It seems that James McMurtry eavesdrops on us at our dinner tables, our boats, bars, big rigs, or wherever he chooses to find us. It doesn’t matter. The literary pictures he projects are as perfect as we can see ourselves, unadorned and often alone. McMurtry doesn’t offer apologies. It is what it is. Those of us who accept his reality feel privileged to sit down with him and listen to his songs and his melodies.
That’s the way it was when McMurtry came to Tucson to perform at Club Congress’ outdoor stage on September 5th. This was part of a short weeks’ tour of New Mexico and Arizona due to strong vaccination compliance in these states.
It was raining at the beginning of the set and the rain quickly subsided. There was an occasional train passing by in the background and this all seemed to add to McMurtry’s acoustic set. It was nearly two hours of McMurtry and his two guitars, a six-string, and a twelve-string guitar.
One would have expected McMurtry to showcase his newest album, The Horses and the Hounds, released two weeks ago on New West Records. The album is his first release in seven years. The highly anticipated release was actually written and recorded pre-pandemic in Los Angeles and produced by Ross Hogarth. The songs he chose to sing on this night from the new release included “Jackie,” “If It Don’t Bleed,” “Vaquero,” “Blackberry Winter,” and “Operation Never Mind.” Many people in the audience knew the words to the new songs and were singing along.
However, the other 15 songs in the set were taken from throughout his career over the last 25 years. Fan favorites included “Copper Canteen,” “Choctaw Bingo,” “Saint Mary of the Woods,” and “We Can’t Make It Here.”
There wasn’t much banter until the end when McMurtry said, “Thanks for coming out folks. Can’t play in Texas these days. They won’t let you mask up and demand vax cards and stuff like that. ‘Cause Governor Abbott has to be the meanest Republican on the block, otherwise, he’s going to be ‘primaried’ out. If he does anything sensible, they’ll call him a rhino. He can’t do anything sensible. He’s even gone as far as, if a club does a mask mandate for one night, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Control will threaten to pull their liquor license. If the federal government tells Texas what to do, it’s government overreach. If Texas tells a private business what to do, it’s patriotism, sticking up for freedom. So, I’m real glad we are not in Texas right now. Stay safe and we’ll get through this thing eventually. It might not ever end but it will get manageable.”
The next song was “Peter Pan” and the lyric seemed appropriate.
“I keep my distance
As best I can
Living out my time here in Never Never Land
I can’t grow up
‘Cause I’m too old now
I guess we really did it this time mom”
After a one-song encore of “No More Buffalo,” McMurtry exited the stage as this singer-songwriter’s potent word left another impression.
