About a week after Newsweek named the Red Dragon Listening Room in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the #1 venue in the world for live acoustic music, three legendary Texas musicians stepped up onto their small stage on November 21st and showed you what legends are really made of. Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, all fabulous on their own, sometimes come together as The Flatlanders to perform and record. Currently, they have been on a tour throughout the United States and their stop at the Red Dragon was a complete sellout – with, from what I heard, people begging for tickets to squeeze in.
Pity they weren’t fast enough to nab a seat because the show that went on for twenty-one songs was mesmerizing and fun and chock full of great lyrics. Starting off with “Dallas,” a song that was immediately recognizable, generating loud applause just a few notes into it, harkened back to the trio’s earliest days in 1972/1973. “We’ve been friends for a hundred years,” the silver-haired Gilmore said with a straight-face before telling their tale introducing “Keeper Of The Mountain” a few songs later.
The songs ranged from compositions written together to solo tracks that have appeared on their solo albums. All men have played the Red Dragon over the years but I last saw Ely back in August where he turned his Lubbock timbre into an A++ show. He re-pulled out “I Had My Hopes Up High,” “Bluebird” and “Dallas” from that show and with help from Gilmore and Hancock made them even better (if that’s possible). He also summoned up the chilling “When The Nights Are Cold” from his 2015 album, Panhandle Rambler, and the hilarious tale of Shorty and a frying pan, “I’m Gonna Strangle You Shorty.”
After the first couple of songs, they veered away from a printed setlist and seemed to encourage requests. “They know our whole catalog,” Gilmore said with a smile to Ely, as fans called out their favorites. And before Hancock’s harmonica kicked off “Stars In My Life,” Gilmore looked at Ely and said, “Didn’t this start off with a dobro lick?” to which Ely replied, “I hocked that long ago.”
Gilmore, whose voice evokes fine strong whiskey with a zen-like chaser, took the lead vocals on “Another Colorado,” a tune he had written for his wife, and “Goin’ Away, “a railroad song.” Hancock sang lead on “Julia,” “Thank God For The Road,” “One Road More” and “Stars In My Life,” all he had written, while playing harmonica as well as acoustic guitar throughout the night. Actually, all three gentlemen handled and shared leads during the whole show, while Robbie Gjersoe played some killer electric guitar behind them. And when they ended the night with a spirited “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” a song that has been done by everyone from Elvis to Joe Cocker and Little Richard, the standing ovation, one of several they received, was duly earned.
Sam Baker, another Texas singer-songwriter, had originally been signed on to headline this night’s show. But when owner Chris Maxwell was able to secure The Flatlanders to play at the Red Dragon, this was the only date available. So Baker humbly offered to open instead. And what a performance he put on. His soft-spoken tales enlightened and enlivened the audience while his playing contained gentle guitar notes that spoke like a butterfly whisper. His songs were haunting most of the time. “Odessa” evoked the tumbleweed blues of an abandoned dream, while “Same Kind Of Blue,” about a “Quiet young man too shy to get a date,” who goes off to Vietnam only to be haunted by it the rest of his life, was breathtaking. After “Isn’t Love Great,” Baker decided that was enough of the “Happy sweet stuff” and eased into “Waves.”
The night was remarkable in all senses of the word: the musicianship, the lyrics, the moods they conjured up and the jokes they told. If you were one of the lucky ticketholders, it was a night to remember. Legends aren’t born overnight and by the time they are given that accolade, the music is about as fine as it can get. That’s why Ely, Gilmore and Hancock are legends.
FLATLANDERS SETLIST: Dallas, Babe Do You Love Me Still, Wavin’ My Heart Goodbye, When The Nights Are Cold, Julia, Keeper Of The Mountain, All Just To Get To You, Thank God For The Road, Goin’ Away, I’m Gonna Strangle You Shorty, Bluebird, Another Colorado, Love Please Come Home, One Road More, I Had My Hopes Up High, Give Me Flowers While I’m Living, Borderless Love ENCORE: See The Way, Stars In My Life, Silver City, Lawdy Miss Clawdy.
SAM BAKER SETLIST: Say Grace, Iron, Same Kind Of Blue, Isn’t Love Great, Waves, Pretty World, Odessa, Angels, Ditch.
