Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives Unleash a Country Music Tour De Force On Portland (SHOW REVIEW)

For someone who has been playing music for his entire life – who literally shared the stage with the likes of Johnny Cash and Lester Flatt while still a boy – you might expect Marty Stuart to have burned out or retire comfortably by now. In fact, the opposite is true, as the Silver Fox has managed to record and tour at a prolific speed that whole time. Not only that, but his latest album Way Out West is one of the finest of his career and already a contender for album of the year. It was this album that, fittingly, brought Stuart and his ace band the Fabulous Superlatives out west for a show at Portland’s Star Theater on Tuesday, May 23^rd.

Taking the stage looking dapper as always, the Nashville cats waved hello and jumped right into a lively rendition of “I Know You Rider”, immediately appeasing the Deadheads in the crowd. That song is most definitely a traveler’s tune, and it made sense to follow it up with the twangy slice of trucker country “Whole Lotta Highway”. Hillbilly zinger “Country Boy Rock and Roll” followed up with a healthy dose of chicken pickin’ guitar interplay between Stuart and “Cousin” Kenny Vaughan before the classic honky tonk of “The Whiskey Ain’t Working Anymore”. Before the crowd even had time to wrap their heads around the onslaught of country goodness coming their way, the band jumped into the instrumental surf tune “Mojave”, showing off some serious guitar chops and proving they can play any damn style of music they want.

While songs like the straightforward catchy country rocker “I’m Tempted” made appearances for old times sake, the band stuck to the far out songs on Way Out West for much of the set. If the title didn’t give it away, many of the songs on the album embrace an Old West sound with a cosmic country twist. Eerie ballad “Old Mexico” was played with a standup bass and brush sticks on a single drum for added mood. Stuart tapped into his more psychedelic side with the epic title track from the album – a song about wandering the desert and popping pills – before leading the band down the path with a flawless acoustic take on Marty Robbins’ sprawling cowboy tale “El Paso”. The audience greeted each new tune with rapturous applause, collectively floored by this band’s ability to take on a style of country music that is rarely touched by any artists these days. They also went crazy for the guitar madness of Kenny Vaughan, who busted out a glittery double-neck guitar (that matched his outfit too!) for the rowdy one-two punch of “Country Music Got a Hold of Me” and “Hot Like That”. Harry Stinson would show off his George Jones-style vocal power with an impressive cover of Woody Guthrie’s “The Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd”, only to be followed up with Stuart offering a fiery solo mandolin performance of the bluegrass classic “Orange Blossom Special”.

Over the course of ninety minutes Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives were an unstoppable train. Stuart himself is like the Martin Scorsese of music; a walking encyclopedia who can honor any artist faithfully while spinning their influence into something all his own. His take on Johnny Cash’s “Lumberjack” went over huge with the Oregon crowd, and the steel guitar and harmonies of the classic country ballad “Long Black Veil” paid proper service to the original. Artists like Stuart – not to mention his incredible band – are the kind of artists that should be treasured by all music fans. If anything, Stuart’s performance in Portland on Tuesday showed just how much he has invested in country music, and that he has no plans to slow down anytime soon.