RoBBieQ

 

Me and about 100 plus other patrons at the Hideaway BBQ, starved for silliness, shear talent and creative brilliance were given what we came for last night. Robbie Fulks and his buddy Robbie from Chicago traded licks and sang perfectly together like they had trained their whole lives for this one night. Robbie’s voice seemed strong as ever as he vacillated from character to character, Appalachian soul singer to German Oompah to Pavoratti. His songs too continue to blow my mind. Lines like “Alabama’s great, not the band but the state” are ones that all serious songwriters pray for. They are as elusive as a great golf shot and that’s why we keep going back. Well, lemme tell ya buddy. He hit a LOT of great shots last night and I was really glad I went, even though I had to work for my supper by getting up and singing a few numbers with him. We did “Church Folks” and after that I really wanted to hear him sing my song “Smile Anyway” as his band had been playing it recently and I had not heard it. It had been so long since I had heard it that I was really no help with the lyrics but somehow we struggled through without too much embarrassment. He finished the night as I had heard him do before with a rap-like flow re-assessment of the night’s festivities with constant merchandise reminders thrown in. It was, like he is, brilliant!