Song swaps are the standard for Adam Carroll, whose father is from Angleton. In fact, I have never him seen him solo but this was way beyond the norm…These solo artists had come together to write and produce an entire concept album together so not your usual back and forth all night, but an evening for them to showcase their hard work together for the fans. Every song on the album would be played amidst the light hearted ball busting that comes with the comfort of the Old Quarter. All the songs on “Hard Times” were written by both Carroll and O’Connor with the exception of two where the mutual respect the two songwriters have for one another was honored by each playing their favorite song penned by the other. MO chose “Highway Prayer” and Carroll chose the beautiful “Sleepy Town”. Carroll’s rendition of the simple but touching lyric was a highlight tonight and is a standout on the disc.

The show tonight attracted a nice crowd for the guys… Upon entering, Wreck’s had to admit that he had totally forgotten the reservation list but made up for it by putting my date and I up in a nice cubby corner. Adam Carroll had gotten his ears lowered big time and was donning a derby hat while O’Connor was denim from head to toe and letting his long locks flow. A Corpus Christi resident, MO first came to my attention while researching the “Unsung” album by Slaid Cleaves. An album of songs that Slaid thought were great but had never really gotten the credit he thought they deserved. MO had two tracks on the disc that were exceptional pieces of writing, “Devil’s Lullaby” and “Runaway Car”. O’Connor travels with Slaid often and performed with him at The Mucky Duck late last year wearing a full suit…For the record, Adam Carroll also had a song on the album, “Racecar Joe”.

It is nice to be part of something that you know is working well. With every song enveloped in the album’s main themes of Billy Gibbon’s beard, gulf coast losers, and hard times with the imagery of one-eyed Wanda sweeping eyeballs off the floor and worn down boozers in the shadow of a FEMA trailer, these guys were preaching to the choir. The two were enjoying the night which lead to a later than average night at the Old Quarter. The guys played for over two hours with less than a 30 minute break between sets.

Beyond the songs on the duet disc, Adam Carroll treated the crowd to a few gems: “Rain” written with Gordy Quist who is credited as a third party on the “Hard Times” track “Gulf Coast Loser”, and “Home Again”, a song off Carroll’s new solo effort “Live at Flipnotics”, which was released in Dec 2009. An album featuring Scrappy Jud Newcomb and his fabulous guitar work…and the song that must be played while in Rome, “Girl With The Dirty Hair” of which Wrecks Bell could not resist giving Adam hell asking him if he was going to do his “Hayes Carll cover song”.

This night was a treat for any fan of the Texas singer-songwriter genre. It is apparent that these two gentlemen are friends and inspire one another to elevate their beloved craft of songwriting.  It has to be said that each of these men are solid musicians as well. Michael O’Connor is not Slaid Cleaves’ guitar player by default, and Adam Carroll’s harmonica work continues to improve. In fact, there are two tracks on HT that are harmonica only. ‘Twas a good night for Galveston and all us Gulf Coast losers abound. I will see you out supporting live music.