Steve Earle Acoustic Solo (feat. Allison Moorer)

Legend has it that once upon a time the Paramount was a movie theatre, and judging from its present-day appearance I imagine that they would have called it a movie palace - - from its ceiling to the large watercolors that line the walls the place is drop-dead gorgeous. And the acoustics ain't too shabbby either. I took in the show from Orchestra Right Row B.Allison Moorer started things off launching right into the title track of her new album Mockingbird, an especial favorite of mine, followed by "A Soft Place to Fall." When seeing live music mostly I'm watching the hands never quite able to believe that science and manual dexterity can account for such mystery and pleasure but watching for the signs nonetheless. Moorer gave us Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot," another from the new record, then moved seamlessly into "Getting Somewhere." "Both Sides Now" came in there somewhere, and just as I was beginning to get anxious about whether she'd sing "Orphan Train" she got that baby chugging down the rails, leaving me wondering at what you can do with a lone acoustic guitar. Up close and personal I was also really impressed with the power of her voice and the strength of the place it's coming from. She introduced "I'm Looking for Blue Eyes" by claiming that it was the first song she learned to sing at about age three and that she would only sing it if someone would stand her up on top of the piano. And the door being opened for tales of precocity, she couldn't help but to share more. Sweetly she thanked us for being so sweet and assured us that Steve would be out soon. But I for one didn't care, would have gladly listened to her sing all night. Giving it a lovely introduction - - sweet, earnest, heartfelt - - she closed with a beautiful and powerful rendition of "A Change Is Gonna Come."During the break the scattering of empty seats filled, and once everyone had settled in with their beers Earle took the stage. By my count, Earle sang at least eleven of the twelve songs on his new record Washington Square Serenade, and possibly he sang the twelfth and I forgot. Although I suppose it's the same skill set involved in playing guitar and singing, I was continually mesmerized by his playing guitar and harmonica at the same time. What a holy din he made. Not to mention that many of the new songs also required another guy on stage to man a turntable and beatbox. "Oxycontin Blues," played on banjo and "Galway Girl" were two standouts for me. As was the "Up in the house!" riff of some dude up in the balcony. Mid set Earle sang his silly love song for Moorer "Sparkle and Shine" after which she joined him to sing the duet they wrote together "Days Aren't Long Enough." Before they started to sing he turned to her and said "I know, not too fast," and a guy behind me said with great awe and amusement "My God, he's smitten." Moorer remained playing and singing on "Down Here Below" and doing the beautiful descant part on "City of Immigrants." After that, Earle carried on solo, sometimes backed by his beatboxer. One of my favorite moments came during this segment when (predictably enough) he lead us Pete Seeger style in a few choruses of "Steve's Hammer (for Pete)" house lights up. The encore set has dislodged my memory of the original closing song, but when he took the stage again he sang the one that begins "I was born on this mountain" in reference to our mountains. Then "Way Down in the Hole" which made me want to hit the dancefloor, followed by the lovely pair "Jerusalem" which he said he was going to sing until it came true and "Good Night Little Rock 'n' Roller" (don't know if that's the actual title) which he prefaced by talking at length about his sons and brother and the father they'd recently lost. Then for the closer he gave us "Copperhead Road." It was an awesome show and at a price a beat poet can afford.