The Gobblers Knob

Ya know when you are looking at your favorite bands website and as you look for the next time they are playing in your area and you spot a couple of dates that are listed as a “private party??“  I have never been to one of these private jam sessions until this week.  I have long pictured these prepaid shin-digs as swanky wedding receptions and super-sweet 16 parties or some other event where the right kind of band would lend the event an element of rowdiness for a well-to-do family that shells out cash for such intimate affairs.  As it turns out, these “private parties” are likely to be corporate functions that companies with event-planning cash can throw at bands that agree to let old white people (I was a bit younger than most attendees, not much though) dance and party like it’s 1999.  On Tuesday night, I was front and center for the Southern Living Magazine Pickin’ Party at the Texas Travel Industry Assoc. Annual Conference.  The party starred none other than Hayes Carll, Brandon Rhyder and Walt Wilkins.  Seeing as the crowd was relatively small (a couple hundred at most), and strangley enough, many of the attendees hadn’t heard of these top notch singer songwriters, I figured to have plenty of chances to say hello to the guys, talk music, talk babies (or should I say “corner them“), and get them to sign my conference notebook (neat souvenier).  As they took the stage you could sense the uneasiness that the singers felt as they began what was an unusual gig.  Tuesday night gigs are strange enough for these guys, but to play to a seated, mainly baby boomer crowd in a hotel ballroom made it even more unusual, as Hayes Carll would very comically explain later in the show.  As great as the music was, it was the banter between the performers that created a unique vibe.  Hayes displayed the same wit that laces many of his songs as he wondered aloud what convention life must be like for business folks and what kinds of trouble one can get in at the Houston Aquarium.  In fact, he was on such a roll comedically that as he sang, various lyrics to his songs seemed funny, even when they weren’t intended to be.  But that didn’t seem to matter to the crowd that had no clue to begin with or even to Hayes himself.  Walt Wilkins attempted to express his love for Texas through a joke about one of the towns that was represented at the conference.  As the crowd sat silent in shock over this joke (good natured jab really), he looked over at Carll and Rhyder to see them shaking their head at him, as if they could prevent him from offending anyone.  At that point, Carll offered discounted rates for their services to compose theme songs comprised of a city’s “highlights and population.”  As far as the music itself went, it was classic songwriter storytelling as Wilkins blazed through “We’ve all got our reasons,” “Trains I missed,” and ending with “Songs about Texas,” made famous by Pat Green.  Brandon Rhyder displayed a softer tone throughout as he focused on the love songs and ballads from his arsenal, such as “Freeze Frame Time.”  Hayes Carll mixed in some new songs with some tunes from his Little Rock CD including, “Hey baby, where you been?” and the title track.  It was during his rendition of “Little Rock” that the evenings musical highlight was provided.  As Carll strummed closer to the guitar solo, he looked over to Wilkins, said, “you got this one?” and Wilkins shredded an acoustic solo that got the crowd off our feet and showed us just how much fun these artists and friends were having, now that they knew the gig wasn’t as bland as they first expected.  Great show, great stories, great songs.  Here’s to hoping I find myself at a few more “private party” gigs soon.