Gillian Welch @ The Majestic in Dallas

[jonzr]

Fantastic.  Stunning.  Beautiful.  This was a spur of the moment thing.  Found out about the show late and decided, "What the hell?"  So I drove downtown, running behind.  Found a scalper and paid $25 for a $27.50 ticket, row K, seat 3.  Great seat.  Found out later that I only missed the first song.  

The Majestic is a beautiful venue, I'd never been there before.  I'm guessing it seats in the 1000 range, hard to say.

Gillian Welch and David Rawlings stood center stage with a small table behind them.  The show was entirely acoustic, but amplified.  Rawlings played his famous 1935 Epiphone while Gillian switched occasionally to a banjo from her six string.  The duo frequently re-tuned between songs and Rawlings often tuned Gillian's instrument while she chatted up the crowd.  "One thing they say about Dallas is they're not a banjo-loving town," as Rawlings tuned said banjo.  She dedicated a song (Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor) to the recently deceased Doc Watson.

"This next song is a bit of a downer," got a roar of laughter from the crowd. Welch had a comfortable presence on stage, she was at home.  She and Rawlings harmonize naturally both vocally and instrumentally.  Many people can record an album, fewer can reproduce it on stage.  When the music is so sparse, there's nowhere to hide.  Welch's voice was pure and clean.  The song arrangements provided ample opportunity for Rawlings to showcase his talent with multiple streched-out solos.

[jonzr]

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[jonzr]

Didn't get many photos since they weren't allowed, but I'm kinda sneaky.

For Six White Horses Rawlings donned a harmonica on a neck holder and for her only song sans an instrument, Welch  slapped her thighs, clapped hands, stomped feet and even danced a little jig during the chorus.

It was a wonderful evening.  The duo engrossed the audience which moved from rapt listening to whoops and hollers and applause after any hot Rawlings solo.  Earlier Gillian had said that she could sing over applause anytime people wanted to show their appreciation for Rawlings' skills and I felt she meant it.

During their first encore Rawlings joked that they couldn't end the evening without a "killing song."

Their last number was to be I'll Fly Away but the crowd was going so nuts they stayed for one more, a cover of the Carter and Cash classic, Jackson.

It was a moving show.

[jonzr]

A little flavor of the show:

http://youtu.be/t_dTFT-KflU

They didn't play Go Ask Alice but it would have been cool if they had.

http://youtu.be/HCHIKgBZgMI