June 13, 1980--Ray Charles, Antone's, Austin, TX: The American monument--not yet 50 years old--was in strong voice and played off his excellent band well, though I didn't like the chair seating. At one point, constant interjections from a woman in the audience seemed to get on Ray's nerves; when she yelled, "tell it!," he snuck in a half-humorous, half-serious putdown between musical phrases, answering her with, "I would if you'd shut up." There had been various Antone's locations over the years and I was at the least impressive of them--on one end of a shopping mall. Which nearly made me arrive late, as I repeatedly drove by the club. "Surely this legendary blues joint can't be in a shopping mall," I told myself.
August 9, 1980--The Ramones, The Armadillo World Headquarters, Austin: Just to hear Joey & the guys do their rapid fire "1-2-3-4!" before many songs brought plenty of smiles, although the band seemed to be more repetitious onstage than on their mostly wonderful records. Austin's the Explosives, the sometimes backup band for Roky Erickson, opened.
February 28, 1981--The Joe Ely Band, Soap Creek Saloon, Austin: My sister Margo visited from Michigan and after we'd heard his two superb albums (1977's Joe Ely and 1978's Honky Tonk Masquerade) and a decent third (1979's Down On the Drag), it was time for us to catch Ely's live act, said to be first rate. He and band proved to be much better than that, mixing country, rock and rockabilly with wild abandon, especially on Eddie Cochran's version of the folk tune "Cotton Picker." Ely was galvanizing--truly riveting onstage.
March 14, 1981--Chuck Berry, The Paramount Theater, Austin: Berry's still in my all-time top five artists but unfortunately, most of Austin's best musicians must have been out playing that night, so Berry was saddled with a band that didn't have a clue where the breaks fell in his titanic songs (he never traveled with a backing group, always assembling them as he arrived in each city). Annoyed, Berry would stick one leg out at a 90 degree angle and then brought it to the floor when he wanted the players to pause--it was embarrassing. The Joe Ely Band began the night with an incendiary set; where it once was Lloyd Maines playing heavy metal steel guitar, it was now saxophonist Smokey Joe Miller supplying some of that energy. As for Ely, he was emoting like a man who had just realized how exciting it is to be alive.
Spring 1981--Joe "King" Carrasco & the Crowns, unknown locations in Austin and San Antonio: Couldn't remember where I was at either Joe "King" show; both were refreshing new wave meets Tex Mex funfests. In Austin, it was almost like a gymnasium with ornately designed high ceilings, not unlike a church. In San Antonio, it was either a large Mexican bar or someplace like Randy's Rodeo--where the Sex Pistols had played--but it wasn't Randy's Rodeo. I recall the Austin show more vividly, where Joe was relentless onstage and at one point was being passed around by the fervent crowd. Kris Cummings' organ (farfisa?) playing was reminiscent of Augie Meyers' work with the Sir Douglas Quintet, and the originals ("Party Weekend," "Caca de Vaca") and sweaty covers ("Wooly Bully," "96 Tears") made for two exhilarating, dreamlike gigs. So where was I? Dunno! I wasn't high, honest.
Spring 1981--Dan Del Santo & his Professors of Pleasure, The Waterloo Icehouse, Austin: Dan Del Santo (1951-2001) was from New York state and moved to Austin in the 1970s, becoming part of the mecca's outlaw country movement. But he loved the emerging World Beat genre, hosting a radio show on KUT by the '80s and his sensibilities went in that direction; his band played Afro Cuban music, highlighting DDS' stinging electric guitar and deep voice. It was a fine show and quite a striking image revealed itself as I approached the Icehouse--the band was playing with their backs to the huge window on the street front. A real innovator, Dan Del Santo spent his last few years living and performing in Mexico.
November 8, 1981--Bob Dylan, Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI: I became a belated and obsessive Dylan fan as a teen, ordering all his albums, one at a time, by sending cash in the mail to Discount Records in Scarsdale, NY. Fast forward to 1981: Dylan had just issued Shot of Love, a step forward after the overwrought 1980 Saved LP. I did love hearing the gospel backup singers (Clydie King was one of them) and the brilliant drummer Jim Keltner.
November 25, 1981: Luther Allison, Rick's American Cafe, Ann Arbor: A mesmerizing blues performance from singer-guitarist Allison (1939-1997), who should have been huge. He played as if he were in a steamy, packed house, even though he wasn't. I still think the best thing on the various artists double album Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival (recorded in 1972 and released in 1973) is Luther Allison's take on Percy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love."
See also: 1972-1974, 1975-1979