By Mary Jane Farmer
Corb Lund
Earlier pix of Corb at Loose Wheels
The audience was ripe for Corb Lund and his band of Hurtin’ Albertans when he stepped on stage Thursday night (11/18/10). First the John D. Hale Band, a surprise for this reviewer, opened, and then Two Tons… yes, I said Two Toooonnnnns… of Steel captured and captivated the audience for more than an hour, with stereophonic echos of “Two Tons” continuously thrown back and forth for interaction. Kevin Geil and his band wrapped the audience around their sounds before making way for Lund.
Corb Lund is on tour through the southwest, having driven all the way from Calgary for his Wednesday night gig. He was moving on to Lawton, Oklahoma Friday night, then making his way back north again, a little more slowly on the return, for a sold out gig in Edmondton, Alberta, Canada Sunday. His schedule shows the Thursday night trip to Dallas or this area to be his last one for 2010.
The trip seemed to show on his face, once Corb finished his set and wound his way to the merch table, an important part of every lead singer and band’s gigs. There was less of a spring in his step than usual. But in his music, one would never have known just how hard that much travel could be on him or anyone. He kept up a mix of his story-telling songs interspersed with the occasional love song and the more popular of all, his calvary-style songs. After he sang “Trouble In The Country,” he told the crowd that the southwest audiences were the only ones who got to hear that, because we are the only ones who understand it. The crowd went wild, to use an old cliché.
Scene In Town will keep up with Corb’s 2011 schedule, and as soon as we know something, you will, too.