Richard Hawley at the Troubadour on December 13, 2007

I was racked with guilt even before Richard Hawley stepped on stage. The show was great and the crowd into it but my mind was occupied by the following:

1) I saw my Lady’s Bridge weep - Still haven’t gotten into the new album. I would like to use the hectic holiday season as an excuse but, truth be told, I ended up doing most of my shopping online. I’d have to attribute my lack of attention mostly to my dedication to his earlier albums, especially the last album, Coles Corner. Wouldn’t be surprised, though, if in twelve months time I’m standing in line waiting to get a copy of Lady’s Bridge signed.

2) Blinded by the lights – The second time I saw Hawley perform was over a year ago at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. I was using a pocket sized point & shoot and standing off to the side but as soon as the flash went off Hawley grimaced mid-song. One of the roadies walked through the crowd to ask me to please turn off the flash. I’m fully rehabilitated since now the flash has been substituted with near stop-motion animation-speed photography.

3) At the buzzer – Couldn’t help but watch the Lakers game on TV in the front bar. Had the Lakers been on a long winning streak or if it was close to playoff time maybe it would have been excusable. But neither was the case and I still watched the game before and after the opening band Ferraby Lionheart. Sure the score was fairly close, but it’s not like the purple and gold are blowing out many teams this season.

4) I’m a little (very little) bit Country – I’m horrible at genre-lizing (my iPod will attest to this) so there’s a good chance I’m completely off base for calling Hawley’s music “country”. But I feel guilty that while I love Hawley’s music I never investigate the country section in the music store. I turn my nose up at Stagecoach and I’d rather do community service than listen to the Dixie Chicks. Hawley announced to the crowd that he was honored and thrilled that Bob Lind, a childhood musical hero, was in the audience.

Richard Hawley
Lady’s Bridge
Out now on Mute Records