All ATX British Invasion
Slide over KGSR Broadcasts. Where Radio Austin’s 22-year-old fundraising franchise, which this year benefits Seton Medical in addition to mental health services for local musicians by the SIMS Foundation, casts a net globally in culling its annual music benefit, All ATX British Invasion internalizes our English forebears with a homegrown roll call donating their talents for HAAM, the Austin music scene’s Obamacare. Like Broadcasts, these covers from rock & roll’s biggest bang pivot on segues and pairings, beginning with lifelong collaborators Eric Johnson and Christopher Cross tackling the Beatles and Zombies at the top respectively. Ephraim Owens’ flugelhorn solo on the latter could easily apply a nice shade of envy to composer Rod Argent. A Beatles/Stones trade-off, Ruthie Foster’s bump-n-grind blues on “Drive My Car” vs. Shinyribs’ Daptone pocket on “Heart of Stone,” finds an encore in Patty Griffin’s perfectly stoned “Mother’s Little Helper.” Alejandro Escovedo and Ian McLagan imbue Ray Davies’ “I’m Not Like Everybody Else” with more resignation and rage than even the Kinks themselves. And as with 2014 in general, the ladies rule the roost: Erin Ivey’s dreamy hush (Herman’s Hermits), Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis’ tart country (Dave Clark Five), and Amy Cook’s dusky dirge (Gerry & the Pacemakers). The boys stand tall on Black Pistol Fire heavying up the Fab Four and Will Johnson’s indie-fi lacquering of the Hollies. Top of the Pops.
This article appears in December 26 • 2014.
