Margo Price and Paul Cauthen at EMO’s Austin, Austin, TX, January 30, 2018
Review by Stacey Lovett and Photography by Stan Martin
“Wild women don’t worry – they don’t have time for the blues.”
These words hung both on the back wall behind the merch table and heavy in the air at Emo’s east as Austin welcomed a resurgence of genuine music straight from Music City.
Tradition ran thick in both Margo Price and Paul Cauthen’s sets – a revival of sound, content, look, and songwriting from the whiskey-soaked roots of American classic country. Both artists presented lyrics of living – hard living – harkening back to an era in country music where songwriters served it straight and far from the realm of popular formulaic refrains. Hard times crafted content and that raw emotion poured out from the soul both then and now in the artistry of Cauthen and Price.
Paul Cauthen belted out cathartic tracks from his solo debut album – My Gospel – which is indeed his message of surviving life and all it throws at you. Thematic tribulations and lyrical redemption ran strong throughout the night amid fantastically classic showmanship, addressing turbulence and adversity on both social and personal levels, exposing vulnerability and the resulting strength through their bare-all unapologetic songwriting. Cauthen proved a fitting opener as both artist’s lyrics speak to the human condition in a manner lost in mainstream music. Just as the Himalayan salt lamps atop the vintage amps that flanked the stage, their voices purify a genre once soaked in truth but lost to the production of conformity – preaching a gospel known to many but rarely captured as it was this night.
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PAUL CAUTHEN PHOTO GALLERY
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Following the opening set, the stage went dark as Willie & Waylon’s “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” played over the sound system and the band took their places. Margo Price came on stage greeting “What’s up Texas?!” with a lift of her white hat and transitioned right into the band’s lead of “Don’t Say It.” Price showcased her vintage sound right off during “Do Right by Me,” belting out a weighty voice from her petite frame – demanding her message be heard and her fans connect with it. Those fans cheered for the vintage vibe as she broke into “Hurtin’ on the Bottle” and broke into a mid-song medley of George Jones’ “Just Stay Here and Drink” & Austin’s own red-headed stranger’s “Whiskey River.” In her retro western black fringe jacket, she blended the look and sound of yesteryear with the voice of today in her lyrical activism. Margo Price followed that up with another drinking song backed by a prominent slide guitar, singing with the roar of Wanda Jackson and the flair of Tammy Wynette, pronouncing that sound even more so in her cover of Guy Clark’s “New Cut Road.”
The Midwestern-bred songstress wove homages to many outlaw troubadours throughout her set as well as her self-professed love for the city of Austin, showing respect for many of the state’s artists too. She undoubtedly blew away the crowd with her country crooning- exhibiting much strength through the beauty of voice and power of her lyrics. Price represents one of the heavy hitters in a new country counterculture – one which preserves its roots in country but fuses with a dialogue of today. She’s also a powerhouse instrumentally – this was apparent as she jumped on a second set of drums during the musical interlude for an all-out collective jam session with the band then followed with a solo on the keys of “American Made” before bringing the band back with the somber power of “Nowhere Fast.” There’s no questioning the facts of Margo Price’s messages in her songs – its straightforward, raw vision of life – full of introspection and alluring to a generation of thought. Beneath her fringed jacket she donned a “What Would Dolly Do?” jersey tee and it is evident in Price that she’s taken a lesson or two from greats like Dolly in being a honky tonk angel – her power being a creation from her own life – and she translated that power in a show of speedy strumming of “Paper Cowboy.” The tune broke off from there into a solo of each band member before she took the drums once more. Her set quickly changed from a classic country sound to an all-out jam session – an unexpected fusion but one that came about so organically and it worked. Margo Price’s performance shined as much as the dress she wore for her encore; glittering underneath the stage lights she played “Four Years of Chances” before Paul Cauthen joined her back onstage for their lighthearted rendition of Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn’s “You’re the Reason our Kids are Ugly.” She rounded out the night in a heartfelt thank you to the crowd “I mean it from the bottom of my cold dead heart Austin is one of our favorite cities to visit. Tip your bartenders, drive safe and stay weird Austin – I love you!”
As Margo Price follows in the unwavering footsteps of Tammy, Loretta, Dolly and the rest of the country & western matriarchs, she proves in her performance that there’s no need to worry about not upholding tradition. If it’s the sacrifice of “wild women” to offer substance back into country music, then thank you for the fight and may we all find the capacity to hold that same brazen vision.
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MARGO PRICE PHOTO GALLERY
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MARGO PRICE SETLIST: Don’t Say It, Do Right by Me, Hurtin’ (On the Bottle) with I Think I’ll Just Stay Here & Drink and Whiskey River),Since You Put Me Down, Heart of America, New Cut Road, This Town Gets Around, Cocaine Cowboys, All American Made, Nowhere Fast, Tennessee Song, Weakness, Loner, Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine (bob Dylan cover), A Little Pain, Paper Cowboy Encore: Four Years of Chances, You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly (Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn cover), Good Luck (for Ben Eyestone)
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