Nick Shoulders and the Okay Crawdad: Don’t miss them!
A friend with great musical taste told me that if Nick Shoulders ever played anywhere near me, I had to go see him, so on the coldest night of the year I made it down to Heartwood Soundstage to catch his show. It was worth the trip; Shoulders is a unique artist who totally defies genre-fication. Cowpunk/western/country/folk is about the best I can do, but it really isn’t important. He’s entertaining, engaging, and politically into it. And he’s the best whistler and one of the best yodelers anywhere, with a vocal skill set that is remarkable.
The Arkansas native relies on his family traditions; his parents and grandparents were all singer/musicians (and his dad was a great whistler). After going through a teen punk stage he became more interested in the history and culture of traditional rural country music but maintains a punk sensibility. His most recent album, All Bad, encapsulates a lot about the south. Fittingly, it was recorded in a shotgun house home studio in New Orleans and includes a realistic look at the good and the bad: the wonder of the outdoors, the challenge of the loss of natural spaces, church and state issues, commercial propaganda, and much more. But there’s a tinge of optimism and a call for action as well.
From the title track:
We bury friends and try to share our pain
November hurricanes and acid rain
They built to burn but we will live to maintain
Because it ain’t all bad
And from one of his most popular songs, “Won’t Fence Us In,” a re-write of the classic Cole Porter song:
I wish ancestral lands belonged to indigenous people
And I didn’t have to live in fear of law from the steeple
Does grievance make you strong?
Or is it what makes you feeble?
You won’t fence us in, though you might try
You won’t fence us in, ain’t you listening?
You won’t fence us in.
His long-time band, bassist/harmony singer Grant D’Aubin, lead guitarist Jack Studer, and drummer Cheech Moosekian, are right in step. Solid, straight-forward and never detracting from the music, they’re a great fit. Sadly, they recently announced this will be their last tour with this lineup. Opener Sabine McCalla provided a fine folk-oriented set to kick things off.
This was the second stop on their new tour, covering stops in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. And I’ll echo the advice that was given to me: if you get a chance to see Nick Shoulders and the Okay Crawdad, just do it.
Set list
Lonely Like Me
Blue Endless Highway
Hank’s Checkout Line
Black Star
All Bad
Miss’ ippi
Too Old to Dream
G for Jesus
Turn on the Dark
Won’t Fence Us In
Appreciate cha
Bound and Determined
After Hours
Snakes and Waterfalls
Rather Low
Whooped If You Will
No Fun
Nick Shoulders
Website
Tour Information
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