Entertainment For Lively Minds
Steve Earle
Posted by grac on 18 December 2008 - 10:21am.
Was going to add this to the 'Best Gig of the Year' thread but I think he needs a thread of his own! The best gig I saw this year was Steve Earle at a criminally half full Sheffield City Hall. I wasn't a big fan until seeing him having only had a passing interest in his work although what I liked I REALLY liked. Anyway, it was a terrific night and his wife was a revelation too. If you get the chance and haven't seen him live then do it the next chance you get, you won't regret it. I certainly didn't! His early stuff is available on Amazon at under £4 quid each too and I heartily recommend 'The Collection' as a great introduction.
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Oh dear!
Steve's record company don't want you watching that too easily! Just put 'Steve Earle Someday' into YouTube - its worth it!
Agreed
I saw him in Cambridge in January and it was a great night. Just him, a hip hop DJ and his (count 'em sixth) wife Alison Moorer. Definitely one of my gigs of the year alongside Pentangle and Eli Paperboy Reed.
He's had six different wives....
....but has been married seven times!!
His wife, Allison Moorer
A star in her own right, even if her most recent (covers) LP a bit supernumary. Check out her earlier stuff. A slightly more sedate Shelby Lynne (who is her sister)
Ah.
This may sound slightly dubious. She did a single late 90s, early 2000s with a video where she was lying on her back, rolling an egg on her stomach. Yes, I know what that sounds like.
What was the single?
The hall
Why is it "criminally half-full"? Why not "criminally ill-chosen"?
I don't think it was.
I would've expected an artist of Earle's worth to have filled the place or close to - it isn't that big. However, the economic downturn started biting a little earlier up here I think. The same venue wasn't full for Stephen Stills either.
With due respect
Steve Earle is far more relevant than Stephen Stills whose star waned many years ago. I saw him at Birmingham Town Hall earlier this year - wasnt full to the rafters but was close to.
Guitar Town is still my favourite Steve Earle album and probably ranks in my top 20 all time greats. Fearless Heart is also to my mind the perfect song but then he has written several.
floor spot
Should you ever feel moved to do a floor spot at an open mic night you cannot fail with "My old friend the blues", another of his perfect songs.
Hell yeah
But my persoanl favourite has to be be I Thought You Should Know on The Revolution Starts Now - a lovelorn musical punch to the gut.
If you’re thinking about breaking my heart.
You might as well just pick up your little black dress and go. Cos somebody else already tore it apart.
I love Steve Earle
I love Steve Earle. Met him once and he was a sweet guy despite his rather fearsome reputation.
I highly recommend his "post jail trilogy" of Train a Comin',I Feel Alright and (especially) El Corazon. Also his collabaration with the Del McCoury band (The Mountain) is a beautiful record.
Yai, Dai
I agree, that trilogy is my bestest of his bestest.
Actually his back catalogue
is pretty peerless. I have an EP he did with the Supersuckers that really kicks ass.
steve earle -too happy for musics good
as the song goes - you gotta suffer if you want to sing the blues
have seen Steve with and without band in all about 7 times and in my top 3 or 4 singer songwriters
but
his dec 2008 show in melb was poorest of all -allison outshone him
was good mind you but not up to his standard in terms of commitment and delivery
you could tell he just wanted to go home to the US of A
prefer cantankerous , hectoring lecturing Steve