Hooch Dupree and the Whiskey Priest
I am still looking for words to describe what I experienced last night.
Hooch Dupree and the Whiskey Priest – aka Alex Dupree and Seth Woods – played an acoustic show last night at Mosaic Community Development. Will turned me on to Alex’s music about a year ago, and I have always liked its haunting, intelligent style. But nothing could have prepared me for seeing this up-and-coming genius in person.
Lots of people play guitar and sing. Some even do it really well. But in the words of one music critic, “There are plenty of songwriters out there with catchy tunes, and the folk singer-songwriter genre is seriously played.” So what do a couple of traveling twenty-something bards from Austin have to contribute?
Brilliant, beautiful things, that’s what. The artistic majesty of last night’s show was indescribable. It felt as if the guitar in Alex’s hands was a useful but inadequate vehicle to express what he was feeling. He wasn’t really playing the guitar; it was more like the guitar was playing him. And that’s what made the evening so mesmerizing. We who watched sensed that we were welcome, yet inconsequential: Alex and Seth were lost in their music, and we got lost with them.
The most intriguing moment of the night for me was the “A-ha!” moment at the end of Alex’s Song “The Annunciation.” He prefaced the song by saying it was “about Christmas,” and the title should have given me a clue as to where it was going. But it sounded to me like a song about a homeless lady in New Orleans. Which it is… sort of.
lady margaret, new orleans
she's the lonely sundial of bourbon street
only child she never dreams
just an empty old vial of amphetamine…
i first saw her highwayside
with a jackal clutched up against her breast
her legs were dirty kneeling down
and her bowl is empty but she does her best
lady margaret, full of kings
i've been on the road too, i've been on the road
so wrap yourself in christmas things
because you have been known too, you have been known
let heaven hold you while you sleep
because the sky is groaning, the sky will groan
let heaven slip inside your sheets
and the weight you carry is my holy ghost…
and if you never dream of love
you will always be mine, you will always be
buried under stars above
you will always be mine, you will always be
give my word his birth
On the CD, the last line is so subtle that you hardly catch it. But in concert, Alex kept repeating it over and over again, catching me up in its sublime impact.
For those of you who weren’t at the concert, you missed something worth seeing. My advice: 1) go to Alex’s and Seth’s websites and listen to some of their music, and 2) always trust Will’s taste in music.
(Hint: you have to click the “Buy Now” link on Alex’s site in order to hear samples of his songs.)
Hooch Dupree and the Whiskey Priest – aka Alex Dupree and Seth Woods – played an acoustic show last night at Mosaic Community Development. Will turned me on to Alex’s music about a year ago, and I have always liked its haunting, intelligent style. But nothing could have prepared me for seeing this up-and-coming genius in person.
Lots of people play guitar and sing. Some even do it really well. But in the words of one music critic, “There are plenty of songwriters out there with catchy tunes, and the folk singer-songwriter genre is seriously played.” So what do a couple of traveling twenty-something bards from Austin have to contribute?
Brilliant, beautiful things, that’s what. The artistic majesty of last night’s show was indescribable. It felt as if the guitar in Alex’s hands was a useful but inadequate vehicle to express what he was feeling. He wasn’t really playing the guitar; it was more like the guitar was playing him. And that’s what made the evening so mesmerizing. We who watched sensed that we were welcome, yet inconsequential: Alex and Seth were lost in their music, and we got lost with them.
The most intriguing moment of the night for me was the “A-ha!” moment at the end of Alex’s Song “The Annunciation.” He prefaced the song by saying it was “about Christmas,” and the title should have given me a clue as to where it was going. But it sounded to me like a song about a homeless lady in New Orleans. Which it is… sort of.
lady margaret, new orleans
she's the lonely sundial of bourbon street
only child she never dreams
just an empty old vial of amphetamine…
i first saw her highwayside
with a jackal clutched up against her breast
her legs were dirty kneeling down
and her bowl is empty but she does her best
lady margaret, full of kings
i've been on the road too, i've been on the road
so wrap yourself in christmas things
because you have been known too, you have been known
let heaven hold you while you sleep
because the sky is groaning, the sky will groan
let heaven slip inside your sheets
and the weight you carry is my holy ghost…
and if you never dream of love
you will always be mine, you will always be
buried under stars above
you will always be mine, you will always be
give my word his birth
On the CD, the last line is so subtle that you hardly catch it. But in concert, Alex kept repeating it over and over again, catching me up in its sublime impact.
For those of you who weren’t at the concert, you missed something worth seeing. My advice: 1) go to Alex’s and Seth’s websites and listen to some of their music, and 2) always trust Will’s taste in music.
(Hint: you have to click the “Buy Now” link on Alex’s site in order to hear samples of his songs.)
posted by Bob | 11:15 AM
3 Comments:
Right on Bob. That is exactly what I experienced as well. there were times I didn't even want to applaud them because it would mean the end of the song, the end of the moment, the end of the movement. It simply was incredibel. How are they not famous yet? Thanks to all who helped put it on.
Will says they are not famous yet because they "just don't have a lot of business sense." They need someone to manage and/or promote them. Their talent speaks for itself.
Funny you should mention that, Bob. I talked to Alex on Sunday night and they've actually invited me to come back to Austin and "manage/promote" them. The commute will be more time consuming than what I'm driving now, but it's doable. And you can still count on me to be late every morning.
...okay, that was all a lie - minus the being 'late everyday' part.
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