The Bluesbunny - Independent Music Reviews

Justin Townes Earle and The Lost Brothers live at Greenock Wanderers RFC, Greenock

Genetics can only stand for so much. Without getting too caught up in a philosophical and biological debate with myself, look no further than Justin Townes Earle, son of the infamous Steve Earle, to realise that a boy can become a man - his own man - by living and learning from his own experiences. Justin recently took to the lounge of the Greenock Wanderers rugby club and delivered a performance that turned more than a few heads.

To deviate somewhat, it's not often that Buddy Holly and Pete Doherty share the stage with one being dead and the other not far behind. Yes, the comparisons between Bosh and Bark of the Lost Brothers and the aforementioned musicians were freely heard among those in attendance but there was certainly nothing lifeless about this showing from the Irish duo, who mesmerised an appreciative Greenock audience in the space of 40 minutes. Sounding more like the Everly Brothers than their respective look-a-likes, "Wake Me Up" still rings in my head like tweety-birds circling around me, and I'm sure other still feel the same.

 To be the son of a wonderful and troubled troubadour like Steve Earle must be a blessing and a curse. By his own admission, Justin has a rather messed up and misspent youth, which invariably revolved around drugs and girls. Cut to the modern day, and, clean-cut as Cliff Richard (okay, that's unfair), Justin grins at his audience with the gracious exterior of a 1950s rocker, complete with pompadour!

And then there's the sound.

You could be forgiven for assuming that Justin could be a carbon copy of the auld man, playing "the songs my daddy wrote", as was the unfortunate case of Hank Williams Jr. in his teenage years. However, that was far from the case. Armed only with his acoustic guitar, Justin seemed only like an ex-pat Scotsman telling tales of lost love, drugs and women. Truly, seeing is believing. Justin's material - split between songs from his CD, The Good Life, and songs he wrote in his adolescent years - blended perfectly with the covers he chose to play.

Justin Townes Earle is named so after the great Townes Van Zandt - "the best songwriter there ever was!" as Justin let us know with captivating renditions of "Mr Mud and Mr Gold" and "Rex's Blues". Van Zandt owed much to Lightnin' Hopkins and Justin delivered "Burnin' Bad Gasoline" in recognition of this as well. Every song had a story behind it and every word escaped from Justin like they were his dying words. The second set took a bluesy turn with the occasional relapse into the "Bakersfield Shuffle".

Anyone who has caught this immensely talented young man in his travels should really consider themselves blessed. Before long, Justin will have made his own inroads into country music fame and will be able to command mammoth fees for shows in monstrously spacious arenas. The coming years will mean a lot to Justin but, on the basis on this performance, he's on the right track.

Author:  Peter McGee

Justin Townes Earle

The Lost Brothers

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