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April 10, 2005

Asleep at the Wheel @ House of Blues, Anaheim - 3/29/05

It seems I’m driving to Orange County more & more lately to go to shows, especially if they’re as just plain GOOD as Asleep at the Wheel. It was well worth the drive..and the notorious walk from the Downtown Disney parking lot to the House of Blues.

Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Vaquetones opening the show. Lead singer Miguel Garcia overcomes his initially reserved personality to show a real comfort on stage, with his discussions of his cheap shampoo and the strippage of his shirt.

Shortly after, the curtains opened with Ray Benson crooning “So good to see y’all!” The band kicked off their show with “Cherokee Maiden,” and hardly paused for breath after they started. The crowd was small, but very receptive, and the lack of bodies allowed for dancing, which I imagine is quite a change for the staff who are used to seeing that space used for mosh pits instead. Asleep at the Wheel benefits from not only the princely charm and mischievous grin of Ray Benson (who made a point of saying, “We play country AND western music!”), but also a band that has the virtuosity of playing that music well. In particular are piano player John Whitby and fiddle player Jason Roberts, who just makes it look so easy.

They covered all the pioneers of Western Swing music: Bob Wills, Hank Thompson, Cindy Walker…as well as themselves. They’re nine-time Grammy winners, but still humble enough to be self-effacing about it. Ray introduced “Ain’t Chet Yet” from his solo album, mentioning it that this is the instrumental song that won six Grammys, and that “As the lead singer, I’m very proud of that.” Their version of Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster’s “Green Leaves of Summer” made me cry, and also delightfully included in the show were songs from the new “Live From Billy Bob’s” DVD.

Man, do I love this band.

Posted by darlin at April 10, 2005 5:33 AM