Thursday, December 13, 2012

Friends Of The Junkyard: Concert Report

The ever faithful Veniche Gueverra has done me the honor of commenting on a great act she caught in Santa Barbara. None other than Steve Earles son, Justin Townes Earle.

JTE has been at it for a short while now(his middle name "Townes" is after the great Townes Van Zandt, an idol of Steve's), but in 2010 he released his third album, Harlem River Blues which in my opinion was his best effort to date. The title track is a happy-go-lucky suicide song, and if you can't tap you're foot to it, you must be paralyzed ( listen here ). The album is full of strong folk tunes, and his inebriating voice is a far cry from the scratch and wine of his fathers. His most recent album from 2012, Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now, was mostly a fine effort, with a more bluesy feel to it.

But enough of my ramblings, lets see what Veniche has to say about the concert:

Justin Townes Earle
Soho Santa Barbara, 12/11/12

I went into this intimate performance blind. I had heard of Justin Townes Earle before but was rather unfamiliar with his music. Knowing of my brother's fondness of both Steve Earle (whom I also love), and JTE I decided to go check him out.  I had read somewhere that Earle was a "master songsmith at work" and aint that the truth!  Earle is sensational.  He has a confident and raw sound; a dynamic musician channeling multiple influences and musical styles.  He is an amazing guitarist with an authentic and engaging voice  One of those voices that really gets down to the bottom of it.  He expressed a realness and honestly in his music, performance and interaction with the audience.  Earle is quirky and interesting, creating a curiosity in his listeners.  There is no falsified image while he performs, its just him, his guitar and some repair tools on stage.  
I am definitely hooked, already listening to his music "on the regular!" 



Part of me thinks she should be writing this blog... Thanks for the awesome input Ven.

You can also catch Steve Earle and JTE together, on the HBO show Treme (Season 2)

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