I’m not going to lie.  When I saw that the scheduled Dierks Bentley show at the Pavilion had been postponed until 2009 and that Robert Earl Keen was slotted to fill the show date left behind, I considered it a musical upgrade.  No knocks on Dierks, but he’s no Robert Earl Keen.  I’m just calling it the way I hear it.  But don’t take my word on it.

You can hear the Texan-born singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen for yourself tomorrow night at the Charlottesville Pavilion along with special guests The Sons of Bill.  Unfortunately the Wrinkle Neck Mules, who were also scheduled to perform, have been forced to cancel their appearance due to Hurricane Ike.  (at least two of the band’s members currently reside near the Texas Gulf Coast).  Gates open at 5pm, show time is 6pm.  Tickets are still available.  $27.

After the break check out my 5 reasons for wanting to see Robert Earl Keen live.

[Robert Earl Keen photo by Mark Austin]

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1.  Robert Earl Keen Abides

Here’s a simple math equation for you:

The Stranger + The Dude = Robert Earl Keen

That’s it right there.  Put a cowboy hat on Jeff Lebowski and add a little Texas drawl ala Sam Elliot and you’ve got Robert Earl Keen.  But instead of knocking down pins in bowling alleys, it’s singing songs in honky tonks.  Let’s not forget that in his college days Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett used to sit on Keen’s front porch in their underwear and sing songs to the folks getting out of church across the street.  Plus, Robert Earl Keen has told the story many times about how his car caught on fire at Willie Nelson’s 4th of July picnic.  How very dude like.

2.  I Can’t Stand X-Mas Songs (With a Few Exceptions)

During the time that I worked in community radio between 2001 - 2006 I dreaded the weeks between the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.  Working in an environment where the DJ’s have the freedom to chose what songs to play has its perks don’t get me wrong,  but once the turkey day leftovers were put away until Santa finally called it a day, there were a number of DJ’s who began playing the songs of good tidings and cheer with a gusto that only grew into a fa, la, la, la, la….la, la, la inferno that no amount of egg nog could extinguish.  After year one I was done with Christmas songs forever.  Somehow I endured four more.

To counter this holiday spirit extravaganza I began answering the repeated traditional classics of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bell Rock with a few choice classics of my own.  Cheech and Chong’s “Santa Claus and His Old Lady”, Louis Armstrong’s “Cool Yule”, The Tractors’ “Bo Diddley Santa Claus”, Babs Gonzalez’s “Be-Bop Christmas”, and of course Robert Earl Keen’s holiday classic “Merry Christmas from the Family”.  Ho! Ho! Ho!  (in recent years I have added “Father Christmas” by the Kinks and “Your Christmas Whiskey” by Minus Five to that list).

Merry Christmas From the Family by Robert Earl Keen

3.  The Wrinkle Neck Mules and Sons of Bill

The first half of reason #3 was going to be devoted to the Wrinkle Neck Mules but hurricanes have a mind of their own.  Here’s hoping the Mules and all those on the Gulf Coast weather storm.  We’ll be thinking about you folks.

It’s been too damn long since I last saw the Wrinkle Neck Mules live and it looks like I’ll have to hold out until October before my next opportunity arises (They’re scheduled to play at Toad’s Place in Richmond on October 11).  I don’t know all the Mules well, but front man Andy Stepanian is a super great guy and the Mules as a whole just flat out rock.  If you don’t have their albums Pull the Brake and The Wicks Have Met you should.  Also a big shout out to Kerry Gibson who heads up their label Lower 40 Records.  She’s the gal of gals.

Speaking of rock stars, when it comes to hard driving country rock the Sons of Bill are the best around.  The band’s originals would sound right at home in the cowboy bars and honky tonks of the Lone Star State and when they throw in a few Billy Joe Shaver and Steve Earle covers, the Sons of Bill are the perfect choice to get the Pavilion crowd primed for a little REK.

4.  No Kinda Dancer -  What I Really Mean:  The Albums and the Songs

Between 1984 and 2006, Robert Earl Keen has recorded and released nine studio albums as well as a handful of live albums.  Beginning with his debut album No Kinda Dancer and extending through his most recent studio effort What I Really Mean, Keen has put together a body of work that shows off not only his songwriting talents but also his slightly twisted sense of humor.  There are some real classics in his catalog, here a just a few:  “Corpus Christi Bay”, “The Great Hank”, “Gringo Honeymoon”, “Wild Wind”, “Lonely Feeling”, “Paint the Town Beige”, and just about everything on No Kinda Dancer!

5.  The Road Goes on Forever

Without a doubt this is REK’s best known and most beloved tune.  It’s a song about a drug deal gone wrong.  The main characters are Sonny (whose looking to make a deal) and his girlfriend Sherry (who ends up killing a cop as the deal turns sour).  Sonny takes the rap and gets sent to the chair and Sherry gets the cash and drives off in her brand new Benz.  Now I don’t know how that becomes a great drinking song, but it is!  I’m thinking it’s all about the chorus.  “The road goes on forever, but the party never ends”  I’ll drink to that!

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