No, He Didn't Play "King Tut."

"Ladies and gentlemen, all my life I've dreamed of playing Charleston, South Carolina. Tonight, I'm one step closer to that goal." So began Steve Martin this past Monday night at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center as he fronted what was billed as an evening of music and comedy with the North Carolina bluegrass group Steep Canyon Rangers and special guest Edie Brickell. I was always a little bummed out that I never got to see Martin do his standup act in the 70's. Of course I've owned the comedy albums for years, and have watched Martin's early appearances on Saturday Night Live in that same decade. Wearing that trademark white suit and sporting some wacky stage prop, like the ever-popular arrow through the head, Martin basically deconstructed the traditional standup comedy act and in the process became a comedy icon. The banjo was always included in his standup act, but I guess I never really realized just how good Martin was on the instrument until a few years back when he released "The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo." That album featured Martin playing with the likes of Dolly Parton, Earl Scruggs, Vince Gill, and Bela Fleck. Unlike his previous musical hit, the novelty song "King Tut" from 1978, this was a serious release and showed how talented Martin was on the notoriously hard to play banjo. Not long after, Martin was introduced to Steep Canyon Rangers after the band performed at a party in North Carolina. Martin explained how he and the band met after the first song at Monday night's show, but then added in typical Steve Martin style, "That version of the story didn't go over so well in Hollywood, so I tell everyone we met in rehab."
While I'll never get to see Steve Martin in his "Wild and Crazy Guy" persona, the Memorial Day show allowed me to mix two of my favorite things; cerebral comedy and bluegrass music. One might not think that the two would mix, but if so that "one" has never seen Martin perform in a musical concert setting. In between wisecracks that had the sold-out crowd in stitches ("I don't like to think of Steep Canyon Rangers as my band. Instead, I think of myself as their celebrity."), Martin and the Rangers turned in some quality folk and bluegrass music. Rangers lead singer Woody Platt sang "Yellow-Backed Fly" while Martin cast doubts that "Woody Platt" was his real name. Before playing the title track from "The Crow," Martin gestured to the row of banjos behind him and deadpanned, "I like to think of my banjos as my children, which means that one of them probably isn't mine." The next tune, which Martin introduced as "My Masseuse is Too Chatty," turned out to be "Jubilation Day," a song Martin recorded with the Rangers on the 2011 release "Rare Bird Alert."
Next Martin welcomed singer Edie Brickell to the stage. If you're like me and came of age in the 80's, then you probably remember the hippyish Brickell singing "What I Am" with her band, New Bohemians, on MTV. You know, back when the channel actually played music videos. Brickell married music legend Paul Simon back in 1992 and has quietly continued to make music while raising a family. Martin and Brickell collaborated on this year's album, "Love Has Come For You," and Brickell kicked her portion of the show off with "Shawnee," a Appalachian-flavored tune from the new record. As Martin and Brickell explained between songs, the collaboration started when Martin sent Brickell a banjo instrumental, seeing if she could write some lyrics for it. That one song led to another, then another, until the pair realized that they had an album's worth of material.
Brickell then performed "When You Get to Asheville," one of the prettier tunes on the album. The song, reminiscent of the style of Abigail Washburn, showed that even a quarter-century after her first big hit, Brickell is still that cute, hippy girl from next door. Wearing a simple black dress and cowboy boots, Brickell seemed totally at ease telling stories about growing up in Texas and her inspirations for some of the songs.
For the next song the Rangers and Brickell left the stage, leaving Martin to perform a song solo. Martin was using an iPad next to his microphone stand, presumably for help with chords and lyrics, and he introduced the next song as "Angry Birds: Level 7," which got a big laugh. The Rangers and Brickell soon re-emerged and late in the first set Brickell treated the crowd to more of her lovely voice as she performed the title track to "Love Has Come For You." Beforehand Brickell explained that the song's opening lyrics "She had a child by that man from the bank," had suddenly come to her and she knew it was going to be a good tune. The next song, "Sarah Jane and the Iron Mountain Baby," was inspired by a story Brickell read about a baby that was found abandoned in a suitcase by an older couple that kept the child and raised it as their own. Brickell singing "Woo-woo, baby, woo-woo, you're my baby now," had me reminiscing about Brickell in her younger days. She still has a beautifully breathy delivery that injects an extra dose of emotion into whatever lyrics she happens to be singing at the time. Just before taking a break Martin advised the audience, "By the way, if you're not enjoying the show so far, your'e wrong."
After the short intermission Martin and the Rangers returned to the stage and kicked into "Me and Paul Revere." sung by Platt, the song cleverly told the story of the famous midnight ride from the horse's point of view. Martin then gave Steep Canyon Rangers the stage, and the band performed a gorgeous a cappella song that earned them praise from Martin as only Martin can deliver. "Once you learn to play your instruments to that you'll really have something," said the comedian, earning yet another laugh from the audience. Martin then led the Rangers through another a cappella song, obviously written by the comedian, called "Athiests Don't Have No Songs." The tongue in cheek lyrics had the crowd rolling, and the members of the Rangers had their timing down perfectly.
Brickell returned to the stage and the musicians kicked into "Yes She Did," which Martin promptly messed up on in the first verse. "Let's start over," said Martin, and on the second attempt he stumbled yet again in almost the same place. Looking sheepish, Martin gave it a third try, and managed to hold it together for the song, which actually only lasts about 90 seconds. Brickell and the band performed a few more songs from the new album, including "Siamese Cat," "Remember Me This Way," "Fighter," and "Friend of Mine." "Sun's Gonna Shine" was a beautifully positive tune that would have sounded just fine on that New Bohemians album back in the 80's. Martin then took lead vocals for a change on a new song, "Pretty Little One."
"We've come to our last song," said Martin, earning a collective groan of disappointment from the crowd. "Don't worry," he said in a soothing tone, "Your ticket entitles you to help load the sound equipment into the truck after the show." He then added, "I hope you've enjoyed listening to this music as much as I've enjoyed finger-syncing to it over a record playing offstage." The band then played "Austen's Train," a song based on the poem "Calypso," by W.H. Auden. During the song the entire show was nearly stolen by Steep Canyon Rangers fiddle player Nicky Sanders, who blasted off on a fiddle solo that incorporated snippets of everything from Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" to Dick Dale's "Misirlou." It was one of the most incredible feats of musicianship I've seen in awhile, and when I saw Sanders at the merchandise table after the show, he admitted that about 60% of the solo is improvised on the spot. The musicians returned for a short encore of two songs before sending the audience on its way.
After seeing Martin live I can now honestly say that a large part of the sting of never getting to see him do standup has passed. Martin deftly mixed music with comedy, never overdoing it on either side. He didn't play a bluegrass version of "King Tut" like I was hoping, but with the accompaniment of Steep Canyon Rangers and Edie Brickell, Monday night's show was one of the best I've seen in Charleston so far this year.

A Light Rain's Gonna Fall

You see that stately-looking fellow pictured below? That's David Grant, local writer, former advertising idea man, and a thirty-year resident of Charleston.

Some call him a friend, some a mentor, and I'm betting there are a few folks out there that would like to call him some rude names (hey, we all have a few of those out there in the world). I call him Dad. We've had the typical father-son relationship over the years. As a kid I thought he hung the moon, as a teenager I wondered if there was a bigger nimrod on the face of the Earth, in my early adulthood I thought I knew more than him, and finally sometime in my 30's I realized that I should probably pay attention to him more, because he obviously knows a thing or two. I'm now in my 40's, with a couple of sons of my own. Those boys are currently in the "he hung the moon" phase, but I know it's just a matter of time before I'll be the one getting eye rolls and slammed bedroom doors. I suppose I deserve it.
Anyway, at the risk of this entry becoming some sort of self-inflicted therapy session, let me move on to the real subject here, and yes, it is music-related. One of the things I treasure most about my upbringing is the fact that both of my parents loved music. My late mother was a fan of Elton John, The Beatles, and country music. When I say "country," I don't mean the twangy pop drivel that largely populates the country stations these days, but rather the good stuff like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and George Jones. Being raised by a mother who was just as comfortable watching "Hee-Haw" with me as she was playing her LP of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" on our record player made me very open minded early on to the musical possibilities that were out there. Were she still alive, I have no doubt my mother would still be seeking out new artists to savor.
My dad has a similar eclectic taste in music. My love of The WHO started with him. He's the reason I know who Loudon Wainwright III and Frank Zappa are, and why I got a head start on loving classical music. If you had to take one artist that truly defines who my father is as a music fan though, it would have to be Bob Dylan. As I've mentioned on this blog in the past, he named my little brother Dylan after the singer. I have good memories of hearing him play songs such as "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35" and "Tangled Up in Blue." For years I thought Dylan's voice sounded too weird to be taken seriously, but as I aged I realized that famous nasal quality is one thing that sets him apart from other folk and rock artists.
I finally got to see Dylan live about a decade ago when he played the North Charleston Coliseum. I'd heard that the quality of Dylan's performance was in direct correlation to his temperament at the time, and in the three times I've seen him since then I guess I've been lucky to catch Bob in a good mood each time, because each show has been great. It came to my attention a few years back though that my father had never seen Dylan live. I was pretty amazed to find that out. I guess I'd just assumed that he'd seen the artist perform back when I was a kid or even before I was born. Instead, the biggest Dylan fan I know, at the age of 77, had yet to see the former Robert Zimmerman live and in person. Naturally, when it was announced a couple of months back that Dylan would be playing the Family Circle Stadium on Daniel Island, I knew what I had to do. I bought a couple of tickets in the general admission section on the center court and gave the elder Mr. Grant an early Father's Day gift.
We got to the venue Saturday night under some angry looking skies. With the event being held outside, we hoped for the best as we took our places on the clay court about fifty feet out from the stage. First up was the Los Angeles band Dawes. I had recently reviewed the band's new album, "Stories Don't End," and had been blown away by Dawes' sound. I was anxious to see how well they reproduced the album's soaring ballads live, and the quartet of twenty-somethings definitely didn't disappoint. Lead singer Taylor Goldsmith has a voice that reminds you of Jackson Browne, and when he harmonized on Saturday night with keyboardist Tay Stratharin and drummer Griffin Goldsmith, the hairs on the back of my arms stood up, much like they did the first time I heard Crosby, Stills & Nash mix their vocals together. I could see why this young band caught the ear of Dylan. They play rock music like they did back in the 70's, when names such as Browne, Zevon, Henley, Frey, and Walsh ruled the roost. It was just announced this week that Dawes will be included in the lineup of this year's Southern Ground Food and Music Festival in October. The band is definitely worth checking out when they come back to town.

As Dawes finished its set, scattered raindrops started falling. It wasn't raining outright, but from the way the clouds looked, it was only a matter of time. As the crew finished resetting the stage, the house lights went down, and the giant klieg spotlights at the back of the stage began to glow warmly as Dylan and his band took to the stage. Dylan kept the lighting low throughout the show, possibly to discourage photography. No photo or press passes had been available for the show, but I managed to snap a few shots with my iPhone. Wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a black and white tailored suit, Dylan started in front of a microphone, opening with "Things Have Changed," the Oscar-winning song he wrote for the film "Wonder Boys." He seemed to be having a good time singing a verse and then posing under the lights with the microphone stand. After a couple of more songs Dylan moved over to the grand piano at the side of the stage, where he rolled through songs both old and new such as "Soon After Midnight" and "Early Roman Kings." It took a moment to recognize his loose version of the classic "Tangled Up in Blue," but it was a great reworking of the tune. At the age of 71, Dylan's voice has deteriorated a bit to the point where he sounds a lot like Tom Waits when he sings. Still, there was no denying that the guy still enjoys playing live. Later in the set Dylan performed an absolutely stunning version of another Dylan oldie, "Visions of Johanna," as well as "What Good Am I?" a track off one of my favorite Dylan albums, "Oh Mercy." After a rollicking version of "All Along the Watchtower," which found Dylan again back at the piano, the band bid the crowd goodnight, only to return a few minutes later for a one-song encore of "Ballad of a Thin Man."

Aside from a group of clueless individuals directly behind me who were more interested in discussing fashion and plans for drinking after the show (Really? You're going to talk over "Tangled Up in Blue?"), it was another great Dylan performance. The rain never truly got started, opting instead to just drizzle a bit here and there, and the majority of the crowd was really into the show. I found myself looking at my father's face just as much as I did at the bands on the stage. All during Dylan's set my dad had a little grin on his face as he drank in the experience. It honestly couldn't have gone better if I'd won the lottery and hired Dylan to play a private show for my old man. He can now say he's seen his favorite musician play live, and a stadium full of fans got to stay dry while they enjoyed a great night of music. Thanks, Bob.

Setlist:
Things Have Changed
Love Sick
High Water (For Charley Patton)
Soon After Midnight
Early Roman Kings
Tangled Up in Blue
Pay in Blood
Visions of Johanna
Spirit on the Water
Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
Blind Willie McTell
What Good Am I?
Summer Days
Scarlet Town
All Along the Watchtower

(Encore)
Ballad of a Thin Man