Your last concert was to see who and when?

@rpeluso: As is Jackson, whom I have somehow never heard live. Gotta do that before he or I die.

Iris is very charming live, with lots of self-deprecating humour. Her piano playing is somewhat reminiscent of that of Randy Newman, with those New Orleans chord voicings. And my gawd, what a voice!

Monday night is Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper at Mississippi Studios.

Hmm, all chicks.😉 Speaking of which, this time Iris had two accompanying musicians along; a redhead playing a beautiful Gretsch 5120 plugged into a Fender Deluxe Reverb---great tone!, and another young woman playing an electric upright bass

And I couldn’t help but noticed that the audience was about 3/4 female. I’m not complaining.😉

Well fellas, did I see a great one last night!

Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, and Melissa Carper, doing a set as a trio on the stage at Mississippi Studios in Portland Oregon. Kelly and Brennen playing acoustic guitars, Melissa an upright bass almost as big as herself, and all three singing solo and in perfect 3-part harmony. And I mean per-fect!

I’ve been a fan of Kelly for decades, and just recently discovered Brennen (her 2022 album Obsessed With The West is a Country Swing project, produced by Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel, who serve as her backing band. This Year’s Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet was produced by Chris Scruggs, and features a guest appearance by Marty Stuart on mandolin. Both are available on both LP and CD). Melissa I had not yet known about. All three have roots in the South and Midwest, and I believe crossed paths in---where else?---Austin Texas, Texas.

The set was the three of them each singing a song of their own composition, one after the other. Mississippi Studios is an excellent sounding room (capacity 250), as is the Studios’ sound system and the ears of the mixing engineer; not too loud, not too bright or boomy (though the bottom string of the bass was vibrating the walls of the room pretty strongly). Their was lots of humour, and great stories about the origins of each song. Plus, the sight of three chicks in cowboy hats and boots was pretty hot 😉 .

They are making their way across the U.S.A., so catch them if you can. Last night tickets were only twenty bucks, less than I paid for a double shot of Johnnie Walker Black!

Metallica - 72 Seasons Tour: Two Day pass to an epic, no repeat weekend at MetLife Stadium (Aug 4 and 6). Warm up bands were Pantera on Friday and Five Finger Death Punch in Sunday. It’s going to be a while before I play Metallica on my home system.

Oops, I meant to say Western Swing above, not Country Swing. Hey, when I wrote that at six something this morning I hadn't been to sleep yet 😊 .

Tedeschi/Trucks Band at Red Rocks a couple of weeks ago. First time seeing a show there and it was a good one. I didn’t do a head count but they have at least 10 or 12 people in the band and they put on a great show. Derek has matured beautifully as a guitar player since his days as a child prodigy and then with the ABB. And I didn’t realize before just how good a singer and guitar player Susan is.

My wife and I were supposed to see Lucinda Williams opening for Big Thief a couple of days later at RR. The show was delayed a couple of hours due to rain and lightning in the area (quite a light show!). We were soaked and cold after waiting in line for well over an hour and finally decided to leave before they eventually let everyone in. Big time bummer.

Up next is Iris Dement at the tiny Kate Theater in Old Saybrook CT in a couple of weeks. Have seen Iris five or six times, including one (or two maybe?) with John Prine. She’s an all-timer.