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| Otis and the infamous peacock from a previous visit |
It wasn’t surprising to see Otis significantly feature his
latest album release HARDER THAN HAMMERED HELL in his planned set, and although
several of these songs will no doubt over time become firm favourites, it does
mean an increased number of older classic songs will have to be omitted. However
you always have to respect a progressive singer-songwriter to not linger in the
past and to continually have an eye of perfecting their craft. Highlights from
this newish collection during the evening were the opening song ‘Second Best’, ‘Detroit Steel’ and one of
the encore numbers ‘Big Whiskers’.
The latter saw Otis amusingly use the assistance of a volunteer to turn over
the lyric sheets in order to perfect the live rendition of this word-laden
song. The luggage constraints of a wanderlust performer meant the allotted CDs
had sold out at a previous show but these and other songs from the album should
be a must-have addition to any Otis Gibbs admirer.
Having seen Otis on several occasions over the years, a
portion of the stories are often repeated but you never tire of hearing his
account of singing classic country songs as a youngster in the company of a
drunken relative in the honky tonks and juke joints of Wanamaker. Further
recollections of his original hometown (he now resides in Nashville, not surprisingly
the Eastern side) often lead into his classic ‘Small Town Saturday Night’ and this evening was no different.
Amongst the humour, there was the usual touching tribute to a late best friend
who is always remembered in the song ‘Something
More’ with the iconic line “only the good die young”.
Two of the many highlights from this immensely enjoyable gig
were back to back tracks from 2010’s JOE HILL’S ASHES. On a personal note, ‘Kansas City’ has fast become a set
favourite with the line “7 hours in a car, 45 minutes singing in a bar”
perfectly summing up the toil of a travelling troubadour. On the evening this
was paired with the rootsy and earthy ‘The
Town That Killed Kennedy’ where Otis takes you as low as you can possibly
go.
Having previously been present when Otis has a sung a duet
with both Billy Bragg (Sin City) and
Gretchen Peters (Wild Horses), the
only other artist interaction in this show was a Hank Williams cover ‘I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow’.
Although Otis did name check several similar artists including Mary Gauthier
and Sam Baker who have been the subject of his podcasts as well as giving a
timely plug for the upcoming visit of his fellow Nashville resident, Tommy
Womack.
While each Otis Gibbs visit inevitably sees a song turnover,
and on this occasion ‘The People’s Day’
was left out, reassuringly the regular show closer and stunningly beautiful ‘Karluv Most’ stills retains its
rightful place of sending old and new fans home entirely satisfied. This was a
perfect end to an evening which once again cemented Otis as one of the genre’s
most welcome visitors.
