John Fogerty, True Believers, Bobby Bare, Junior Brown, Wheeler Brothers
Final SXSW Live Shots
Reviewed by Dan Oko, Fri., March 22, 2013
John Fogerty, True Believers, Bobby Bare, Junior Brown, Wheeler Brothers
ACL Live at the Moody Theater, March 16Fresh off their win for Best Roots Rock at the Austin Music Awards, the Wheeler Brothers played a tight set. One standout: the jangly "Portraits," with A.J. Molyneaux's lap steel grounding the tune in a Texas vernacular as a xylophone breakdown boasting beefy guitars provided a late bridge. Honorary Austinite Junior Brown demonstrated his custom "guit-steel," a hybrid electric guitar and lap steel, along with his signature country baritone. Standing by his wife and rhythm guitarist, Tanya Rae, he got a laugh when he played "My Wife Thinks You're Dead" and a big roar for his 1993 hit "Highway Patrol." Ever the outlaw, Bobby Bare Sr. brought a deck loaded with murderous folk songs, several from his new album, Darker Than Light. The highlight of Bare's short set saw Alejandro Escovedo trade verses with him on his "I Was Drunk." Escovedo returned with the rest of the True Believers to reprise a portion of their powerhouse catalog. With onetime Scratch Acid drummer Rey Washam, the Troobs never missed a beat. Lastly, John Fogerty delighted with Creedence hits – "Born on the Bayou," "Proud Mary," and many more – and batted for the cycle with "Centerfield." His guitar playing inspired, Fogerty was joined by L.A. upstarts Dawes for a new reworking of "Someday Never Comes."
