Austin songwriter Slaid Cleaves played Sengthong’s Blue Sky Room in Dunsmuir on Monday night and what a treat it was for the handful of fans who caught the show.
Just a couple tunes into his set, Cleaves announced that there were probably few enough people in the room that everyone could have a request played. Of course that put the pressure on the crowd to display just what kind of Slaid Cleaves fans we were.
I think he’s a stellar songwriter, but I totally blanked. All I could think of was the title track to his great album “Broke Down,” which I didn’t want to request because I know he’s played it a billion times, and a few tunes off his 2006 album “Unsung,” which I didn’t want to request because those are actually cover songs (by fairly unknown writers who are friends of Slaid’s).
It would have been OK to request songs from “Unsung,” because he performed plenty of tunes that he didn’t write. But I wanted to show some respect, ya know.
Fortunately, people around me were a bit more hip.
We got to hear “Lydia,” “Wishbones,” “Texas Top Hand” (Don Walser), “Breakfast in Hell,” “No Angel Knows,” “Drinkin’ Days,” “Horses and Divorces” and “I Like Trains” (Fred Eaglesmith). He also played several tunes from his new album “Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away.” (That’s a depressing title for an album, but it’s a darn good album. I heard it one time before Monday, and with every song, I thought: “That’s an outstanding tune. That’s an outstanding tune.” I had the pleasure of buying it Monday from Slaid and having him sign it.)
If you don’t want to take my word on Cleaves, take Stephen King’s (that writer guy).
“I’m glad I found Slaid Cleaves, because my life would have been poorer without him,” King wrote on the liner notes of his new album. “I know what works for me (in music): what comes across as one hundred percent authentic. Slaid Cleaves is that thing.”
Cleaves was born in Washington, D.C., and moved to Austin in 1991. I get the feeling he’s one of those guys who took his natural talents and studied, worked, pushed, performed, took chances, lived and became a real songwriter. He knows the craft and has something to say.
The album “Unsung” actually says a lot about him. He’s in the mix with a bunch of lesser-known songwriters, and while experiencing a personal dry period, honors them by doing a whole album of their material. Then he comes out with “Everything You Love,” and shows that he’s still just as good — if not better — than he’s ever been.
On Monday night he was accompanied by Billy Bright, a killer mandolin player. When you’ve got songs and a voice as good as Slaid’s, that’s all you need. What a excellent show.
