Floyd, Virginia, Saturday May 21. After a couple of hours driving up some seriously miles of twisty roads especially Highway 8 where your ears pop several times going up the mountain the truck arrived in the funky town of Floyd. I say “funky” because Floyd is one of those towns you can imagine that is very rural and in the mountains but it is totally different and cool. Somehow this hippy oasis in the mountains of Virginia came to be and it draws visitors from all over the country for a huge music festival each year https://floydfest.com/ but that was not why I was here.
I was here because Ray Wylie Hubbard was back for his second visit to this town. As I have documented on this blog I have never had the chance to see Ray play due to our calendars. You can read about the front row tickets I did not get to use recently on my first try if you want to read about Ray and some other stories. https://www.andrewtalbert.com/americana-music/the-night-i-didnt-see-ray-wylie-hubbard-from-the-front-row/
You can also read my story of talking to my pal Bob Livingston from the Lost Gonzo band who told me on my podcast he knew Ray Wylie Hubbard when he was just “Ray Hubbard.” Go check out the podcast…we spent some time talking some interesting musical history. Soon we will do that again. https://www.andrewtalbert.com/turntable-tuesday/turntable-tuesday-jerry-jeff-walkers-viva-terlingua/
So long story short I read the directions wrong on the schedule. I thought the show was at 7:00 but that was the “doors” with the opening act at 8:00. Well at the historic Epperly Mill https://www.epperlymill.com/ there are not really any “doors.” It is located on a creek with parking in a field a short distance from the stage. The stage was adequate and fortunately for the band it had a roof.
Storms seem to find Floyd. On this day there was a huge rain cell headed towards Floyd as we were now about three hours before show time. I had some friends who have a cabin in the area meeting up so the plan was to tailgate before the show and enjoy the country quiet. Well the weather forecast was telling us to try a plan B. We left the lot and went to the Lush Lounge in Floyd which was not too far away. http://lushlounge.net/ The speakeasy was pretty full of patrons down in the bar and lower level so we made our way to the second story where the speakers were playing a 1930’s sounding version of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and I was already smiling. Soon our “server” as she called herself came up and started talking about the menu and the drinks. She knew her stuff and I should pause and say I appreciate people who are good at what they do no matter what it is. I will say she told us about the food which sounded like something off the tech version of the Food Channel and the drink list which was in several ways over my head with some of the ingredients. I am a beer and wine guy who likes tequila… After some schooling as to what goes into a local pineapple margarita I could finally order. http://lushlounge.net/prohibition-cocktails I also picked out the quail which is likely the only bird I eat except for chicken. This plate I had was incredible. Very tasty. So without writing a book about this time I will return to the topic at hand…the show!
The show. Well I enjoyed every moment of it. I really didn’t spend much time taking photos as you can tell from my results. After the drizzle stopped which was not long after the show started I was glad I was there. By the third song Ray brought out “Snake Farm” and had us all singing. Does this song rock or what?
Snake farm, it just sounds nasty Snake farm, it pretty much is Snake Farm, It’s a reptile house, Snake farm, Ugghhh…(You have to shake your arms when you sing that line.)
At some point Ray told a story about a lady driving by on the road earlier in the day near the venue and asking him if he was going to play “Redneck Mother.” He said he doesn’t always play that song. Tonight he did. I was thankful. I sang every line. I streamed some tears of joy. I remembered my teenage days of Jerry Jeff Walker and the Lost Gonzo Band. I remembered the last time I talked to Jerry Jeff. I remembered what a great song this was. I heard Ray say something from the stage on this night. It was a line that was something about these days his gratitude was higher than his expectations. I made a note of that. I was grateful to live the history of this song and enjoy it in this moment. That is what live music is. It is the history and connection. It is the moment.
Next up in my memory bank was another great song from the set. “Drunken Poets Dream” is a favorite of mine. If you watch the video below Ray will tell you the story. I suggest you go to a live show or buy some media directly from Ray. This music is real. I finally got to see it live.
The songs went by very fast. The creek was full and the dark shadows of the woods behind the stage were deep. Ray did a one song encore where he put on his “James McMurtry hat.” He launched into “Choctaw Bingo” and I sang every word.
With that the show ended. Ray walked off into the dark down the creek and I pulled out my flashlight to find my way back to the truck though the wet grass. To sum it up this was a great show that required a road trip and it was on the night Paul McCartney played my backyard. I chose Ray Wylie Hubbard for the evening. I am glad I did.
Support your local artist. Buy media. Until next time I’ll see you, down the road.