I heard Dale Watson at the Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, AR on Saturday night. Beautiful outdoor concert, drenched in fireflies.
I hadn't had much exposure to his music until then, but I was very impressed. I'm a life-long, dyed-in-the-wool Merle fan. And Dale has a Bakersfield soul, for sure.
He played a custom tele. Looked like coins inlayed on the top. At first I thought it was an esquire, but as the daylight faded and the stage lights gained more prominence, I could see the exposed polepieces of a neck pickup.
First, let me say that the volume was perfect and the mix was really good. Kudos to the engineer that night. The whole fam damily was there and we all enjoyed it. From my septuagenarian father-in-law to my 6-week old daughter. I'm always so grateful when the sound is right. It makes or breaks the whole night.
What a great band! I loved watching them work together so well. They were:
Dale - a tasty picker and really fun entertainer. GREAT classic tele tones! Fender Mustang amp (maybe a Mustang III V2?) He's a great player. I liked every single song. That's a rarity for me. And he was in fine voice, if you ask me. He mentioned that he was having a little trouble, but man, I wish I could sing like that!!!
Solid, tasteful, dependable drummer (Mike Bernal?) - small kit, mostly using brushes. One of those drummers that was always right there holding things together when they got a little loose. And you never really noticed him unless it was the perfect time to notice him. GREAT harmonies, too.
Upright bass player Lawrence Cevallos. Poor Lawrence was the only weak spot in the mix. The bass notes were there, but sort of indistinct and the mix was missing any of the upright character. He is solid player though. Calm and cool, and added great harmonies. He was using and Aguilar amp with matching vertical cab. Maybe 2x10 or 2x12?
Pedal Steel - Don Pawlak played a mean pedal steel all night long! Classy, tasty, fun. Really entertaining interplay between tele and steel. Don is an obvious pro - he knew exactly how to be fun-to-watch from his seated position. I'm not 100% sure about his amp (it was behind him, from my vantage point). Probably a twin, from what I could see.
I wish I could've found the merch table. It was buried somewhere on the grounds (Shame on you, Crystal Bridges!! You should take better care of the talent you hire).
Thanks for a great show, Dale!
I hadn't had much exposure to his music until then, but I was very impressed. I'm a life-long, dyed-in-the-wool Merle fan. And Dale has a Bakersfield soul, for sure.
He played a custom tele. Looked like coins inlayed on the top. At first I thought it was an esquire, but as the daylight faded and the stage lights gained more prominence, I could see the exposed polepieces of a neck pickup.
First, let me say that the volume was perfect and the mix was really good. Kudos to the engineer that night. The whole fam damily was there and we all enjoyed it. From my septuagenarian father-in-law to my 6-week old daughter. I'm always so grateful when the sound is right. It makes or breaks the whole night.
What a great band! I loved watching them work together so well. They were:
Dale - a tasty picker and really fun entertainer. GREAT classic tele tones! Fender Mustang amp (maybe a Mustang III V2?) He's a great player. I liked every single song. That's a rarity for me. And he was in fine voice, if you ask me. He mentioned that he was having a little trouble, but man, I wish I could sing like that!!!
Solid, tasteful, dependable drummer (Mike Bernal?) - small kit, mostly using brushes. One of those drummers that was always right there holding things together when they got a little loose. And you never really noticed him unless it was the perfect time to notice him. GREAT harmonies, too.
Upright bass player Lawrence Cevallos. Poor Lawrence was the only weak spot in the mix. The bass notes were there, but sort of indistinct and the mix was missing any of the upright character. He is solid player though. Calm and cool, and added great harmonies. He was using and Aguilar amp with matching vertical cab. Maybe 2x10 or 2x12?
Pedal Steel - Don Pawlak played a mean pedal steel all night long! Classy, tasty, fun. Really entertaining interplay between tele and steel. Don is an obvious pro - he knew exactly how to be fun-to-watch from his seated position. I'm not 100% sure about his amp (it was behind him, from my vantage point). Probably a twin, from what I could see.
I wish I could've found the merch table. It was buried somewhere on the grounds (Shame on you, Crystal Bridges!! You should take better care of the talent you hire).
Thanks for a great show, Dale!
