Concert review: Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers at The Meyerson (October 27)

by Sarah Crisman

"It's been a lifelong dream of mine to play in this beautiful hall. Today, I feel like I am one step closer to that goal."

Steve Martin is known for many things, but it was his 45 years of banjo-playing that brought him to The Meyerson tonight, Steep Canyon Rangers in tow and jokes enough to keep the casual Bluegrass listeners happy. I listen to a lot of Bluegrass music -- it's a beautiful perk to my job -- but tonight's show stood head and shoulders above any Bluegrass performance I've seen.

Maybe I'm just not used to sitting still (the shows I frequent lend themselves to much dancing), or perhaps I'm just smitten by my lifelong crush on Mr. Martin -- but there was no escaping the beautiful music that filled the theater this evening.

Martin wrote all of the songs performed on stage, save for a few Steep Canyon Rangers originals the band played while Martin wandered offstage with a Shiner procured from the backside of the stand-up bass. His album The Crow enjoyed 12 weeks atop the Billboard Bluegrass Album charts after its May 2009 release.

The Steep Canyon Rangers were recently named Emerging Artist of the Year, and with good reason. The mandolin, fiddle, bass, guitar, and banjo drove home the fact that we were in the middle of an honest-to-god bluegrass show, and not just some celebrity running through his bucket list. He is clever enough to surround himself with musicians who were, as far as I can tell, five of the greatest working bluegrass musicians around today. They are the sort musicians whose instruments seem to be extensions of their very body, so familiar are they with the intricacies inherent to folkloric music.

Granted, we still got some jokes. They weren't bad, either. He had at least two names for every song (label-approved versus "Let's Keep the Minimum Wage Right Where She's At.") It was, in fact, the perfect marriage of comedy and music. Of course, there were some songs with elements of sadness and melancholy, "like the look on my agent's face when I told him I wanted to do a banjo tour."

And yes, King Tut happened. It was spectacular.

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Anonymous

Did you happened to have a camera at this show, and if so, would you be willing to share pictures via email? I desperately seeking pics, as I forgot my camera :(

Mapes84 Anonymous

3 weeks, 5 days ago
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Mapes, unfortunately, Crisman didn't have a camera, and my cruddy iPhone balcony shots aren't worth posting. If we see anything good on flickr, we'll add it.

Meantime, I'll add my two cents on the show:

First, have to underscore that this was a benefit for our friends at <a href="http://www.pegasusnews.com/content-partner/urban-daily/">Central Dallas Ministries</a>. The evening started out with a nice video presentation and obligatory solicitation for the cause. Here's what really stood out for me in their pitch: .91 of every dollar goes straight to aid. That's only 9% spent on admin, which is unheard of for a charity. This also yielded a good joke from Steve: "This year, Central Dallas Ministries had their best net income ever... until they paid my fee."

We had a blast, but I will be a heretic and say that Martin's style of bluegrass isn't my cup of tea. It's very skilled and well-practiced, but a bit precise and antiseptic. There's not the requisite twang I expect from a bluegrass performance. Bluegrass generally makes me think of southern farms and barn dances and his puts me in mind of New England resorts. That was my criticism of his CD and it held true live.

That said, the encore loosened things up a good bit, becoming the exception that proved the rule above. "Orange Blossom Special" (aka the Fiddler's "Aristocrats Joke") smoked, and the bluegrass "King Tut" was beyond inspired.

And the big bonus was that you really got two shows: A bluegrass concert AND a standup routine, as Martin quipped and riffed between every song. It was a great night -- and I hope CDM made out big.

Like our tease photo, not from last night, but these vids from recent performances are pretty much exactly what we saw: