Almost Austin’s 100th show (congratulations, Kenny Pipes, for hanging in there) started off with “Second Best” from Otis’ latest, “Harder than Hammered Hell”. Otis Gibbs is as much a story teller as he is a song writer and performer.

After singing “Where Only the Graves are Real”, about separating one’s true friends from the users, Gibbs recounted one of his many truck stop stories. Otis like most artists these days has a fairly large Facebook following, where he posts personal observations and a series of interviews with various music celebrities. He was walking in to the truck stop while this rather large and burley driver was walking out and it became obvious that he would not be able to pass without some kind of greeting so Otis, nodded and said “How’s it Goin’?”. The driver replied, “I’m fat and ugly, but at least I’m not on Facebook.” Such is the life of Otis Gibbs, who is more likely to curl up with a pillow and a blanket in his car at a truck stop or road side park than to get a hotel room.

After the story we continued with “Caroline” about the cycle of abuse and depression, running on to “Broke and Restless” and “Small Town Saturday Night”. Otis continued to regale the audience with stories of Tractor Day in Wannamaker, Indiana when all the kids got to ride to school on their daddies’ tractors, and almost being featured in a German documentary on the homeless, and being taught how to sing for tips at age 5 in a honky-tonk by his Uncle Brisco, who promptly drank up the tip money.

Mr. Gibbs can always be counted on to offer an opinion in song, like “Preacher Steve” about the guys who use the pulpit to extract money from the crowd and “Joe Hill’s Ashes” singing thanks to those that stood up for the workers in the tough times as union members. Otis slips in some pretty nice acoustic guitar riffs between the lines of his songs to keep everyone on board.

His songs also reach out tenderly to the relationships between rural lovers as in ”Wannamaker Pond” and longing for one another while on the road, like “Kansas City”. The road is a common theme for Gibbs’ music. He was inspired to write a song about travelling cross country on a Greyhound bus and waking up in Dallas, when he heard Jon Dee Graham call Dallas, “The Town that Killed Kennedy”.

Otis decided to celebrate Kenny’s 100th show by performing “Big Whiskers”, which is a musical tale about Otis’ grandfather’s quest for a huge flathead catfish. It’s a little like a cross between “Moby Dick” and “The Old Man and the Sea”, only set in Wannamaker. It was quite a treat. Otis closed out his set with an ode to the glory that is an American made full size automobile with “Detroit Steel”.

Otis Gibbs is a regular at Almost Austin and he was one of the best choices that could have been made for the 100th show. There is truly no better place to enjoy the music of this genuinely warm and fun performer, than a cozy living room with folks that are like family all around. I can tell you that I’m already looking forward to Otis Gibbs’ next visit. I hope that ya’ll are, too.