The Latest Shows We've Recorded

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Corb Lund At McGonigel's Mucky Duck

My wife and I ventured to a McGonigel's Mucky Duck in Houston to check out Corb Lund and his band the Hurtin' Albertans on Friday evening. Having never been to the Mucky Duck before I was very excited to check out this room that I had heard a whole lot about.

The Duck is a little short on space so there wasn't a lot of moving around after getting our seats, a few drinks and some snacks as a substitute for dinner. That probably sounds worse than it really is though. The sound inside the venue was fantastic. The crowd was polite and really into the whole show.

Corb and the band did two sets that infused some of the material from their new record with their great old stuff. [The new record, Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier comes out on November 13th in Canada.] We got a taste of some of those new tunes at Hayes Carll's Stingaree Music Festival in April where he played a few of them during a songswap with Roger Marin and Romi Mayes. It was great to hear those songs modified slightly and arranged for the full band presentation.

I commented to my wife that of all the bands we've paid to see over the years, Corb and the Hurtin' Albertans are the only ones who've never had a change to their lineup. That familiarity, in my humble opinion, a strong work ethic and loads of musical talent leads these guys to be one of the best 4-piece bands around, music genre not withstanding.

The highlight of the show for me was "The Hockey Song" which I had never heard performed live.
There's a new last verse to the song that comes courtesy of Mike Plume that includes mention of the hockey strike from a few years ago. It goes like this here:

Hey Ron MacLean when you save the game don't leave us hanging here
Cause those overpaid pricks with hockey sticks they make too much a year
Holy fuck just drop the puck, boys, have you got no shame
Jesus Christ, get on the ice and play the goddamn game

If they come to your town, go check 'em out. They're coming to ATX tonight and that's exactly what I'm fixin' to do. They'll be in the states for a good chunk of the next few weeks. You can check out their schedule here.

Here's the show....enjoy.


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