Tag Archives: Terminal West

Brent Cobb Pulls Double Duty With Acoustic Shows In Atlanta, GA

By Joshua Wallace
Photography By Joshua Wallace

I had the chance to catch Brent Cobb’s A Night Of Fine Acoustic Country Music Tour this past Wednesday night February 26th, 2020 in Atlanta, GA at Terminal West.  Brent Cobb actually had two shows this evening due to the initial show selling out quickly. These were duo shows featuring Brent on acoustic guitar and his regular guitar player Mike Harris on electric.  It was set up like the two were on their own front porch picking songs and hanging out with a few hundred friends. The opening act for this tour is Maddie Medley. I didn’t have much experience with her music before the show.  She only has one song out on Spotify with the promise of more to come soon. She played the same set both shows so I will cover her music once.

Maddie Medley was a solo act for these shows with an electric guitar.  Her voice is deep and rich and her songs are very personal. A stand out was “Edith” which she says is about if she has a daughter.  She sings about the things she would teach her future daughter about and how she would raise her in this world. The song she ended with was “Coming Of Age” which is the song you can hear on Spotify.  It’s a bit more upbeat than the rest of her set, but still a very personal song that looks inward. I hope to be able to hear more of her music in the near future.

Brent Cobb’s set began shortly after Maddie Medley’s set and you could tell it was going to be a fun evening from the start.  It was a very loose affair and the first show of the evening even had no set list. He kicked things off with a brand new song called “Keep ‘Em On Their Toes” which you can hear a snippet of in a video from the recording sessions of his next album on Twitter.  From there he got into a couple of songs from his last new album with “Mornin’s Gonna Come” and “Sucker For A Good Time”. Mike Harris was a great accompaniment for this set as he made the smooth songs still slow and smooth and the rocking songs still rocked out.  I particularly enjoyed hearing “Solving Problems” in this setting and the story that went along with it. Brent did another new song called “Shut Up And Sing” which I got a video of. It’s got a great message to it and I hope lots of folks hear it. After a rousing rendition of “Digging Holes”, Brent got a request from the crowd for “Old Shit” which is a song he wrote that Miranda Lambert recorded.  It was great hearing his version of this song and it’s refreshing to see an artist take requests in a setting like this as long as the audience is respectful about it.

I particularly enjoyed this version of “Providence Canyon” stripped back.  It was very smooth and laid back. We got another new song in “Soapbox” in the first set.  Brent does have a new album coming out in the fall and after hearing these new songs live, I’m particularly looking forward to having them on a record.  We got a version of “Black Crow” from the No Place Left To Leave album and it’s cool hearing those older songs live some 14 years after they were initially released.  From there, we got a cool instrumental segway into “Let The Rain Come Down” which was eventually recorded by The Steel Woods. I’m torn on which version I prefer, but Cobb’s acoustic version is great here.  A highlight of the early show was Brent Cobb doing a rendition of Tenacious D’s “Tribute” into “Down In The Gulley” when it got to the part in “Tribute” where you have to play the best song in the world. It was a great off the cuff moment that is what fans come to these stripped back acoustic shows for.

When it came time for the second show, those who were staying for both had to go back outside and come back in with the new crowd of people who were not here for the first.  Maddie Medley performed essentially the same set as she did the first time around so I won’t rehash that. Brent Cobb however performed a different set with a few duplicate songs but an almost entirely different order.

Brent started things off with another new song which I think was called “Ain’t That Enough” before going into one of my favorites from the Shine On Rainy Day album called “Traveling Poor Boy”.  There was also a rendition of “Come Home Soon” from Providence Canyon in the second set that was nice to hear here. There was another new song in this set called “The World Is Ending”. This was my personal highlight of the night.  Sometimes you hear a brand new song live and it just floors you. I’ve had that experience a few times with different artists and I cannot wait to hear this one on the album and for everyone else to hear it. From there, an audience member surprised Brent with a song he said no one requests from the Providence Canyon album called “Lorene”.  I was happy to hear this one live as it’s been a recent favorite of mine and it should be a regular part of the set list, especially on a stripped down acoustic set like this.

I can’t say enough about Brent having Mike Harris on guitar for these shows.  He adds another element to the sound that makes these more than just your regular acoustic sets.  This is especially apparent in heavier songs like “High In The Country” and “.30-06”. Mike Harris got to rock out on these numbers with extended solos and killer riffs that kept these songs rocking but still stripped down from what you would normally get in a full band setting.  The night ended with Brent Cobb starting up “Richland” from No Place Left To Leave before changing up to the slower, appropriate closer of “South Of Atlanta”. I was happy to finally get to hear this one as it’s one of my favorite Brent Cobb songs from any of his records.

I highly recommend going to this tour if it comes near you.  Brent Cobb is a great performer and entertainer in this unique setting.  The tour is set up like two guys picking on their front porch in front of a few hundred friends and it comes off like that.  You get to know Brent between the songs and get to know a little about the songs that you might not hear otherwise. If for some reason you can’t make it out to this tour, there is apparently a new record coming in the Fall for folks like me who can’t get enough Brent Cobb.  I’m already looking forward to the next time I get to see Brent Cobb live because it’s a good show whether it’s stripped back or full band.  Be sure to scroll down to the bottom and get the dates for the rest of this tour.  You can also check Brent’s website for the most up to date tour information.

 

The Terminal West Welcomes Mr. Del McCoury.

 

 

I have been around the country to see The Del McCoury band and the Traveling McCourys in all types of environments. One on my bucket list is getting up to Maryland in May for the annual DelFest, his holy Grail of festival greatness. I have many great friends that annually attend that event, and enjoy my articles, that I have never had the pleasure to shake hands with as of yet. I fully intend to soon rectify that bucket list check off.

This past year has been a very special one for Mr. Del McCoury and his family , as he celebrated his birthday by taking over the Grand Ole Opry naming it the Grand DEL Opry. That night he simultaneously honored his membership of the hallowed institute while they honored him.  We had a nice article up for that HERE.

 

The Traveling McCourys won a Grammy for best Bluegrass album of the year, and I got to finally see them perform at 3rd And Lindsley this past year, where they brought forth MANY surprise guests for jams. It’s always an absolute treat to go see people like Mr. Billy Strings and Mr. Sam Bush.

My other website contributor Mr. Joshua Wallace joined me last weekend for a GREAT weekend of music which began Friday night at the Terminal West. The iconic venue hosted a GREAT SHOW last week, which placed the band at a reasonably early time slot, and the show ended at an equally reasonable time. The venue offers pre show food options in an adjacent restaurant area, however we didn’t eat there as time was short for me running into traffic in every city I rolled through. The hotel I used this time was Comfort Inn Sandy Springs Perimeter, and was an overall nice hotel. The staff was friendly and the accommodations were VERY NICE, including a decent breakfast bar.

The very first song they opened their set with began with Mr. Jason Carter’s Ashland Kentucky fiddle, and it was from the Snapshot album, By Request album and many more. “Bluest Man In Town” was first, which is a slow and sad song of lost love, and creeping shadows during the night. “Travelin’ Teardrop Blues” was the other first song here tonight, which featured some mighty fine banjo work from the younger McCoury boy. The entire band then went into one of their instrumental breakdowns, that feature some powerful turns on leads.

Nashville Cats was next, one of my personal favorite songs he does. The very first time I got to hear that one lve was when he played Muddy Roots in 2015. He played on the wood stage that year, and tore the festival apart in everyway. But man I’ll say this, they sure sound perfect tonight here in Atlanta. “Deeper Shade Of Blue” was part of their set tonight,  as well as another instrumental they called “Backup And Push”.

“I’ll Break Out Again Tonight” features Mr. Alan Bartram on vocals, and is a great classic prison break song. Also, “That O’l Train” was next, I mean we have murder, jail, trains and moonshine…can you ask for more out a Bluegrass show?  I will always hold a special place in my heart for one of Bluegrass last TRUE living Legends.

“I Need More Time” was one of the crowd requests tonight, with an extensive as a catalogue as Mr. Del McCoury has you would think it was impending doom for him to accept songs hollered out by just anybody. He played EVERY SONG the audience called out, like the “Asheville Turnaround” , and of course one of Mr. Joshua’s favorites “Hot Wired”.

Another great prison song tonight was his classic song “Black Jack County Chains”, about the old fashioned chain gangs. He told a really funny story about a man loosing a watch. The lost and found lady’s name was Helen Hunt, and the punchline was Well If You Want Your Watch Back Go To Helen Hunt For It. It was really funny the way he presents jokes with his “Aw Shucks” demeanor, and innocent sense of humor.

‘Get Down On Your Knees And Pray” was one off his 2007 album called “Family”, which also featured “Nashville Cats”. His new 2018 album called “Del Mccoury Still Sings Bluegrass” boasted one of his closing songs called “To Make Love Sweeter For You”. Now, of course the piano was missing from this rendition of that song, but it still sounded GREAT.  He closed with a few more songs before leaving and coming back for an encore, which of course was “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”.

The wonderful staff at the Terminal West, and the AWESOME sound there in that room made this show VERY enjoyable in every way. I wanted to hear “Moneyland” , however it’s OK to not hear everything he could play. He is one of the many that could play for hOURS and STILL not touch upon EVERY good song he has!

Joshua Wallace Covers The Great Peacock, Colter Wall And Paul Cauthen.

Folks as most of you know i cannot be omnipresent, and recently I looked around for some dedicated friends to help me do this. See now I’ll be able to cover more ground through the eyes and ears of others. Mr. Joshua has been my personal friend for many years, and I have a huge deal of respect for him as a person.

With that being said please take a moment to enjoy his coverage of an Atlanta show with these fine artists. I’m sure if this article is as well received as I anticipate we will publish more articles for other bands, that Mr. Joshua writes.

All photos and article content by Joshua Wallace.