Tuesday did I get myself to the Contintental Club to see Dustin Welch with Steve and Mike Bernal on bass (and cello) and drums, Roberto Riggio on violin, and Eric McFadden on lead guitar and lead and/or harmony vocals. What a show — “Two Horses” as I had never seen it before, with Steve Bernal reaching notes on the cello rarely heard. Afterward, I ended up at the Korean karaoke joint on North Lamar singing and wishing Sarah Temple at happy birthday. Wednesday it was Trophy’s for Josh Buckley and Gilded Splinters with Phil Hurley sitting in on lead guitar. Thursday began with Barbara Nesbitt singing her heart out to a warm and fuzzy crowd (lots of fellow musicians) at Maria’s Taco X-press, then a quick jaunt to Baker St. to catch a set by Jennifer Ellen Cook, and off to Stubbs for shows from Les Rav and the White White Lights (with a stopover at the Mohawk in between). Barbara has a voice that melts gold into butter, and Lauren Bruno and Les Rav have added the impeccable Jenni Wieland on French horn and Andrew Noble on violin (and a little lead guitar!). Special thanks to my pal Scott Andrews, who was at the show the night before he played Houston’s House of Blues.

But Friday’s on my mind, and after a long day of work (missing day 1 of the Austin Songwriters’ Group’s annual confab) getting to the Continental Club with my pal Josh Buckley to see the Mastersons (Chris and Eleanor, with the bonus of sister Bonnie Whitmore in the house, and of course Falcon Valdez on drums. Chris has long been one of Austin’s (well, Bertram’s!) finest guitarists and songwriters but even he admits people come just as much to see and hear (and marvel at) Eleanor, who has developed from a strong side woman (violin and mandolin) to hardcore troubadour guitarist and lead singer. Their new CD, Birds Fly South (due in April, except for some advance copies the kids had with them), is just gorgeous, especially IMHO the title track! They’ll be back for SXSW so do not miss your next chance!
At the show (the reconstituted Derailers followed) Josh and I met two great new friends and he got to play them some of his own songs late into the night.
Saturday I finally got to the Omni for the ASG shindig and ran into so many old friends and met a few new ones – and got to hear Sonny Throckmorton and Joe Manuel (with Marvin Dykhuis and Will Sexton) sing some of their greatest hits, hear some top experts in booking, management, and more share their secrets, and have a wonderful time! Thanks again to Lee Duffy and Rick Busby and the whole crew for putting on such a powerful event (featuring indstrry pros from all over the place).
But life is all about Saturday night, and this one was super special — the return to the stage of Jazz Mills and Cowboy and Indian before a packed house at Hotel Vegas (which had already seen Nakia, the Dead Left and the fabulous Greyhounds). Never enough props for Neal Kassanoff’s songwriting, but adding the love of my life, Lauren Gurgiolo (if you ever watch her play guitar you will know why!), to his band (thanks in large part to the genius of Lindsay Greene!) was a stroke of genius mixed with sheer good fortune. Lauren, lead guitarist for Okkervil River, promises new things from her own group, the Dialtones, in coming months, and Neal was beaming when I asked him how his nonprofit music teaching organization for disadvantaged children, the Groundworks Music Project, was going. He had just gotten a major grant that will cover his entire budget for 2012. GOOD TIMES!!!!!! OF COURSE I cannot be objective about Cowboy and Indian — they are all family to me — Dorian, Peter, Daniel James, Jazz, Jesse and Stephanie RULE MY WORLD and are just downright wonderful! Now part of our evening (thanks, Josh and Anita for hanging with!) was spent at the hottest new country bar in Austin, the White Horse, listening to the Carper Family and later to Clyde and Clem’s Whiskey Business (who as always were a barrel of laughs and a joy to behold!) — and Denis O’Donnell, Mashall McHone and the gang also had a packed house. There was also this amazing ring around the moon — part of one magical night in Austin! And tomorrow — new adventures await, as I wait for another show from Cowboy and Indian (to help out our beloved Ruby Jane) and from the stripped down T-Bird and the Breaks quartet!