Concert Review--Chris Knight

Back in August, Erik gave a glowing review of Chris Knight at The Dame in Lexington. Impressed, I picked up his albums and was very happy with what he lays down. Last night, I got the opportunity to see him myself at Dan's Silverleaf, and I was not disappointed.

While Erik saw Knight with his full band, he was by himself at Dan's. It seems to me he was there solo to promote his full band show at South Fork Ranch, where "Dallas" was filmed, on Sunday. I'd like to see his band, but it's a stupid venue. Regardless of what I think though, I'm sure he succeeded in drawing a lot of the people that came last night. With just his voice and his guitar, it was a great showcase for his songwriting talents. While he didn't play "William," which was too bad, he did play the saddest song, "Enough Rope," of his latest album of the same name. He described the story as about a guy he grew up with who he saw recently for the first time in about thirty hears. He worked for the city, had a wife and nine or ten kids, and was as happy as he could be. Then he sang the song. The chorus:

"Well I'm thankful for the things I have and all the things I don't
And I've got dreams that will come true and I got some that won't
Most the time I just walk the line, where ever it goes
Cause you can't hang yourself if you ain't got enough rope."

It's tough stuff, and really well-sung. What really surprised me at the show was that I experienced the same energy from the crowd that Erik did. During this song, and many others, the entire crowd, from the guy with the white cowboy autographed by Randy Travis to the punk in the Misfits cap, sang along nearly every word of the songs. I could easily see, in his home state of Kentucky, that he'd have that kind of devoted following. I didn't expect it halfway across the country, and it was great to be a part of.