Undercover of the Night
TCB called it: Ronnie Wood, fresh from the Rolling Stones‘ sold-out Bigger Bang at Houston’s Toyota Center last Thursday, made his way just up the street to the Continental Club to sit in with Faces bandmate and Austin hero Ian McLagan & the Bump Band. Stones backups Chuck Leavell, Blondie Chaplin, and Bernard Fowler were also in tow, with the latter two joining Woody onstage for a handful of numbers. For a full account and pictures see “Phases & Stages.”Chris Whitley, 45, the erratic, enigmatic guitarist who explored the outer fringes of blues-rock on albums like Living With the Law and Din of Ecstasy, died of lung cancer Nov. 30 near his native Houston. A frequent visitor to Austin, Whitley’s final appearance at the Saxon Pub last year was “brilliant,” according to general manager David Cotton. Kyle-based PR firm Propaganda Media handled Whitley’s publicity for several years in the mid-Nineties. “He was an incredibly nice guy,” says Propaganda’s Vickie Lucero. “I remember one time there was a line around Antone’s for his SXSW show, and he walked us all in with him.”
Preceding a banner weekend for the Class of ’05 (Glass Family, Secret Weapons, Casting Couch, Pompeii, Ghostland Observatory, Lomita), Moonlight Towers host an unofficial covers night tonight (Thursday) at Beerland with the Vacation Gold, Youngmond Grand, and the Early Tapes. It’s MT drummer Richard Galloway‘s birthday, so listen for the return of their well-received Abbey Road suite.
This article appears in December 9 • 2005.