Show Date : January 27th
Junior is opening this show for Cowboy Mouth. Since this really seemed like two separate shows, I’ll hit them separately.
I really don’t know shit about Junior Brown.
Or at least I didn’t until a couple years ago. My friend saw him perform at the Aladdin in Portland and emailed me a beautiful review of the show. He later followed up with some tracks. They were okay, but that live write-up stuck in the back of my head.
Why?
Junior Brown comes on stage backed by a electric bass and a drummer playing only a snare and a cymbal. Not sure he even needed that. Junior Brown plays what is called a guit-steel guitar. It is a hybrid guitar. A traditional six string electric guitar on top and a lap steel guitar fused to that on the bottom. During a song Junior will switch back and forth between his guitars.
I’ve never seen a guitarist like Junior Brown, live, in my entire life.
Let’s do this right.
Rocking this show with my very considerate spouse. Orlando’s House of Blues is a pretty dope venue. We got a floor and a balcony. The up was closed off so we are playing only on the floor this evening. You can’t leave the floor without hitting a bar. There’s three. Fucking sweet. Sound is great, probably, we were so close we were hearing the show through the stage monitors. We were front row. Country shows can be so nice. Be polite and act like you belong up front. And you probably will be.
Junior looks to be in his mid to late 60′s. Wearing some dress slacks and a glittery suit coat. Tall ass cowboy hat.
I could babble and run down some songs. But let’s focus on the highlight.
“Highway Patrol”. What a song! Junior’s singing voice can go almost down to Johnny Cash territory. And, his voice still sounds very good. It certainly isn’t hashed. Perfect for a song about a cop. The song is so country. Glorification of a blue collar job. Tracking down speeders. But it isn’t outlaw. And it isn’t a wavetheflag, let’s all mindlessly glorify law enforcement either. Just the straight shit. A story.
The hours are long and the pay is low
I’m just doing my job
I’m the (deep voice) highway patrol
All that is kind of average. You expect that kind of shit from a traditional country act. What makes this show is the guitar playing. You will be amazed. I don’t give a fuck if you like country music or not.
You will see a man switching picks back and forth between electric and steel guitar. All manner of attack on the strings. Brushing with the pick. Scraping. The occasional traditional strum, and hard ass note playing straight on. Left hand sliding all over the place. Just crazy. But it gets better. During the solo of “Highway Patrol” he is actually tuning the E and A (I think) up and down on the fly by ear. So you have guitar work on two different guitar types with multiple attack styles and on the fly tuning. Take that James Hetfield. Hope the sound board guys treat your artistry right at the next show.
What is great is that this is going on all night. The whole show. Guitar playing with such certainty and ease. The type that comes from a lifetime of hard earned repetition and talent.
I can’t do this guy justice. An amazing performance. After he was done he unplugs and takes his guitar(s) with him. Can’t say that I blame him. Junior Brown is definitely one of those performers you might hear recorded and just shrug. But live, this guy is fucking baller.
During the middle of the set, went to reload on alcohol. Two twentysomething girls were working the bar. They were staring at Junior.
“Do you know what kind of guitar he is playing?”
I explain and finish with “I dunno, I think it is pretty cool.”
“No doubt, it is cool.”
