Howdy Buckaroos and Buckarettes!
Well, here I am fresh from a road trip to another great Riders in the Sky show, this time at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana. I promised a complete report, and here it is!
While the weather reports all week predicted a completely clear day, I was a little worried to see that Saturday started off almost completely overcast and gloomy. That was worrisome because of the long drive to New Albany and the fact that the show was outdoors! However, when we arrived at IU-SE, the clouds were gone, the sky was blue, the temperature was cool and comfortable, and the evening was great.
It started out with a half-hour warmup by the Juggernaut Jug Band. These guys were...different...that's the word... "different." Musically, they were great! But their material was definitely...interesting. Songs like "The Chicken Tree" and "People Are Strange" really got the crowd going! They were really funny, and incredibly creative (doing jug-band versions of Stairway to Heaven, Purple Haze, and a brief Elvis impersonation), and great musicians! The crowd was ready for anything by the time they left the stage. If you get a chance to see these guys sometime, take it! You'll love 'em!<P>
At 9:00, a local DJ introduced Riders in the Sky. The guys (sans Joey, who had a prior committment in Canada this weekend...***SIGH***) took the stage, rolled up their big sleeves, and did what they do best, put on a show! They did their well-loved classics ("Texas Plains," "That's How the Yodel Was Born," "Back in the Saddle," etc.), new selections from Ranger Doug's solo album (titled, according to Slim, "Monstrous Ego Runs Amuck"; my personal favorite from that album is "Night Riding Song"), selections from Public Cowboy #1, and some new material which we've probably all run into by now ("Cowboy Camp Meetin'"). Having gotten some golden classic requests during the request portion of the show, we got to hear some songs they haven't done live in a few years, like "Shifting, Whispering Sand" (another personal favorite of mine), and in response to my request, they did a wonderful rendition of (you guessed it!) "Desert Serenade."
My big surprise of the night was when Woody played "Arms of My Love," and he sang the lyrics to it! While this has long been one of my very favorite instrumental pieces the boys do, I had never heard Woody sing it (although I did know there were lyrics to it). It's absolutely beautiful, and very moving. I hope this becomes a regular addition to their shows.
Palindrome made an appearance and had the audience in stitches, as usual.
The only down side to the show was that Woody did not do his rope tricks. That was a very small let-down to me, since he was really on the last time I saw a show, and he not only managed to jump through the Cowboy Wedding Band, but he also jumped back through it! I was hoping for another virtuoso performance of the rope tricks, but alas, it was not to be last night!
The audience was entranced by the act (of course!), and a standing ovation brought RITS back for an encore. I was fully expecting to hear Riders Unplugged, but someone shouted out a request for that "recycling poem," and it kinda derailed everything. Ever gracious, Too Slim did do "Reincarnation" for the fan, and we all loved it, but the momentum was kind of lost. They did go into the Looney Toons themes and they did do "He Walks with the Wild and the Lonely," but they remained on-stage and plugged in during it. That's okay. The song is beautiful, unplugged or not!
Speaking of pluged in, during the third or fourth song, Slim's monitor started spitting some really annoying feedback, and the subtle sound man walked back and forth in front of the guys, messing with cords and adding loud pops and hisses to what would have been an otherwise very enjoyable song. He did manage to get the problem fixed, at just the moment the guys finished the song. That's okay, though. The guys were gracious and managed to extract a few laughs from the situation, making sure the audience was happy regardless of what happened. I guess that's the Cowboy Way!
The long and short of it is, the show was wonderful! Once again, Riders in the Sky rode into town and spread some good music, a few laughs, and more happiness in their wake. There's never a disappointing moment at a Riders in the Sky show. They gave their fans what they wanted, a good time with good friends. Thanks, guys!
That's it Saddlepals. 'Til donna j. rides your way once again, so long saddlepals! It's been so good to see ya!
donna j.
Every day...the Cowboy Way!
All photos and material ©1997-2013 by donna j.
