Hugh and Jeff’s Carwash and Grill was opened for business in March 2008 bringing a novel idea to the Houston area. Taking a page from The Cove in San Antonio’s playbook, they have adapted it to accommodate the diverse population in the growing Clear Lake area that share one commonality – never enough time in the day. With the multi-task friendly carwash having regular business hours from 8AM to 8PM, at any given time you can see ranging scenes such as suits stuck on Blackberry’s to groups of soccer moms chatting it up and always patrons grabbing some of the killer food and sucking down cold adult beverages with a chance of a live band playing.

John Evans and the owners of this unique establishment have been compadres since their days together attending Lamar University in Beaumont. JE loves to come and mix it up with the old school crew whenever he gets the chance. Those chances have become less and less since JE’s move to Austin earlier this year, although he calls his new home just another truck stop on the road. JEB is coming in support of their latest album Lollygaggin’ released October 13th, 2009 on The Smith Entertainment label. The JEB lineup has remained pretty much in place for some time with the exception of John bringing back his old drummer when the latest one left for the military – The John Evans Band are: John Evans-vocals, guitar; Billy Beason-guitar, lap steel; Jake Marchese-upright bass; Anthony Pummil-drums.

H&J had the red carpet laid out for HMR upon arrival and Hugh made senior editor Eddie Ferranti feel right at home while they shot the breeze with JE. He also offered the HMR staff a sample of the mud bugs that were on special tonight which were out of sight. A very nice gesture when the place was hopping with a lingering happy hour crowd coupled with some type of a wedding party. The crowd flowed over into the roped off parking lot which had no shot of holding a mediocre crowd let alone this one, which lead to some creative parking for attendees. The “Rock The Lot” crew was trying to rekindle the memories of the weekly Thursday event that was shut down just recently by The Man for violating noise ordinances….

John Evans brought down a little Austin sacred tradition of starting late….The opening act, Mama Tried, did not start until after nine…kudos to these guys who filled in for The Sideshow Tramps who cancelled. They held the crowd pretty well as the happy hour and wedding groups thinned out making way for other curious folk and regulars.  The guys have put together a nice stage for the acts to play here but the seating this night was a problem. Picnic benches do not work when you cannot see over the dance floor….People want to see the band, especially a band like the whisky shooting JEB with the large white upright bass and throwback digs; not to mention these guys can freaking play.

There were LA-Z-BOY chairs up by the stage that made no sense. It really seems that there are several standard layouts that would take this venue to the next level as a music club.

JEB hit the stage and the place got bouncing quickly…John Evans was on top of his game nailing the crowd with “Pasa-get-down-dena” and “Folsom Prison Blues” right out of the gate. The latter was one of two Johnny Cash covers tonight. I was lucky enough to gain a sneak preview of Lollygaggin’ outside The Ship’s Wheel in Crystal Beach, Texas after Stingaree 09 and it was clear then that John Evans was well on his way of mastering the Honky Tonk song….With cuts played tonight like, “Name in Chalk” and “Cold Beers to Broken Hearts” as well as his best effort yet “I’m From the Beer Joint” credited to his name, John Evans continues to be one of the best pure songwriters out there. It was a shame that the Mardi Gras festival organizers in Jefferson, Texas pulled the plug on JE when he was put in charge of the music this year. An event JE played in and that HMR covered last year. JE tells us that it was going to be unbelievable. The leadership gets nervous when the music takes too much away from the spirit of the event…just like they do in New Orleans…not.

The first set was solid but short for this band and it surprised HMR when JEB took a break when he had this crowd right in his hands. It was like the air let out of the place within 30 minutes and once the band took the stage @ 12:10 after an hour break they had lost the crowd. I’m sure Hugh had to give Evans a little grief over that one. The classic of the evening was that Marchese broke a bass string during the first set but did not take the time during the hour break to replace it.

Hugh and Jeff’s is a great place to hang with friends and catch a show. It is great to see them supporting live music and bringing some great talent this way. If you like the Clear Lake area, I would keep an eye on this place for who is playing there. It will be interesting to see who H&J pulls down from Austin in the future. There is a rumor that JE’s fellow Ego Brother Hayes Carll will be playing here before too long. Until then, I will see you out supporting live music.