5/13/17

Pam and I had tickets to see Chris Stapleton at the Forum.  Unfortunately, Pam was under the weather the day of the show, so I went with Kim, my younger daughter.  I am lucky that Kim, at 29,  still wants to spend time with me, and we have several interests in common, including cars and exercise.  Many times we see the world the same way, and Pam likes to quip, “There they go, four arms and one brain!”

Our musical tastes, however, are not the same.  Pam and I love country music.  Kim, not so much.  And she had had very limited exposure to Chris Stapleton before the show.  So I was excited we were going, but I was a little concerned that she might not connect with his music.  It turns out I shouldn’t have been.

We got to the show early, partly because I hate traffic, partly because I love opening acts, and partly because our tickets included a few pre-show extras, like whiskey tasting, something Kim and I seem to have in common, too.  Once we had our whiskey, we got some food, settled into our seats, and waited for the first opening act, Lucie Silvas, to begin.  While we waited, I wondered why Lucie Silva was the opening act.  Lucas, one of my co-workers who was also going to the show, had played a snippet of one of her songs the other day, and I could not get a handle on the genre.  Nor could I fathom how her music fit within the musical space inhabited by Chris Stapleton and by The Brothers Osborne, the second opening act.  Days after the show ended, I found out the relationship, but by then I didn’t care.  Lucie Silva is an excellent musician.  She has a great voice, and she put on a great performance.

The Brothers Osborne are not a mainstream country act.  Neither is Chris Stapleton.  Though both get labeled as country, The Brothers Osborne, and to a lesser extent Chris Stapleton, can be labeled as outlaw country acts.  What is interesting to me is that traditional Nashville has embraced them.  Of course, traditional Nashville has loosened quite a bit from the original outlaw days of the 70s and early 80s personified by Willie, Waylon, Johnny, Merle, Kris and others.  While the loosening is way more noticeable in the hip hop and rap infused, bass laden “country” songs put out by the likes of Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan and others, it is also noticeable in the rise of alternative acts like Chris Stapleton and the Brothers Osborne.  While I bemoan the former, I cherish the latter.  As far as my musical tastes go, Chris Stapleton and The Brothers Osborne are right down the middle of the fairway.  I was excited to see both of them perform.

I saw the Brothers Osborne last year when they opened for Miranda Lambert at the Greek, and they were great.  At the Forum, they just killed it.  They came out and were spot on from the opening notes to the closing ones.  They have a unique sound, a unique style.  It’s not mainstream, but it sure works for me.  I hope to be seeing them more in the future.

Which brings me to the reason I was sitting in the Forum, Chris Stapleton.  Like many artists I enjoy, Chris Stapleton is genre conflicted.  When someone asks me what kind of music I like the best, I usually respond, “Americana.”  That response usually results in a puzzled expression.  That’s because Americana is not a pure form of music.  It is a mélange of genres, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, and blues.  Americana artists range from household names like Bruce Springsteen,  Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Mumford & Sons, Bonnie Raitt and The Band, to more obscure artists like The Old 97s, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Lucinda Williams, Roseanne Cash, Robert Earl Keen, and Neko Case.

To call Chris Stapleton a country act, which he is for award categories and cocktail party conversation, is a gross miscategorization.  Chris Stapleton is a quintessential Americana act.  He is equal parts bluegrass, southern rock, outlaw country, country blues and probably a host of other genres.  His music resonates with me completely.  He plays the kind of music that I just like to listen to with my eyes closed and absorb without any distractions.  And that is what I did at the Forum.  I sat there with my eyes closed and listened.

Chris Stapleton is a musician’s musician.  His performances was pure, unadulterated, raw, and I was able to shut my eyes without missing a thing.  He was totally focused on delivering high quality music,  No gimmicks.  No shtick.  No selfies.  No cameras.  No glitz.  Not many words of introduction.  No costume changes.  No strutting.  No playing to the audience.  Not even too many guitar changes.  Just a steady stream of absolutely perfect music.  Eric Clapton, arguably the greatest guitar player and musician I have ever seen live, is not an entertainer, either.  He is not dramatic.  He is not flamboyant.   What he is is good.  Damn good.  Chris Stapleton comes as close to Eric Clapton in terms of pure musicianship as I have ever seen.  He was just that damn good.

I loved the show.  So did Kim.  I felt bad that Pam did not get to go, but that, not that I need it, just gives me a good reason to see him again.