You Should Have Seen It In Color…

May 4, 2010

Jamey Johnson & Friends

Raul Malo

Irish Kevin's



You Should Have Seen It In Color…

Jamey Johnson

The 15th Annual Key West Songwriters’ Festival wrapped up over the weekend with a series of amazing performances, crazy parties and indelible memories for those who were fortunate enough to participate. Saturday evening, after spending the day at the pool party Kathy & I settled in for a long incredible night.





We started out the evening back at the main stage at the Ocean Key House pier where a full-on concert by Raul Malo and his band was on tap. The crowd was somewhat smaller than I’d expected, but they were certainly enthusiastic and the weather gods blessed us with another amazing perfect Key West evening.





Kathy

Getting to see Raul with the full band is a totally different experience from the acoustic solo shows that we had the pleasure of seeing earlier in the week. The band brings a fullness and energy that is contagious. The crowd really seemed to get into the music which was excellent. The sound was excellent and you could actually hear each word. Raul performed almost all the songs from his recent CD and even performed a wonderful version of the quintessential Cuban anthem, “Guantanamera”; stating that he couldn’t be so close and not play it.

Raul Malo- “Guantanamera”

While the Raul Malo show offered the crowd space to move about and dance, the show we headed to next was quite a different story. Since he started coming to the festival, Jamey Johnson has made a late-night Saturday tradition to host a show at Irish Kevin’s bar on Duval Street. It has become wildly popular, last year it was so crowded that they had to shut the doors and lock in the crowd to keep the crush from the street from forcing their way in.







We were fortunate, in that we had been invited to the special VIP viewing area on the balcony at Irish Kevin’s, which required going through a special entrance down a spooky alley and up some back stairs through the bar’s offices. The balcony proved however to be as crowded, if not more so than the actual floor of the bar, so we soon headed down into the crowd to join the masses for the show.

Jamey Johnson- “In Color”

The show features Jamey Johnson and any number of his friends who join him onstage and take turns playing their own songs, covers and even each others’ songs. Among the many to share the stage over the course of the evening were Dallas Davidson, Bobby Pinson and Robert Earl Keen. It is hard to describe the mood, certainly it was festive. Having never spent a long night in some backwoods Honky Tonk, I can only guess that this night captured the spirit of just such a place.







Robert Earl Keen & Jamey Johnson

The performers themselves seemed to be having as good a time as the crowd, which was massive, but not the unmanageable mess that it had been last year. The doors remained open all night, and by all night I mean well into the wee hours of the morning. There were undoubtedly, large quantities of alcohol consumed, but the crowd remained well behaved and respectful throughout the night.

Robert Earl Keen- “Swervin’ in My Lane”

The show was amazing and was (for us) a fitting finale for the festival. After being out most of the night again on Saturday, we just never made it up and about to take in any of what I hear were excellent shows on Sunday. All in all, it was a fantastic week of incredible music, we can’t wait until next year.

REK