Song of the Day: Chris Knight, "It Ain't Easy Being Me"

Concert Review: Chris Knight or, Slumming from a Glass

Last night, I had the pleasure, for the third time, to see Chris Knight perform. Erik and I have said plenty about him in the past, and this show was just as fantastic as the other two times he's come. He was with his band this time, so it's the second time I've seen him this way and once as a solo act. I'm not sure which I like better. The solo voice and guitar is certainly easier to understand and allows you to better take in the power of his lyrics, which is significant. With a band, however, there's a great energy both on stage and in the audience. I suppose I like both equally.

I see a fair number of shows, and Knight is uncanny. Where equally good acts can't draw beans on a Thursday night, understandable for a relatively small town, he packs the place; most of the audience had to be at work the next morning, myself included, but that didn't stop anybody from staying the whole time and drinking themselves silly (two separate shipments from the Budweiser man arrived during the show), singing every song. Not only that, most of the crowd was able to identify every song after the first couple of notes. These people really love their Chris Knight. For a dedicated country artist, he draws a more diverse crowd than anybody: mixed races, equal parts women and men, old men, eighteen year olds, cowboys and punks, all united under the banner of Slaughters, KY's favorite son. Twice, old men randomly pulled out song sheets they hoped to hear, like kids at a Christina Aguilera show thrilled to death that they'd heard all but one song on their lists. If I can help it, I'll never miss a Chris Knight show and, for any fan of country, even marginal ones, I recommend the same.

A couple of observations, though. I was disappointed to find, at the Danny Barnes show, that Dan's had ridded themselves of Pabst Blue Ribbon. A lot of you may be gagging, but it's the cheapest beer there, so fuck it. Dan had a plan, though: he now has it on draft, for the same price no less. This means a full 1/3 more Pabst for $2 and, in the glass, it looks like I'm drinking something high tone...I felt like some kind of tycoon with my pint glass in hand without the expense.

Finally, as some of you may know, I've done on-camera work (and a little voice over work, which is way more fun) for the past two years for ol' Sally Beauty training videos and, last night, it finally bit me. I was standing in line for the restroom when I got a tap on the shoulder. I turned around and some guy is looking and smiling at me. I give a standard, banal response that is supposed to let somebody know that I'm not much for talking right now, but instead, he introduces himself to me...ok, I tell him my name (though I think he heard "Dan," which is not my name, but it's better he doesn't really know it, I suppose) and we shake hands. While still smiling at me, he tells me that he recognizes me from the videos. Wow, buddy, should we kick everyone out and lock the bathroom door? Now, I'm not a man who much likes to be recognized by people I don't know, so this made things uncomfortable to me for a little while, though I was able to shake him and not have to see him again. Jeez...is this how I'm to be known? Some jerk on a video that talks about salon mats? This was before the show, though, and Chris Knight made it all better.

A great time, all in all, and I'm going to see the reunion of Slobberbone tonight. You know what that means. That's right: $2 PBR!

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.