1/27/17

The Troubadour.  The Troubadour.  The Troubadour.  One of the most iconic small concert venues in Los Angeles.  Located just east of Beverly Hills in West Hollywood, this tiny venue has had huge acts grace its stage for over 50 years.  Pam was one of the lucky few who saw Carol King and James Taylor play there in 1970.  She was even luckier because the Troubadour still had tables then.

We decided to go see Cody Jinks play at the Troubadour.  It was a spontaneous decision, made because we listened to one of his songs based on a random Facebook post.  We liked the song, and we decided to roll the dice and see him perform.  Given our steady diet of big, pop country acts last year, I was excited to see some grittier, singer songwriters that do not rely on staging and gimmicks to put on a show.

Going to the Troubadour is always an adventure.  If you want to stand, which we do not, it is easy.  Just park and walk in.  Of course, you will have to stand for the entire show, something we do not cherish.  The venue has a few rows of seating on the second floor.  These seats fill up fast.  So Pam and I got to the venue an hour before the doors opend and stood in line.  As the old Fram Oil Filter television commercial went, “Pay me now or pay me later.”

Anyway, the show was very good. The opening act, Ward Davis was great.  He had a Chris Stapleton look and sound, meaning he brought tons of soul to his folk country songs.  He has spent years in Nashville singing in relative obscurity.  So long in fact that his first full length album  is titled, 15 Years in a 10-Year Town.  He was easy to listen to, and we really enjoyed his performance.

The second act, Paul Cauthen, was a little more difficult to appreciate.  It was not his music, which was a strangely hypnotic combination of Christian, gospel and rockabilly, as much as it was his delivery.  At times it felt like he was channeling strange spirits as he sang.  I found myself shutting my eyes to avoid the visual onslaught.  He has a HUGE baritone voice that would fill Staples Center without a microphone.  Consequently, he had no trouble filling he Troubadour with his unique blend of high-octane, operatic sounds.

Cody Jinks has finally found his voice.  After years touring with a metal band, he morphed into an outlaw country and then a more or less mainstream country artist.  Of course, he hails from Texas, home to the best outlaw country in the tradition of Willie, Waylon, Robert Earl, Jerry Jeff, Jimmy Dale, etc.  He and his band put on a great show.  They were easy to listen to, even if we had never heard most of their songs.  Given that he has toured extensively before, he was able to deliver a well mixed sound that Pam and I really enjoyed.  We would definitely see him again.