Photo from http://www.glidemagazine.com/121974/steve-martin-steep-canyon-rangers-long-center-austin-tx-72914-show-reviewphotos/
To kick off November’s digging out, here’s the concert I attended on my birthday celebrate turning 46. One of my favorite comedians as a child performing banjo-driven music because he can without worrying about paying his mortgage. Steve’s quite good too. I own all three studio albums which contain awesome contributions from Paul McCartney, Dolly Parton and Rodney Crowell. He also elevated my awareness of the Steep Canyon Rangers who are permanently on my radar.
Being a Steve Martin concert, there were numerous jokes: accidentally reading a song from the setlist on his iPad as a “Candy Crush Level #12,” what a big movie star he is, how every band needs a drummer if they want to score pot, thanking everyone for catching the last show at this year’s SXSW, etc. I’m glad Steve still has it despite making crap movies.
The coolest surprise was Paul Simon joining Edie (his wife) on stage to do a couple tunes, a Loretta Lynn/George Jones duet and “Waltz Across Texas.” Joking aside, Steve is a generous performer, letting the Rangers do their thing.
Although they didn’t cover “King Tut,” they did play a new song not on any album but the current live one, “Pretty Little One.” Steve’s introduction was the best. “You know, when I see bands I love and they announce how they want to play a new song, I say, please don’t, stick with your hits.”
Should you get a chance to see Steve Martin with or without the Steep Canyon Rangers, I highly recommend it. He’s worth every penny.