A Few Songs for a Night in Austin

By Jack Stephen

I met up with one of my oldest friends in Austin. We hung out at St. Elmo Brewery in South Austin; it is a cool scene in a great part of town. Austin used to be all about 6th street and all that nonsense. We used to check out some Texas blues act at the time-honored Joes Generic Bar, which was always fun. Tonight at St. Elmo, it was The Lost Pines bluegrass band. They were freaking solid. It had been a minute since I had seen some live music, so I was especially enthusiastic. The band consisted of an acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, and standup bass. The musicians were killer. I’m not sure who was my favorite; it was a close race between the mandolin and the fiddle player. The musicians were so good they made it look easy, and they were sure having a nice time. 

What song did they play when we sat down? “Ain’t No Trouble to Me” by Guy Clark.

I thought this was a pretty good selection, as it is a fun song blistered by some great lyrics. Guy was one of those great country artists who not only wrote a number of songs covered by all kinds of artists, but he was also a mentor who helped launch a number of other great artists (see Steve Earle for example). My buddy threw the band a tip and requested they play his favorite fiddle song “Orange Blossom Special,” written by Ervin T. Rouse in 1938. I guess it features a pretty amazing fiddle part. Unfortunately, The Lost Pines didn’t know that one. Didn’t really matter, they were crushing.

What song was playing in the bathroom? “Big Iron” by Marty Robbins.

As I relieved myself, I thought about how this was the deep country cut I didn’t see coming. I recalled that I have his album Gunslinger Ballads and Trail Songs, featuring this gem and many others. Marty had a fantastic voice. Don’t forget about the musicians he played with, the guitar player rips on “Big Iron” and other tracks. As I walked out, I was kind of thinking about requesting “Big Iron” to The Lost Pines as a possible song choice, but figured I should just enjoy what they were playing.

What song did they play when I sat back down? “Queen of Hearts” by Juice Newton.

As they prepared to play, getting set on the right key and whatnot, the mandolin player remarked “it’s time for the top of the 1980s.” He wasn’t kidding. This song went to number two on the Billboard 100 for a couple of weeks in 1981. It is one of those tracks where I really have no idea what is being talked about, but I sure have a fun time singing along to it. I figured I better get us another couple of those frozen Mangoritas, which seemed prudent at this point. I sang, “blame it on the Queen of Hearts, though it isn’t very smart,” as I moseyed back from the bar.