Concert review: The Tennessee 3 at the Boiler Room in Denton (May 8)

by Josh Hogan of My Denton Music

Friday night at the Boiler Room was a very rare and special occasion, as it is not often that a band with such a rich and illustrious history comes through Denton. The Tennessee 3, the band that actually backed up the legendary Johnny Cash, made a stop here as part of their tour across the United States and Canada marking the 40th anniversary of the epic Live At San Quentin album. First and foremost, I have to give all due credit to The Boiler Room, who rolled out the proverbial red carpet for the band, and did a fine job in allowing such legends to play here in Denton. Despite the slightly odd sight of reserved tables surrounding the stage, the bar did a fantastic job presenting this band.

My only issue with the evening was the time at which it got started and ended. I arrived at the venue a few minutes after 10 p.m., a very reasonable hour to arrive on most nights at any venue in town if you want to catch most if not all of the bands playing. However, to my astonishment, I had already missed the opening band, and a great one at that, The AM Ramblers, as well as about two-thirds of the second band's performance. Ok, perhaps this is my fault. Perhaps I have become spoiled here in Denton to the point where I feel comfortable lollygagging around for a few extra hours before actually having to make my way out to a show. But nonetheless, I was pretty upset about not only missing out on the openers, but also the fact that the night was to end unusually early. As I sipped on my beer and gazed out into the crowd counting the amount of Wranglers and Stetsons in the room, the thought of disappointment flirted around in my head. But it's funny how the sight of one of the most legendary guitarists of all time walking five feet next to you can change all of that.

After being escorted from the back of the room, through the crowd and to the stage, the renowned guitarist and lead singer for the band, Bob Wooton, got the evening started for the headliners. It was a night filled with the hits you would expect to hear, like "Folsom Prison Blues" and "Walk the Line," as well as some others from Cash's lesser renowned albums such as "Give My Love To Rose," which appears on his second-to-last recorded album, When The Man Comes Around, as well as a two others from earlier in his career.

Overall it was a great performance from the group, and it was a pleasure to see them in Denton. Hopefully we can get that time situation worked out for the next time they come around (tongue in cheek) but until then, Friday's performance will do just fine for the folks who were there.