James McMurtry: Live and Raw

Like father, like son, you might say.

The heir to a best selling author, James McMurtry's similarities to his father, Larry, are based upon an the innocuous ability to capture people and place in their most primitive forms. James just sets his stories to music, soundtracks for blue collars and day laborers.

A legend to Texans and his loyal fanbase, it was Live in Aught-Three that expanded the focus from a stage-light to national spotlight for the younger, bringing long overdue acclaim. And James hasn't disappointed, pumping the gas with two subsequent studio albums, Childish Things and Just Us Kids, and now a stellar live release, Live in Europe (which includes an excellent bonus DVD).

I gave my father-in-law - an esteemed judge who has seen his share of desperate lives and desperate situations - several of McMurtry's albums, which he loved. He commented that the music "is raw," and that is the truth.

Live in Europe is out now, and if you haven't, you should. McMurtry scratches real life until it bleeds.

Learn:
James McMurtry Online

Listen:
1 - Bayou Tortue

Buy:
James McMurtry at Amazon

Double Trouble: Will Johnson and Jason Molina

Will Johnson and Jason Molina are two of the most prolific musicians putting notes to paper today. Their day jobs, fronting Centro-Matic and Magnolia Electric Co. respectively, give only a glimpse into the the body of work that each continually feeds. Add to that list a collaborative effort called Molina and Johnson, an album and a tour that promises one of the more unique statements by two wordsmiths of the highest caliber. Molina and Johnson will drop on November 3.

Molina and Johnson will lock in for a European tour later this month.

Tour Dates
11/26 Deventer (NL), Burgerweeshuis
11/27 Ottersum (NL), Roepaen
11/28 Brussels (B), Botanique: 15 years Tout Partout
11/29 Utrecht (NL), Le Gues Who? Festival@Tivoli
11/30 Eindhoven (NL), MC Frits Philips
12/01 Winchester (UK), Railway Inn
12/02 London (UK), Garage
12/03 Manchester (UK), Deaf Institute
12/10 Barcelona (Spain), Primavera Club@Sala Be Cool
12/11 Barcelona (Spain), Primavera Club@Auditorio Montjuich
12/12 Madrid (Spain), Primavera Club@Teatro Alcazar
12/13 Lloseta-Mallorca (Spain), Teatro Lloseta
12/14 Puerto Real (Spain), Venue TBA

Learn:
Molina and Johnson

Listen:
1 - Twenty Cycles to the Ground

WSP/ABB: On the Road Again

The Widespread Panic/Allman Brothers Band tour begins its second leg tomorrow in Charlotte, NC, where the bands will set up for two nights at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. If the August tour in the Northeast is any indication, this 11-show run through both bands' stomping grounds should boast plenty of collaborations between the two live legends. Catch 'em if you can!

Oct 3 Verizon Wireless Amph., Charlotte, NC
Oct 4 Verizon Wireless Amph., Charlotte, NC
Oct 6 Merriweather Post Pavilion,Columbia, MD
Oct 7 nTelos Wireless Pavilion, Portsmouth, VA
Oct 9 BJCC Arena, Birmingham, AL
Oct 10 BJCC Arena, Birmingham, AL
Oct 11 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion, Raleigh, NC
Oct 13 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN
Oct 14 Riverfront Park, Nashville, TN
Oct 16 Superpages.com Center, Dallas, TX
Oct 17 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX

Learn:
Widespread Panic
Allman Brothers Band

Listen:
Tracks from August 22, 2009 at the CMAC Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua, New York
Please do not circulate MP3s. Download the full show here.
1 - Surprise Valley*
2 - Drums*
3 - Surprise Valley*
4 - Jam*
5 - Pilgrims
6 - Chilly Water**

* with Marc Quinones on percussion, Warren Haynes on guitar
** with Derek Trucks on guitar, Warren Haynes on guitar

Buy:
Widespread Store
Hittin' the Note