Gringo Honeymoon

Bear with me as I strike off in a different direction for a post and then attend to some "administrative" matters.


I'm not a huge fan of "new music". Neither do I care to review new music. My tastes lie in the sounds of yesteryear as evidenced by what I cover between my three blogs. But Texans Robert Earl Keen and Charlie Robison are common ground for me and the missus and when we found out the two were sharing a bill at Dos Amigos Cantina (barroom brawls when Hank Williams III stops through and bull riding on Sundays!) me and Mrs. Westex snatched up tickets pronto for a rare night out this past Friday.

One of our first dates was actually a concert that Charlie Robison shared with the Derailers at Dos some 10 years back so the man has always held a special place in our hearts. I've not all together followed Charlie's career the past 10 years but do have favorites including his great update of Lubbock boy Terry Allen's "Flatland Boogie" from 2004's Good Times while our 4 year old is a fan of the minor hit "El Cerrito Place" from the same album. 2009's Beautiful Day, born out of the split with Dixie Chick Emily Erwin, on Dualtone Records is his strongest effort so far. "Feelin' Good", "Got Nothin' Better To Do", "Yellow Dog Blues", and the title track are sure-fire windows down, volume up favorites.

Though Charlie never touched most of our favorites in his short Dos Amigos set a highlight was when he hit the opening to "Loving County" from his first full length album "Life of the Party". (youtube clip of "Loving County" from a gig in McKinny, Tx last year)



Hearing a room full of Odessa roughnecks and roustabouts yell along was certainly something...

"Well, I loved a girl
She lived out in Pecos, and pretty as she could be
And I worked the oil rigs out in Odessa
To give her whatever she needs

But that girl, she ran with an oil company bum
'Cause the diamond was not on her hand
And he left her soon 'neath the big loving moon
To go out and X-ray the lands

Now I sit in my car at the New Rainbow Bar Downtown
And the frost on the windshield shines towards the sky
Like a thousand tiny diamonds in the lights of Loving County"
-LOVING COUNTY by Charlie Robison

As for Robert Earl Keen... he gets passed off as country music for the Range Rover crowd and fodder for the frat boys - a scene he certainly he cut his teeth on- but the man can write and will someday probably take his place next to other Texas songwriters like Townes Van Zandt and Willie Nelson. On this Friday night and in this place REK and his group were the best band in Texas... rock, country, boogie, psych, folk. They were good, tight, and way down in the pocket for their 90 minute set.

I was flying high when Keen hit "Gringo Honeymoon"...

We were standing on a mountaintop
Where the cactus flowers grow
I was wishing the world would stop
When you said we'd better go
-GRINGO HONEYMOON by Robert Earl Keen

(youtube video below from a Lubbock show)


I first learned of Boquillas del Carmen, Mexico in a 1997 issue of Texas Monthly. It was an interesting piece on the struggles of the small town located across the river from Big Bend National Park. Used to be- in the days before 9/11- one could cross easily enough into Boquillas. You weren't supposed to, but nobody cared. The beauty was it wasn't Juarez or Matamoros or even OJ, all locales full of hustle and bustle. Spots like Boquillas and Santa Elena just up the river were all about being laid back while sipping a beer and eating tiny tacos. Keen's "Gringo Honeymoon" is probably the only song ever written about Boquillas. Everytime I hear it I see a lot of places and a lot of faces.

I've not been back to Boquillas in some time, but I can't get enough of the Big Bend. Every year back I go...

Anyhow... a pleasant, if boisterous evening.

Other things...

I frequently get asked for MP3s and downloads. Unless it's someone related to the recording/artist or we're pals I'm not out to offer free downloads of the music I feature here, over at Diggin' It!!! or on Country. & Western. I understand that some bloggers have built huge followings based on just giving everything away whether it be a major label release, a bootleg, or something Norton or Bear Family just released. I'm not 'down with that'. You want those unrestricted downloads... find people that are in that game. That's not me.

Go buy records. Or buy stuff released by Bear Family, Ace/Big Beat, Norton, Numero Group, Riverman, or Yoga or whoever. Support the guys that support the artists.

I've got good stuff in the works... hang tight.