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 Asleep At The Wheel,
now into the early stages of their fourth decade, have never
lost focus of their reason for being. Since its inception in
1970 and through more than eighty personnel changes, the band
has not once wavered from its commitment to spread the gospel
of authentic Western Swing music. Creator and frontman (and only
remaining original member) Ray Benson has a genuine passion for
the genre and a particular respect for the King Of Western Swing,
Bob Wills, as evidenced by the presence of Wills tunes on most
of the band's recordings, including two tribute albums of Wills'
classics: 1993's Tribute To The Music Of Bob Wills and The
Texas Playboys and the sequel, 1999's Ride With Bob.
Both of these exquisitely produced and exceptionally enjoyable
collections featured a who's who of guest artists.
Wills' music also dominates Asleep At The Wheel's live performances.
The set for this particular evening opened with a strategically
placed and superbly executed rendition of "Cherokee Maiden",
which immediately grabbed the attention of the audience. Since
it worked so well, they continued the up-tempo, high-energy pace
by following up with a string of favorites, including "Miles
and Miles of Texas," "Don't Fence Me In," "Roly
Poly," and even sneaking in a George Strait-penned original
offering, "I Can't See Texas From Here," which featured
fiddler extraordinaire Jason Robert' on lead vocals.
Benson slowed things down with "If I Needed You," a
gem left for us by the late Townes van Zandt. The band later
also paid tribute to another Texas songwriting treasure, Cindy
Walker, performing "You're From Texas" and "You
Don't Know Me," the latter showcasing hauntingly beautiful
saxophone accompaniment from the steel guitar player Jim Murphy.
Asleep At The Wheel is not exactly the most exciting show to
watch in a live concert setting. We weren't treated to a lot
of maniacal leaping around the stage, nor did Benson fly over
the crowd the way Garth did when he was "wowing" the
crowds on his tours, in one of his many cheesy attempts to justify
ridiculous ticket prices and distract concert-goers from a mostly
lackluster set of music --- but I digress --- and anyway, do
we really want to see Ray fly like that? Ray did show some signs
of movement during an energetic rendering of "Java Jive,"
as he briefly kicked his legs in rhythm like a Rockette, adding
his impersonation of jazz great Louis Armstrong in the following
verse. Definitely the visual highlight of the evening's festivities.
The band's focus is decidedly all about the music and on that
front, they deliver.
There is also a very good reason for the audience's willingness
to overlook the relatively short set -- one hour and twenty minutes.
That's because the band, seemingly with ease and absolutely with
enviable style and grace, packs the time with so many recognizable
standards and favorites that you are bound to leave the building
satisfied after "Faded Love," Take Me Back To Tulsa,"
"Big Ball's In Cowtown," "Hot Rod Lincoln,"
and "House of Blue Lights." I'm guessing you don't
get to hear classics like these at Kenny Chesney or Toby Keith
concerts. Even if you did, they would most likely not be performed
with the same attention to authenticity and musicianship as the
renditions so eloquently delivered by Asleep At The Wheel. In
addition, Ray Benson still remains one of the more impressive
and commanding presences to take the stage. He is undeniably
and confidently in charge of this well-oiled "Wheel"
for the duration.
After closing the show with "House of Blue Lights,"
the band was coaxed back to the stage by a standing and loudly
appreciative audience for an encore of "Cotton-Eyed Joe"
before calling it a night.
In the words of the band's motto: "Western Swing ain't
dead, it's Asleep At The Wheel.
*To find out more about Asleep At The Wheel or to purchase
CD's go to www.asleepatthewheel.biz
Photo courtesy www.asleepatthewheel.biz
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