Why the capo?

This of course is just an incredible performance of Marty and his gang, the tone, the technique, all of it. My question is, why do you think Kenny has a capo on the first fret on this song? Marty is playing it open, and it doesn't seem like a weird key. Whats your guys thoughts?

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Bnatural guitar?

The song is in F and Kenny doesn't like to use barrechords on this one?
Seems he plays out of the "E-position."

He has his guitar tuned down a half step to Eb most likely? Some what of a common thing to do.

Checking with a tuner, Marty is tuned up a half step....the song is in F. The other guitarist doens't want to tune up that half a step, so he capos it all up to pitch.
IT is either this, or the song was sped up 1/2 step after recording.....meaning that Marty was in E and the guitarist was in Eb with the capo to E during the actual recording.
Nice lifting of the lead lick from Johnny Cah's Folsom PRison....in the sense of an homage, I am sure.

I love Country music and this is probably just me but do the artists realize how ridiculous they look with that hair and those outfits?
I guess not.

Of course you should see how I dress every morning. :wink:

Let me preface this by saying I don't know anything about anything.

But I did hear Norman Blake talk about how when he and his wife Nancy are playing, they'll play in the same key, but with capos on different frets so that the two guitars complement each other better, one playing, say, D chord shapes and the other playing a
C chord shapes with the capo further up the neck.

I guess it's actually different chord voicings, right?

Let me preface this by saying I don't know anything about anything.

But I did hear Norman Blake talk about how when he and his wife Nancy are playing, they'll play in the same key, but with capos on different frets so that the two guitars complement each other better, one playing, say, D chord shapes and the other playing a
C chord shapes with the capo further up the neck.

I guess it's actually different chord voicings, right?Well, that's a great technique, but here they're playing the same chord shapes if you think about it...

Nice Neil cover, btw...

Allen, that is one reason for using capos. IN this situation, I don't think that is the case. THey sem to be using much the samse voicings.

FirstBAssman, your observations and Marty's hair makes me think back to Porter WAgner in the '60's....wild 'fenderskirt' combed back greasy look of the rockabilly fellows from the '50's and early '60's...Elvis and all that. IT isn't a new thing, but it is a freedom thing, right? But who cared when Porter said..."Miss Doll, come on out!"...noone looked at Porter's hair! lol Of course, Dolly wan't quite as 'extravagant then as she later became, but that is another subject.

The tune is based on an E riff (in the Green Onions vein) utilizing the open sixth string... they just preferred to play it up a half-step (in F), possibly because the vocals worked better in that key. Marty is tuned up a half step, Kenny is tuned conventionally, and thus needed to capo.

I dig the hair and the clothes!

...Marty is tuned up a half step...Why is that, you suppose?

[QUOTE=FirstBassman;2102995][COLOR="Navy"]I love Country music and this is probably just me but do the artists realize how ridiculous they look with that hair and those outfits?
I guess not."

......brings to mind, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos!

Further demonstrating my ignorance, what song is Kenny lifting a lick from at 1:20?

I'm coming into this thread a day later here Allen, so I hope you get to read my answer:
I think Squier Buyer might have been making a sly reference to the lick you are asking about, it's from the song "Buckaroo" by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos.

Why is that, you suppose?

My guess is that some of the bends he does down near the "E" position could put the intonation slightly off when using the capo - maybe he didn't want to chance the tuning going sour in mid-song.

Another possibility is that thinking in terms of "E" licks while playing with fret markers in the wrong place can be disorienting, even if you are as accomplished on the guitar as Marty Stuart is! Being on TV, and flying around the fretboard like he does... I could see why he would want to make things a little easier to do.