Rodney Crowell at The Prince – 16 April 2009

Rodney Crowell @ The Prince of Wales – 16/4/09

My mind is still buzzing after a great night of music at The Prince, watching Rodney Crowell perform his wonderful songs live. The venue this time round had both seated and standing room. Seated tickets (catering for the baby boomers) were $10.00 extra and well worth it - at least from where I was sitting two rows from the front to the right of the stage. So I had a good view and was able to get some good photos. I took the Canon G10 this time and am pretty pleased with results.

This is the first time Rodney Crowell has toured Australia and hopefully it is not the last. He was accompanied by Will Kimbrough – a superb performer in his own right and a beautifully tasteful guitarist. Rodney was splendid – he has an engaging stage presence and had the crowd in his hands from the start. He also tells amusing stories, particularly one about his ex father-in-law Johnny Cash.

And then there are his songs…they sound even better live, being quirky and well written and could only be sung in Rodney’s distinctive voice, though many artists have covered his songs in the past. Will Kimbrough provided harmony vocals on many of the songs and their two voices together were reminiscent of the Everly Brothers who were my favorite band when I was about 10 years old.

There were many highlights through the night... I very much enjoyed Rodney Crowell’s Johnny Cash tribute song Walk The Line (Revisited), originally recorded on the Houston Kid CD with The Man In Black singing the chorus line. Will Kimbrough did a great job in this role last night.

It was a very fine night’s entertainment. Australia gave Rodney Crowell a very warm reception wherever he played so there is every chance he will return in the near future. I’d certainly go and see him play again.

Set List – ( May be missing a few songs)

1. Rise & Fall of Intelligent Design
2. Sex & Gasoline
3. Moving Work of Art
4. Running Circles Round The Sun
5. Til I Gain Control Again
6. Jewell of The South
7. Riding Out The Storm
8. Still Learning How To Fly
9. Earthbound
10. Closer to Heaven
11. Will Kimbrough solo – didn’t get song title
12. Will Kimbrough solo – Philadelphia Mississippi
13. Will Kimbrough & Rodney Crowell – didn’t get song title
14. I Wish It Would Rain
15. Wandering Boy
16. I Walk The Line (Revisited)
17. It’s Hard To Kiss The Lips
18. Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight
19. Pancho & Lefty
20. Ain’t Living Long Like This
21. I Know Love Is All I Need