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December 11, 2005
Shooter Jennings @ The Troubadour: December 8, 2005
Shooter Jennings is one of those superbly talented musicians who suffers from the simultaneous blessing and curse of being the offspring of one of the legends of country music (see my review of Holly Williams). He grew up in Nashville, but then moved to LA to explore the possibilities of rock, only to return to his roots in country. Nevertheless, there's no denying the influence of rock in Shooter's work, even though it's just as country as could be. As demonstrated by his sold-out show at The Troubadour last Thursday, Shooter's got several songs that walk right down the middle road of country/rock. His first single, "Fourth of July," a song about a road trip to Willie Nelson's Annual Fourth of July Picnic, includes references to Ted Nugent and George Jones, but his next single, "Steady at the Wheel" is clearly a rock song. On the other hand, "Lonesome Blues," which was very well-received by his very enthusiastic audience, is a country song at it's best, and Shooter appropriately paid tribute to his father with a traditional rendition of "Lonesome, On'ry, and Mean." The Troubadour is a simply fantastic venue; there's not a bad seat - er, place to stand (it's a standing room only venue) - in the house, and although it can sometimes get very loud in that small venue, Shooter and his band never sounded better. Here's hoping that Shooter comes back to LA very soon!
Posted by darlin at December 11, 2005 8:38 PM
