![\"dsc02306\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/DSC02306-215x300.jpg\")
<\/a>I was looking forward to getting a first look at the new Heights Theatre venue Sunday night for Ray Wylie Hubbard\u2019s seventieth birthday bash. Unfortunately, construction delays forced the event to change venues and wind up in Houston\u2019s historic Rockefeller\u2019s, which seemed appropriate for a show that honors such a historic Texas troubadour. (The Heights Theatre will now present Hayes Carll on November 23 for its opening night). Rockefeller\u2019s is a smaller room, hence many attendees were given standing room wristbands instead of the seats that they were expecting. The venue changes didn\u2019t seem to bring any negative vibes to the celebration night.<\/p>\nThe evening started out with the husband wife duo of Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams bringing their brand of country blues to the stage. Larry Campbell (along with Jorma Kaukonen, Roy Bookbinder and David Bromberg) is a disciple of Reverend Gary Davis\u2019 style of fingerpicking blues. Teresa Williams brings her Tennessee country vocals to round out the sound in a show sprinkled with friendly patter, reminiscent of a Sonny and Cher show.<\/p>\n
The set began with some original compositions from the duet\u2019s latest album (Surrender to Love, Ain\u2019t Nobody for Me\u2026.) and a Louvin Brothers bluegrass standard, \u201cRunning Wild\u201d. Campbell stretched out an acoustic blues solo on \u201cEverybody Loves You\u201d that was pretty tasty. They also performed \u201cYou\u2019ll Never Again be Mine\u201d from the Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams CD on which Campbell along with Levon Helm put music to some lyrics that Hank Williams (the first one) had left behind. Campbell and Williams ended their set with original composition, \u201cDid You Love Me at All?\u201d sandwiched between two Reverend Gary standards, \u201cSampson and Delilah\u201d and \u201cKeep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ray Wylie Hubbard took the stage with an abbreviated line up of himself, a drummer, and his son Lucas on lead guitar (notably, without a bass player). They warmed up, initially, on \u201cRabbit\u201d, and RWH, satisfied with the sound, let us all know that we were headed \u201cOut of the rut and into the groove\u201d. The set continued with standard \u201cSnake Farm\u201d which turned into the first of several sing-alongs of the night and featured a very nice solo by Lucas. Hayes Carll collaboration, \u201cDrunken Poet\u2019s Dream\u201d followed, accompanied by a very Ray Wylie comment about getting more attention by \u201cburning down the barn than by taking out the trash\u201d. It is clear that this show will be more often punctuated by side comments than the average RWH show and that is a welcome distraction here in Texas.<\/p>\n
Ray displayed some awesome finger picking on \u201cDown Home Country Blues\u201d and put his slide to work on \u201cName Dropping\u201d and \u201cMississippi Flush\u201d. He sang \u201cMother Blues\u201d which is his story about being a young man and achieving his goals of having a stripper girlfriend and a gold top Les Paul. Hubbard\u2019s harmonica blazed on \u201cCharlie Musselwhite\u2019s Blues\u201d and he took the high road on the spiritual \u201cStone Blind Horses\u201d.<\/p>\n
The subject moved to \u201968 Camaros amidst heavy blues chords on \u201cCooler than Hell\u201d, followed by \u201cDust of the Chase\u201d. \u201cDust of the Chase\u201d is about a gambler with a pistol in his boot and was the favorite of some veterans in Afghanistan that played it before every patrol. The last line of that song goes \u201cSo when the time\u2019s at hand and I kill a man, I say a little prayer\u201d.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>\u00a0We could feel the end of the show approaching when the band broke into the rousing sing along, \u201cScrew You We\u2019re From Texas\u201d followed by a seemingly reluctant performance of \u201cRedneck Mother\u201d. RWH commented on the audience\u2019s performance on the sing along, suggesting that we all invest in pitch pipes and metronomes.<\/p>\nRay\u2019s (and Lucas\u2019s) most enthusiastic fan, Judy Hubbard sat in the front row sporting a fringed suede jacket. After all of these years Judy still mouths the words with Ray and follows his every chord.<\/p>\n
The set came to a rocking close with a rocking medley that started off with \u201cWanna Rock and Roll\u201d, into \u201cJohn the Revelator\u201d, through \u201cBarefoot in Heaven\u201d and back into \u201cWanna Rock and Roll\u201d. Even from our spot, thirty feet from the stage, I could see that Lucas\u2019 thumb was bright red from playing that \u201cthumb over the neck\u201d bass line. I was surprised when Ray Wylie and crew took the stage to play James McMutrey\u2019s \u201cChoctaw Bingo\u201d. RWH seemed ready to play all night and, at seventy, for years to come.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Let me toss in a little plug for Ray Wylie Hubbard\u2019s autobiography \u201cA Life\u2026Well, Lived\u201d. The book is formatted a little differently than most in that it alternates chronologically ordered life events with song lyrics and old road stories. It covers the evening that inspired \u201cRedneck Mother\u201d (Yes, there really was a mother and a bumper sticker). There are stories about other musicians, like Willie Nelson, BW Stevenson, Tony Joe White and Stevie Ray Vaughn (who inspired RWH to seek sobriety).<\/p>\n
It is the story of a musician that halfway through life chose to take control of a directionless existence playing in a Dallas bar between lingerie shows to being a major contributor to the Texas Americana scene. Hubbard\u2019s down home since of humor and his genuine love of life make this book a joy to read.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Written by James Killen I was looking forward to getting a first look at the new Heights Theatre venue Sunday night for Ray Wylie Hubbard\u2019s seventieth birthday bash. Unfortunately, construction delays forced the event to change venues and wind up in Houston\u2019s historic Rockefeller\u2019s, which seemed appropriate for a show that honors such a historic… <\/p>\n
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![\"dsc02306\"](\"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/DSC02306.jpg\")
<\/a>I was looking forward to getting a first look at the new Heights Theatre venue Sunday night for Ray Wylie Hubbard\u2019s seventieth birthday bash. Unfortunately, construction delays forced the event to change venues and wind up in Houston\u2019s historic Rockefeller\u2019s, which seemed appropriate for a show that honors such a historic Texas troubadour. (The Heights Theatre will now present Hayes Carll on November 23 for its opening night). Rockefeller\u2019s is a smaller room, hence many attendees were given standing room wristbands instead of the seats that they were expecting. The venue changes didn\u2019t seem to bring any negative vibes to the celebration night.<\/p>\n