David Allan Coe Live @ The Firehouse....

In my line of Landman work, living arrangements can be fleeting. So a few weeks ago, i had to leave the homestead and head back home to SW Houston. Despite losing the openness and privacy, there are quite a few advantages to the new (old) place: quantity of good friends nearby, reliable internet service, great (hell any) restaurants, and an abundance of LIVE SHOWS.

One particularly surprising find was seeing that David Allan Coe was scheduled to play at Houston's Firehouse Saloon. i didn't even know the original outlaw was still alive, but this long-haired redneck hasn't lost any of his fire.

Coe's music played a large part in my high school career - at least on the weekends. For a couple years, most gatherings ended with a group sing-along of his notorious You Never Even Called Me By My Name - the 'perfect country & western song.'

My expectations for the show weren't particularly high - i expected to get a few of his standards and plenty of four-letter words. But like i said, David hasn't lost one bit of his offensive sprite. He is brutally honest and unmatched in his arrogance - but that has always been his allure.

After a multi-song cover medley to start the show (Hello In There, Please Come To Boston, Drift Away...) a fan near the front seemed to be displeased by the song choice. A drink managed to find its way to the stage, and the encounter that ensued lit the pilot light for the rest of the show. David's drink consequently ended up on this fan's head along with some choice words, and i quote:

"You cunt mother fucker! You think I'm a toy, you bitch mother fucker? I'm 69 mother fuckin' years old!"

Which the rest of the crowd thoroughly enjoyed while the culprit in his Lone Ranger style black trench coat was escorted out the door. After a quick mood shift with Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms, David continued to rant:

"I came here to play music. If you came here for any other reason, you can get the fuck out!"

After mixing in a few more covers (Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain, You Were Always On My Mind...) David Allan Coe reminded us all, quite bluntly, that he's no slouch when it comes to writing his own tunes.

"I'm a great songwriter... For my age, i write still write some great songs..."

David proved his worth by giving us a slew of classic original songs along with a few new ones. As an intro to Willie, Waylon, and Me, Coe informed us that the line in the about Cash helping him get out of prison was no lie. The man was on Death Row in his early twenties, and without going into too much detail, said that Cash saved his life. He sent the song out to his dad and Waylon in heaven, and said that he would've liked to honor Johnny Cash, but "he's probably not where they are."

David rounded out the show and, like the outlaw he is, escaped off stage before his band had finished the last song. If the chance arises, get your ass to a show from this criminal/music man while he's still kicking and screaming.

David Allan Coe - You Never Even Called Me By My Name
David Allan Coe - Please Come to Boston
David Allan Coe - Willie, Waylon, And Me
buy For The Record: The First 10 Years (1974-1984)