Guy Clark at the Crighton Theatre

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Last Saturday night I had the privilege of seeing Guy Clark in concert at the Crighton Theatre in Conroe with my friend Fernando. This Sounds of Texas concert also featured Slaid Cleaves as the opening act.

This was the first time I had seen Guy Clark perform as well as the first time I had been to a concert at the Crighton.

The Sounds of Texas concert series brought in some great artists this year and I look forward to seeing who they will bring in for next year's series. Having these concerts at the Crighton Theatre in downtown Conroe also works really well. I had not been to downtown Conroe in years and had forgotten how much I like the old courthouse square area. Fernando and I arrived early and had time for a nice bite to eat at the MoonStruck Cafe.

The concert itself began with Slaid Cleaves accompanied by Michael O'Connor. I've seen Slaid perform before a few times at the Mucky Duck. It was nice to hear him in a venue with such good acoustics. Slaid and Michael played a great set featuring some of Slaid's best songs including: "Horeshoe Lounge", "Horses and Divorces", "Wishbone", "Drinkin' Days", "Heart's Break", "Skunk Juice", "One Good Year" as well as his version of Karen Poston's "Flowered Dresses" (a truly great song). It was encouraging to see the audience really getting into Slaid's music. I noticed a long line of new fans waiting to buy his cds at intermission.

Next up was the man everyone had come to see...the legendary singer-songwriter Guy Clark. Guy was accompanied on guitar by the very talented Verlon Thompson who is also a songwriter in his own right. It was a real pleasure to finally hear Guy live in concert.

A few years ago Guy was diagnosed with lymphoma but has now resumed touring. Since this was the first time I had seen him perform I can not tell what effect his illness has had on his voice. He sounded pretty good to me, especially for someone who has undergone treatments for lymphoma.

Guy started his set by announcing that he and Verlon did not have any plan, or setlist, or "clue" as to what they were going to play but that they had "no fear". This prompted various members of the audience to yell out different songs they wanted to hear throughout the set. While understandable it bordered on being disrespectful at times in my opinion.

As best as I can recall Guy's set included the following songs: "Dublin Blues", "Boats to Build", "Let Him Roll", "Magdalene", "Tornado Time in Texas", "Out in the Parkin' Lot", "Stuff That Works", "The Cape", "L.A. Freeway", "Texas, 1947", "Like a Coat from the Cold", "Homegrown Tomatoes", "That Old Time Feeling" and "Desperadoes Waiting for a Train".

Guy took a short break at one point so that Verlon could perform a few of his own songs including "He Left the Road". Then Guy was back for a few more songs and an encore.

Overall I really enjoyed the concert though there were some problems with the sound levels. Guy also had some difficulty starting a few songs as well as trouble remembering some of the lyrics. Still, it was pleasure to see this legendary songwriter perform.

I hope he keeps coming back to play the Crighton.