If I had to choose between Dwight Yoakam and the entire catalog of country music, I would choose Dwight and it’s not even a difficult decision. This is not hyperbole. I’m as serious as Doyle Hargraves telling people to leave his house. Sure, I would miss Willie, Merle, and the song “Elvira”; but to me, Dwight Yoakam is country music.
I had this thought last week while watching Dwight destroy at the Hard Rock Casino in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. I literally bought the last available ticket in the very last row and drove solo down I-71 from Columbus to catch the gig. I have seen Dwight many times through the years in all sorts of venues; packed arenas, empty arenas, fancy theaters, an auditorium in Zanesville, OH, a hipster club at SXSW in Austin, a parking lot in Phoenix……every time he was excellent. But this show was the best I have ever seen. It might crack my personal top five shows ever. (You know, that highly subjective list we all have in our heads ready to be debated before the lights come up for the last call.)
I was not expecting this. My seat was lousy. I was driving home directly after the show for work the next morning so I wasn’t in some hyper-party mode or anything that would cloud my judgment. Truth be told, I was prepared to split early if need be. Nothing against Dwight, but I had seen him plenty of times and just wanted to touch base. Catch some tunes and head back down the road.
But halfway through his opening number - a cover of the Carter Family classic, “Keep On the Sunny Side” - I found myself tearing up. I’m not kidding, it sounded so great I literally had to wipe the tears out of my eyes. I didn’t want that song to ever end. I suppose some people find God in ancient texts, or while walking in the woods; this Friday night, I found religion in a casino in Cincinnati. From that he tore Ramones-style into “Please Please Please” and “Little Sister,” featuring his shit-hot picker Eugene Edwards. Eugene had the unenviable task of filling producer/guitar hero Pete Anderson’s brontosaurus-sized shoes years ago after he and Dwight split up. Some of those shows Dwight would shoot him with a hate look like he was thinking, ”I used to play with Pete Anderson and now I’m stuck with this kid right out of music school.” And Eugene looked a little nervous himself. Rumor on the street is that Dwight can be a very “demanding” boss. Another word that has been bandied about is “asshole”.
But tonight, those days and Pete are long gone. Eugene is now the Don Rich to Dwight’s Buck Owens. He is an essential part of this band and the Dwight Yoakam experience.
I cannot pinpoint exactly why I had such a strong reaction to this particular show but I have a theory. The last couple of times I have seen Dwight his acoustic guitar was kind of dirty-sounding and was way up front in the mix. At first I thought the sound guy was having a bad night, but over time it became apparent this was intentional. Nothing Dwight Yoakam does is an accident. He was searching for something. I think at some point he just said F it, I’m just going to ditch the acoustic and play more electric guitar. I don’t take notes during shows. I’m not a journalist, but I bet Dwight played electric 70% of the set. Definitely the opening and closing salvo, which counts for more anyway.
Before continuing, check out this clip of Ain’t That Lonely Yet from the same tour. I get chills hearing a song this good performed this well. It’s a twist on the old version, a little slower with louder, Byrds-style guitars. Honestly, I might choose this one Youtube clip over the entire country music catalog. it’s amazing.
Also of note, Dwight was uncharacteristically chatty while waxing about his days growing up driving through Cincinnati visiting family on both sides of the Ohio river. He talked specifically about memories rooting for the Reds, Bengals and Ohio State Football. Most importantly he mentioned how the pandemic taught him he had taken performing live for granted and he wasn’t going to do that anymore. All this from a guy who used to deny he was even from Ohio and still uses the same introduction, “Will you please welcome, from Hollywood California…” He showed genuine appreciation for folks coming out to see the show. He seemed really happy. The band looked happy too. Or at least less fearful than usual. Same thing really.
The setlist was killer too. Lots of tunes that hadn’t been included recently. Hearing “Love Caught Up to Me,” “Things Change” and “This Time” back to back to back knocked me off my feet. I searched for a proper setlist online but couldn’t find anything official. He hit all his big numbers and other highlights included “South of Cincinnati” (duh) and “I’ll Be Gone” off his debut record and “Nothing’s Changed Here” and “Turn Me On, Turn Me Up, Turn Me Loose” from the outstanding If There Was a Way LP. He closed the set with a raucous, electric “Fast As You” and for the encore teased The Beatles’ “I Got A Feeling” before settling into the Elvis Presley classic “Suspicious Minds.” Dwight often ends the night with this song but on this evening it was anything but perfunctory. It was magic. In fact, not only did I not leave before the encore, I made a mad dash to crash the front row. Next to me was a woman who appeared to be close to 80 years old, dancing with who looked like her daughter and granddaughter. Only in country music do you see three generations dancing to the same song. No doubt grandma was imagining Elvis on that stage, however.
Dwight is not a product of Nashville. He doesn’t play that game. He writes his own tunes. He sings his own songs with that amazing voice. He cuts his own path and occasionally threatens to cut a bad monitor engineer. I encourage you to check out the playlist included and dig deep into his catalog. He is country music. Dwight, you old so and so. You done good.
Colin Gawel plays solo and in the band Watershed. He wrote this at Colin’s Coffee.
Bonus Clips!!! This is the opening I saw in Cincinnati. I started wiping tears of joy around the 2-minute mark. Stick around to watch Eugene Edwards shred.