Live: Cory Branan @ Cake Shop 10.12.8

If you're like me (and frankly I pray that you're not), Cory Branan came on your radar through Lucero, whether it be the shout-out on Tears Don't Matter Much or through him opening one of their shows. He mentioned last night that he had lived here for a spell, but I was never aware of him playing a solo show in town previously. I've acquired most of his stuff and was pleased to see him in town until I found that it was at Cake Shop. Nice room, decent bartenders, but with the worst scheduling I've encounted in twenty years of concert going and playing

I arrived at the advertised time to find that the order had been switched and Cory was going on last. Cue the normal return home to kill time while The Quiet Life worked through their set. QT seem to be decent enough guys and they have a hell of a lead guitar player, but I wasn't crazy about the songs. They definitely seem to have a good record in them, but them seem a couple years out from really playing their own lane. Inexplicably, Cory was on before I returned, but seemed to already have the crowd in the palm of his hand. He's got an infectious grin that seems likely to get him equal parts pussy and punches, perhaps even from the same person.

More often than not, Branan plays solo, especially outside of Mississippi, and tonight was no exception. A cracked nail made things more interesting, but didn't keep him from knocking out close to 20 songs before his Midnight curfew. He's an engaging performer in the Bob Keen/Todd Snider school of things, keeping the audience thinking and laughing with equal fervor. The faster stuff went over a little better, but it's not like the entire female population wasn't swooning their way through his entire set, either. There were a couple new songs in the set, but tried and true favorites like The Best Looking Waitress in Memphis and A Girl Named Go popped up to keep the crowd happy. He seemed to get the job done, the crowd was bigger than I had seen in some time and ate the set up with a spoon for the most part. This appeared to be the last night of the tour, but I'm hoping Cory Branan comes through again real soon. Keep an eye on his movements here. He's got two records and an EP for your listening pleasure and all three are available here. You know you want them.

Go see Alden Barton and Steve Shiffman and The Land Of No at Pianos tomorrow starting at 9pm.

R