Yeah there’s plenty of primo talent here, but it’s nice to
get out and see how the rest of ’em get down from
time to time. So-Cal roots-rock troubadour Tom
Russell’s only area appearance was at Castaways in Ithaca
last Friday. And I’ve always loved his Southwest-Mexacali-big-sky-screw-Nashville
music. Musically Russell can bring you to tears; lyrically he can drown you in
’em.
His new album Hotwalkeris
simply amazing. I’ve been spinning it nonstop. With recorded commentary from
Charles Bukowski, Lenny Bruce, Jack Kerouac, and
Little Jack Horton mixed with Russell’s own beat ramblings and lonely guitar, Hotwalkerplays out more like a scrapbook. A ghostly tribute to a forgotten cool with Russell as much Chandler
as Rogers. I had to go see this
brilliant noir cowboy laureate.
So D&C music
scribe Jeff Spevak and I braved the cold and the
boring drive to Ithaca for the
show.
Russell was halfway through his first set when we arrived.
Accompanied by the fleet-fingered, flat-picking Andrew Hardin, Russell and his
own black guitar held the modest audience in rapt attention. Because he picks
almost constantly — even between songs — the songs
and stories blur into a beautiful continuum. It’s one
big story told from a seasoned hipster cowboy’s perch. Songs of love,
loneliness, heroes, losers, and icons cascaded from the stage. Despite the
stripped-down delivery, Tom Russell was powerful, mesmerizing, and
unforgettable.
Saw The Sadies for the umpteenth time at The Bug Jar on
Saturday. It’s safe to say they’ve outgrown the joint, as it was sardine city
by the time they took the stage. Still riding my Russell buzz, I was more than
just a little in the mood for the band’s country-psychedelia.
A definite high spot (pun intended if it makes you laugh) was when they covered
“Cocaine Blues.”
— Frank De Blase
This article appears in Dec 7-13, 2005.
