Braxton Keith turned Liberty Hall into an all-ages honky tonk Thursday night

Nick Spacek,
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Braxton Keith. // photo by Nick Spacek

Braxton Keith
with Caden Gillard
Liberty Hall
Thursday, January 23

Never would I ever claim this job is hard, but it sometimes has its difficulties. After what felt like a week of Christmas, a week of New Year’s, a week of snow, and a week of bone-aching low temperatures, capping things off with a week of political turmoil had me uneasy about attending a country show, given what we’ll call the traditional values espoused by a large chunk of the genre’s fanbase.

Getting off the couch and heading out into temps in the teens is one thing, but the possibility of having to wade into a packed concert venue and deal with politics is quite another. However, I’d already gunned an energy drink and sitting still was not going to be an option, so on went hat, gloves, and coat, and off I went.

The crowd skewed waaaaaay younger than your usual country show. Not 20-somethings, but teenagers and college kids. The usual array of Carhart, worn cowboy boots, and pearl-snap button-ups still made its appearance, though. The razor burn and stubble look was replaced by baby faces all over the place, as well, ably demonstrating the power of social media and YouTube in building a youthful fanbase of folks raised as much in strip malls as they were on a farm.

Braxton Keith had one of the smartest ideas I’ve seen in a tour for a while. Both his and opener Caden Gillard had their entire setup onstage the whole show, meaning there ought not have been the usual half hour of downtime before the headliner took the stage. Gillard and his band could’ve ended, left the stage, and Keith would’ve been rocking into “Honky Tonk City” before 15 minutes had passed. Probably a smart idea when your opener (while talented) isn’t very well known and plays an hour set to kick things off. Or such was the plan, I guess. There was still a pretty big lull, but the playlist of Waylon Jennings, Randy Travis, and Shaboozey kept the audience entertained as they sang along.

Once he got started, though, Keith knew what he was doing. The show ran on rails, with each song going into the next like a Vegas revue. The patter was neat and kept folks focused on the stage, yet never felt pat or rehearsed, except when it needed to be. It’s kind of like getting in a time machine and traveling back to a concert which might’ve aired live on TNN on a Saturday night. It felt like I was in high school again, except there was a lot more Mich Ultra being consumed, rather than one of your dirtbag friends’ lukewarm Natty.

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Braxton Keith. // photo by Nick Spacek

Keith’s array of cover songs feel like the playlist for KFKF circa 1995: Keith Whitley’s “Quittin’ Time,” Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On,” George Strait’s “You Look So Good in Love,” and Eddie Rabbitt’s “Drivin’ My Life Away” all fit seamlessly alongside Keith’s originals, and I’m sure I’m not the first person to notice just how much of his stage presence owes more than a little to Dwight Yoakam and Alan Jackson.

It’s not cosplay, though, what Keith does. Yes, his shirts look like vintage ’90s country merch and his songs evoke a certain era, but everyone is having a hell of a good time. With as many folks as have recreated old-time classic country over the years, it was inevitable that someone would take the energy and musicianship of red dirt and apply it to the ’90s, rather than the ’50s and ’60s. Like it or not, it’s vintage to these kids raised on mom and dad’s Garth Brooks CDs and they’re celebrating the hell out of it.

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Caden Gillard. // photo by Nick Spacek

Opener Caden Gillard used to be a professional bull rider, then became a country singer, which sounds like a country song in and of itself. His songs are honky tonkin’ and hook laden, and despite the majority of the audience very much being there for the headliner, managed to keep their attention for much of his set, despite some antsy audience members when Gillard’s between-song banter would get overlong. Setting the evening’s retro feel early, the third song of his set was a cover of Travis Tritt’s “T.R.O.U.B.L.E.” which certainly didn’t hurt for audience participation, nor did the full-throated sing-along to Brookes & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road.” Gillard and his band might not have been known to much of the audience before he started, but he certainly was by the time he finished.

All photos by Nick Spacek

Braxton Keith

Braxton Keith setlist
Honky Tonk City
Memories Die
Drifter
Quittin’ Time (Keith Whitley cover)
Give Me A Sunrise
Gonna Come Back As A Country Song
Chase You Down
Let Me Love You More
Fall This Way
Devil in Disguise
Neon Dreams
Lonely As The Lone Star
I’m Not Him
Honky Tonk Crowd
Settle For A Beer
Time Marches On (Tracy Lawrence cover)
You Look So Good in Love (George Strait cover)
Cozy
Under Them Neons
Make Up Your Mind
Cold Hard Steel And Sand
A Little Bit Closer
Drivin’ My Life Away (Eddie Rabbitt cover)

Caden Gillard

Caden Gillard setlist
Just Outside of Dallas
Texas Moon
T.R.O.U.B.L.E. (Travis Tritt cover)
Please Don’t Take Her Texas
Odessa
Red Dirt Road (Brookes & Dunn cover)
Silhouette
Hooked
Long Haired Country Boy
Honest Thief
Rewind
Tell Me Why
Finals

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