Hello summer! Great live shows abound – inside and out

By JEFF MIERS
June 20, 2024

Hello, music lovers. Back from a little badly needed time off, and ready to grab the summer concert season by the horns. 

Psyched to see that a James McMurtry date has been added to the roster at Sportsmen’s Park, adjacent to the Sportsmen’s Tavern in Black Rock. McMurtry and his band will take the outdoor stage around 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 15. (Gates open at 5 p.m.) 

If you’re not familiar with McMurtry, and you’re a fan of deep, sometimes dark, literate, insightful and poetic singer-songwriter fare with a beautifully twisted take on Americana – and, I mean, who isn’t? – then I’d do a little digging into his fairly vast canon of recordings. (Or you could just take Stephen King’s word for it: “The simple fact is that James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation,” King has opined, and he’s someone who knows a thing or two about truth and ferocity.) 

I fell hard for McMurtry’s wonderfully sardonic musical observations when his debut album, Too Long in the Wasteland, dropped, in 1989. I’d read something in Rolling Stone about the album being produced by John Mellencamp, who was effusive in his praise for McMurtry’s songwriting. McMurtry’s songs struck me as akin to mini-novels, which may not be particularly surprising, given that revered novelist Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) is his father. 

I caught McMurtry on the Too Long in the Wasteland tour at an old, gritty, wooden structure on Rt. 9 in Cohoes, outside of Albany, NY, called Saratoga Winners. Hung out with him a little bit. Asked if I could buy him a beer.

“Waddya havin’?”

“Budweiser,” he deadpanned in his deep Texas drawl. 

Zero pretense. I thought he was super cool. All these years later, I still do. 

His most recent album, The Horses and The Hounds, is widely considered to be one of his very finest. “There’s a definite Los Angeles vibe to this record,” McMurtry said just prior to the album’s release. “The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks. Don’t know how he got in there. He never signed on for work for hire.”

Man. Warren Zevon’s ghost. How cool is that? I’ll see you at the show. 

Hey, if you’re out and about with no particular place to go, check out  RationAles in Williamsville. The laid-back, vibey joint has live music on Thursdays and Saturdays, with full bands 6-9 pm on the patio and solo/duo acts 9 -11 p.m. inside the Taproom. They also offer a Sunday brunch music series 12-3 p.m., on select Sundays. Some upcoming bookings include  The Darts, Ed Wyner, Tim Britt, Omsted Dub System, Girls of Grosh, WNY Dead, Leroy Townes Band, Kevin McCarthy, and Aaron Ziolkowski. Check out the RationAles event page here.

Here’s a curated list of recommended shows happening this week. …

Sugar Mountain presents Estival Festival

Friday-Sunday, June 21-23 and 22, gates open at 12 Noon on Friday at Caneadea, NY. (About an hour’s journey from Buffalo.)

Share

Miers on Music is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.