Almanac Music: 12 sleeps ‘til No Sleep

If you’re up for the intellectual stimulation and melodic arrangements of Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam and The Mavericks, with the dash and sparkle of Buck Owens, Ray Price, Alan Jackson and Hank, you’re in for a treat.

 

I’m talking about local country band, No Sleep Till Texas, who we got to see at the Union hotel on Saturday and man they are a find.

 

Actually, good mate, fellow Almanacker and all round idler, Matty Q and I caught this band at the Union in December last year. When we saw them back then we were taken with the lead singer’s voice, the band and the impressive array of songs from across the decades that they played. Charm and talent. They throw a couple of originals into the mix which do not sound out of place. So, tick. Matt and I left the gig suitably impressed and irresponsibly refreshed.

 

This time round I brought the hard markers. Friends, Grant and Felicity and my better half, Vicki. We had a ball. The band play the 5pm slot, which includes two sets that go through until 7pm. That’s two hours of music. Or, in more technical terms, four pints at least.

 

If you don’t know of the Union hotel, it is a hidden gem of the inner northern suburbs. Just off Sydney Road, nestled in amongst renovated weatherboards and a smattering of small shops. As you step inside you can almost imagine you are in a country town watering hole. The lounge has a good sized bar to one side and a tiny stage in the corner. There are some tables and a lot of standing area. On Saturday the band attracted a crowd of around 100 or so which makes for a packed but not uncomfortable room.

 

The band kicked off with a Dwight Yoakam song and played up a storm of Merle, Buck and others.

 

Country music nails heartbreak better than any other genre except maybe Soul. So, while there are plenty of top tapping tunes, sorrow is never far from the surface. Occasionally a real heartbreaker will strip bare the need of an upbeat melody. This band know when to drop such a bomb and how to deliver it. Halfway through their first set they played, There Stands the Glass, a song by Webb Pierce from 1952.

 

 

I’m wondering where you are tonight
And I’m wondering if you are all right
I wonder if you think of me in my misery

 

There stands the glass, fill it up to the brim
Until my troubles grow dim, it’s my first one today

 

 

Grant, Felicity, and Vicki were enjoying the gig.  Towards the end of the first set they played a Mavericks song. Without revealing too much about my wife, if she was faced with the choice of saving my life or Raul Malo’s (the Mavericks lead singer), well let’s just say, such is life. Actually, if she was faced with a sliding doors moment she’d … you get the drift. So, at the break Vicki was sold. She liked. Early in the second set they played a Ray Price number and Felicity was ready to offer them a record deal and she doesn’t even own a record company.

 

Lead singer, Rick Hart is the band’s heart and soul. He moved seamlessly (impressively) between the various heavyweight artists songs, while lead guitarist, Paul Robertson, added ear-catching licks with splashes and colour, without drowning a song’s intent. The surprise and beautiful reward was Brendan Mitchell’s pedal steel. For local music nuts he was a long standing member of the great Dead Livers back in the late ’70s and ’80s.

 

No Sleep Till Texas play the Pascoe Vale RSL on 17 February and while it ain’t as cool as the Brunswick Ballroom, it is an established Melbourne country music venue. So, do yerself a favour. I heartily recommend them; they are a terrific sounding band. And I heartily recommend country music. The Beatles were lured in the early ’60s, The Stones got to there via Gram Parsons and eventually Robert Plant fell under its spell. No Sleep Till Texas may just be the band that does it for you.

 

 

 

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