"Tonight's performance is dedicated to the memory of Kate McGarrigle," Steve Earle said before beginning his show, evoking the memory of the singer who died from cancer the night before. Ghosts would fill the entire evening, the ghost of the failed election in Massachusetts, the ghost of Earle's own hell-raising past. But the ghost that loomed the most, the one who's shade Earle has been chasing most of his life was that of folk singer Townes Van Zandt.
Though Earle spent a good portion of the evening playing songs from his successful new album Townes, a collection of Van Zandt covers, songs from his own oeuvre perforated the peformance, allowing a welcome juxtaposition to the work of his mentor and proving that Earle's long career is filled with just as many indelible songs as that of his teacher, who died on New Year's Day 1997 of cardiac arrhythmia at the age of 52. But while the hard living caught up with Van Zandt, Earle managed to kick his demons and follow a healthier path.
Between Van Zandt songs like "Colorado Girl" and "Rex's Blues," Earle was loquacious, funny and honest. He told stories about Van Zandt and his horse Amigo. He talked about his history with Van Zandt, quipping, "It's not a good sign if Townes Van Zandt shows up at your house to give you a temperance lesson." The crowd remained quiet for most of the performance, occasionally shouting out praise or challenges only to be met with, "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, hoss." Earle's gallows humor spilled over into his explanation as to which songs he chose to record for the covers album. He equated "Pancho and Lefty" to the biggest motherfucker in the prison yard, so he tackled that one first.
I was unsure that Earle would play any of his own compositions that evening, but when he began "Ft. Worth Blues," his eulogy to Van Zandt from El Corazón, it turned the show into what could have been a solemn tribute to a full-blooded concert. When he finished the song, he claimed poetic license because, "Paris is precisely my kind of town. It's fucking Paris!" He soon followed with chestnuts such as "Tom Ames' Prayer," "My Old Friend the Blues," "Taneytown" and "the first song [he] ever wrote sober, 'Goodbye.'"
The show lagged in a few spots. Though Earle's political fire can be inspiring, his speech about the stupidity of an official United States language outshone the awkward "City of Immigrants" from his equally clumsy Washington Square Serenade album. Earle acknowledged that Townes sold better than his own recent albums, but said he is trying not to be offended.
He finished the first set with "Galway Girl" on mandolin and two Van Zandt covers: the haunting "Lungs" and the inspirational "To Live is to Fly." By the time Earle left the stage, he had been playing close to two hours. But return he did, beginning the encore with a cover of Tom Waits' "Way Down in the Hole," which he sang for the television series "The Wire" (in which he had a small role). After bemoaning the election of Scott Brown once more, Earle introduced "Jerusalem" as a song he will play "until the day I die or until it comes true. Whichever happens first." The audience waited until the breathtaking song ended before shouting out requests. In a nod to longtime fans, Earle finished the evening with "Copperhead Road." Not only did he harness the energy and spirit of his teacher, Earle infused it with enough of his own to put on one really damned good show.
by David Harris
[Photos: Manny Moss]
