Review, Steve Wariner at Stubb's
Written for Steve Wariner's site.
Living in Austin, Texas is a bit like living inside a kaleidoscope: The various flavors of local establishments crash against each other to produce a rainbow of individual experiences, and yet the town retains a coherent atmosphere nonetheless. We have the world-famous South by Southwest music festival; in February I saw an Icelandic orchestral rock group named Sigur Ros; and on Sunday, June 4, Steve Wariner came to play at Stubb's Barbecue.
Stubb's is one of the more eclectic venues in town, with a stacked-stone barbecue restaurant next door to the venue. It was built in the 1960s after Christopher B. "Stubb" Stubblefield, the owner, returned from the Korean War and began opening barbecue restaurants and fairgrounds in Lubbock. Stubb's in Austin has hosted rocker Stevie Ray Vaughan, bluesmen Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and even Linda Ronstadt!
It was here, at sundown, with the temperature close to ninety degrees, that I came and stood on the gravel and waited for Steve to take the stage. There was an air of anticipation as the sunlight faded to a reddish-yellow. More and more people moved toward the stage, crowding around the bandshell, and when the lights came up and Steve appeared with the band, everyone burst into a sustained cheer at once. Steve was in top form as he played, mixing such old favorites as "Kansas City Lights" and "The Weekend" with more contemporary hits like "Two Teardrops" and "Burning the Roadhouse Down," and the crowd was there with him, singing and hollering and pumping clenched fists into the night air.
Steve's set had the manic energy of the last night on the road, and the people gathered to hear it were responsive and friendly. I was truly impressed with the diversity of the audience—there were men and women of all ages, long-time fans and UT students alike, cheering and hollering and singing with him at the top of their lungs. Notably, Texas's own Governor Perry was in attendance, snapping photographs and waving from the balcony.
Halfway through the set Steve stopped for a moment, to talk about how much he appreciates the fans who come to his shows and the listeners that sing along. As his voice stretched into the sustained holler that opens "Longneck Bottle," the crowd erupted into whistles and applause.
The medley that followed, of "Longneck," "Nothin' but the Taillights," and "Where the Blacktop Ends," really showcased the variety of Steve's songwriting skills. That the old-school honky-tonk of "Longneck" could flow so readily into "Taillights'" easy country-rock, and that the thumping, hooky bass of "Where the Blacktop Ends" seemed such a natural conclusion, is quite the testament to the band's wide-ranging talents.
Though they played for an hour and a half minutes with a palpable energy and an infectious enthusiasm, the time came for the set to wind down, as the sun had long since set and the air cooled. After closing initially with the poignant and beautiful "Holes in the Floor of Heaven," Steve and the band came back onstage for an encore amidst the screams and whistles and raised hands of all those gathered around him.
It was a great show for a great crowd of young and old alike. Much as the other concert-goers will attest, the other acts that grace the stage at Stubb's Barbecue will have to work hard to top Steve's dynamite set.