As rain pounded on the streets of Madison and snow loomed in the forecast, 400 folk-rock fans headed to the High Noon Saloon, in hopes that Austin, Texas-grown artist, Alejandro Rose-Garcia – a.k.a. Shakey Graves – would bring a little sunshine from his home state on his inaugural trip to Wisconsin.
American folk-rock band Goodnight, Texas opened the show on exactly the right note. They say that their band’s name comes from the mid-point between the homes of its two lead singers, Avi Vinocur of San Francisco, California and Patrick Dyer Wolf of North Carolina. Joined by drummer Alex Nash, the group played songs from their debut LP, “A Long Life Living” like “Meet me by the Smokestack” and “The Railroad.” Clearly Goodnight, Texas made new fans out of a number of crowd members. Vinocur, Dyer Wolf and Nash were in awe at the number of Madisonians who showed up early enough to watch their set. At one point, Dyer Wolf looked up at the packed venue with a gracious twinkle in his eye, held up his New Glarus Spotted Cow beer and said, “Thank you for being so numerous … and punctual.” For those interested in checking out this band, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that their southern gentlemanly qualities are even expressed in their website’s URL, which reads, hiwearegoodnighttexashowareyou.com
After Goodnight, Texas left the sold-out High Noon crown in a good mood, concert-goers were ready to shake it up. The crowd bustled with excitement and girls swooned just at the sight of Shakey Graves stepping out on stage in a trucker hat to plug in his guitar and set up his kick-drum. When the one-man band came out again in his famous cowboy hat, the crowd was in full-eruption mode.
After playing at his third South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in his hometown this March, Shakey Graves started out on his Spring 2014 Tour in the Midwest. The fourth stop on his tour was the High Noon Saloon here in Madison. The artist told the crowd that while they may be disappointed in the next day’s forecast, he was excited to see the snow. He also mentioned that while the climate in Madison may differ quite greatly from Austin, the two cities were not so different. They’re both home to the Capitol, with a big university, lakes, “and lots of drunk people,” said Graves.
Shakey Graves, the ultimate multi-tasker, played in his usual way; kick-drum with his right foot, tambourine with his left, guitar and synthesizer with his hands, and of course, singing with his mouth. And you thought tapping your head and rubbing your belly at the same time was hard.
He wowed the crowd with songs like, “Tomorrow,” “Unlucky Skin,” and “Late July.” Upon mass request, he also played the popular “Roll the Bones,” causing nearly everyone to tap their feet and sing along with him. For those who came out to the High Noon looking for a relaxed, acoustic evening, this may not have been exactly what they were expecting. Shakey came out ready to rock, especially when his friend, Boo came out to join him on the drums for hard-core versions of songs like, “Dearly Beloved.”
After Shakey Graves ended his set with a foot-tapping rendition of, “The Waters,” he invited Goodnight, Texas out to join him in covering the old-time favorite, “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down” by The Band. I think Madisonians could say that they left the High Noon with the beat from Shakey’s kick-drum driving their footsteps and the hope that his first visit to Wisconsin was reason enough to come back soon.