James McMurtry performed at Utah’s finest venue, The State Room on February 24th, 2010. The show had been SOLD OUT for weeks and desperate McMurtry fans working Craig’s List hard for any available tickets. The stoic McMurty dazzled his adoring Utah fans with his guitar prowess, one of a kind voice and stellar songwriting. James often dwells on the darker side of life with poignant, pertinent and powerful ballads than can bring tears to eyes one minute and a healthy rage against the machine the next .
McMurty also holds no punches when it comes to taking it to the mindless like GW Bush and D Cheney. I spoke with James backstage and this soft spoken Texan was as eloquent off stage as he is on and related some wonderful anicdotes from his past shows in and when we talked about Colorado venues he remembered a show in Boulder when the show had to go on even when one of the band members was puking his guts out.
On this night we even got to see him crack a smile when an intense fan removed her bra and threw it at James and it landed perfectly on the neck of his guitar, he left it there for the duration of the song bring a roar from the exuberant crowd.
I’ve been a fan for years and will never forget the first time I heard his classic song “We Can’t Make It Hear Anymore” with the classic lyrics “
Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I’m in Should I hate ‘em for having our jobs today No I hate the men sent the jobs away I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams All lily white and squeaky clean They’ve never known want, they’ll never know need Their shit don’t stink and their kids won’t bleed Their kids won’t bleed in the damn little war And we can’t make it here anymore
The rest of the lyrics to this classic song are at the bottom of this review.
James played songs from his newer music first and then advised the crowd “I’ve saved the older stuff for later in the show” and the last half of the show contained most of his hits from his 1995 album Childish things which caused the crowd to really get into the show and James seemed to reciprocate by digging in hard and laying down some country blues that transformed into full blown rock by the shows end.
Early on it was just James, a cup of coffee and a glass of Wild Turkey. As his career has developed, so has the band. The band close to home has consisted of Lisa Mednick, accordion, Daren Hess, drums and Ronnie Johnson, harmony vocals/bass. Recent tours have included the "power trio" of McMurtry, Hess and Johnson.
James McMurty – Lead Guitar, Vocals
Daren Hess – Drums
Ronnie Johnson, harmony vocals/bass
Tim Holt, sound man extraordinaire and a great guitarist, joined the band for the second half of the show, playing killer likes on his PRS guitar.
James McMurtry (born March 18, 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas[1]) is a Texas Rock music singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader and occasional actor (Daisy Miller,Lonesome Dove). With his veteran bandmates and rhythm section The Heartless Bastards (Darren Hess and Ronnie Johnson) he tours regions of the United States and, increasingly, Europe, for parts of each year, performing in intimate and mid-sized venues, especially those with dancing room for his audiences.
His father, novelistLarry McMurtry, gave him his first guitar at age seven. His mother, an English professor, taught him how to play it: "My mother taught me three chords and the rest I just stole as I went along. I learned everything by ear or by watching people."
Biography
James spent the first seven years of his boyhood in Ft. Worth[2] but was raised mostly in Leesburg, Virginia. He attended the Woodberry Forest School, Orange, Virginia. He began performing in his teens, writing bits and pieces. He started performing his own songs at a downtown beer garden while studying English and Spanish at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
After traveling to Alaska and playing a few gigs, James returned to Texas and his father’s "little bitty ranch house crammed with 10,000 books". After a time, he left for San Antonio, where he worked as a house painter, actor, bartender, and sometimes singer, performing at writer’s nights and open mics.
In 1987, a friend in San Antonio suggested he enter the New Folk songwriter contest. He was one of six winners that year. John Mellencamp was starring in a film based on a script by James’s father, which gave James the opportunity to get a demo tape to Mellencamp.
McMurtry released follow-up albums in Candyland (1992) and Where’d You Hide the Body (1995). Walk Between the Raindrops followed in 1998 and 2002 brought St. Mary of the Woods. In April 2004, McMurtry released a tour album called Live In Aught-Three.
In 2005, McMurtry released his first studio album in 3 years. Childish Things again received high critical praise, culminating in him winning the song and album of the year at the 5th Annual Americana Awards in Nashville, Tennessee. The album was perhaps McMurtry at his most political, as his working-class anthem "We Can’t Make It Here" included direct criticism of George W. Bush, the Iraq War, and Wal-Mart.
McMurtry released his follow up album to Childish Things in April 2008. Just Us Kids continued with the previous album’s political themes and included the song Cheney’s Toy, McMurtry’s most direct criticism of George W. Bush so far. Like We Can’t Make It Here from the previous album, Cheney’s Toy was made available as a free Internet download.
James McMurtry currently resides in Austin, Texas. When in Austin McMurtry and The Heartless Bastards play a midnight set at The Continental Club on Wednesday nights. He’s usually preceded by another Austin roots rock legend, Jon Dee Graham.
Lyrics "We Can’t Make it Here"
Vietnam Vet with a cardboard sign Sitting there by the left turn line Flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze One leg missing, both hands free No one’s paying much mind to him The V.A. budget’s stretched so thin And there’s more comin’ home from the Mideast war We can’t make it here anymore
That big ol’ building was the textile mill It fed our kids and it paid our bills But they turned us out and they closed the doors We can’t make it here anymore
See all those pallets piled up on the loading dock They’re just gonna set there till they rot ‘Cause there’s nothing to ship, nothing to pack Just busted concrete and rusted tracks Empty storefronts around the square There’s a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere You don’t come down here ‘less you’re looking to score We can’t make it here anymore
The bar’s still open but man it’s slow The tip jar’s light and the register’s low The bartender don’t have much to say The regular crowd gets thinner each day
Some have maxed out all their credit cards Some are working two jobs and living in cars Minimum wage won’t pay for a roof, won’t pay for a drink If you gotta have proof just try it yourself Mr. CEO See how far 5.15 an hour will go Take a part time job at one of your stores Bet you can’t make it here anymore
High school girl with a bourgeois dream Just like the pictures in the magazine She found on the floor of the laundromat A woman with kids can forget all that If she comes up pregnant what’ll she do Forget the career, forget about school Can she live on faith? live on hope? High on Jesus or hooked on dope When it’s way too late to just say no You can’t make it here anymore
Now I’m stocking shirts in the Wal-Mart store Just like the ones we made before ‘Cept this one came from Singapore I guess we can’t make it here anymore
Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I’m in Should I hate ‘em for having our jobs today No I hate the men sent the jobs away I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams All lily white and squeaky clean They’ve never known want, they’ll never know need Their shit don’t stink and their kids won’t bleed Their kids won’t bleed in the damn little war And we can’t make it here anymore
Will work for food Will die for oil Will kill for power and to us the spoils The billionaires get to pay less tax The working poor get to fall through the cracks Let ‘em eat jellybeans let ‘em eat cake Let ‘em eat sh$%, whatever it takes They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps If they can’t make it here anymore
And that’s how it is That’s what we got If the president wants to admit it or not You can read it in the paper Read it on the wall Hear it on the wind If you’re listening at all Get out of that limo Look us in the eye Call us on the cell phone Tell us all why
In Dayton, Ohio Or Portland, Maine Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains That’s done closed down along with the school And the hospital and the swimming pool Dust devils dance in the noonday heat There’s rats in the alley And trash in the street Gang graffiti on a boxcar door We can’t make it here anymore
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HST Quote of The Week
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
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