Relisten

View NotesOne of my all-time favorite Gourds show, it took place the night the Texas Longhorns upset Ohio State on the way to their national championship in football.

The game was great but running late, and I didn't want to miss a second of the Gourds, so I listened to the fourth quarter on the drive into downtown. I got the last spot in the state parking lot on 4th Street up on the roof, where I heard Limas Sweed's TD catch from Vince Young, and what sounded like the whole city below me celebrating.

From there my plan was to barhop my way to Antone's to see as much of the game as possible. First stop was the Fox And Hound (r.i.p.) where I bellied up to the bar and saw the Longhorns pretty much clinch the game. High-fives all around, and I noticed Matthew McConaughey further down the bar. Went to take a leak before resuming my trek to Antone's and people were still high-fiving each other in the men's room. As I was leaving, McConaughey was entering and we exchanged a high-five.

Saw the game end at the Lavaca Street Bar, then raced to Antone's, fearful that I had missed part of the set. Luckily, I hadn't. In fact, it would be more than a half-hour before the show started, which was the only bummer of the night. When the guys finally came out, the vibe was still electric though, I'm sure from a combination of the glow from the game and anticipation of what was to come. I managed to find a sweet spot about three people back in front of Kev, and he opened the show by congratulating the Longorns ("I'm thrilled beyond belief") and we were off.

At some point several songs in, I notice a commotion to my right, and I found myself right next to Matthew McConaughey again. Dude must've been stalking me.
The great show the Gourds were putting on was augmented by the spectacle of watching a line of hotties worm their way up the actor (who mostly had his eyes closed and was tapping out the beats of the songs on his chest) yell something in his ear, and then inch their way back to wherever they came from. It seemed to go on forever.

The show itself is stellar. The already-high spirits just seemed to climb as the show progressed. I was delighted to see months later that so many songs made the cut for Best of the Boots 2005. Check out "Tex Mex Tattoo Pakistani Package Mile" for the proof. As Claude says afterward, "You're only as good as your last song ... which was awesome!" (There were some problems with the stagelights around this time, which explains the "Dark Side of the Moon" reference.)

A great set list: Hooky Junk, All The Labor and Plaid Coat back-to-back, the new Education Song, Jenny Brown, Yoli, and Gin & Juice, which never fails to pop up at Antone's.

This is great stuff.