Michael Martin Murphey at The Wildey

 

So, last Friday evening (May 27, 2022), we went to see Michael Martin Murphey at the Wildey.  I  knew Michael Martin Murphey (MMM) primarily from his 1975 album "Blue Sky – Night Thunder", but I knew he had done a lot of other stuff, so it seemed like a good show.  And it was; very good!

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The show was announced with semi-short notice (~5 weeks) sold out pretty quickly.  By the time I went to buy tickets there were maybe a dozen left.  I decided to try out the balcony, the first show (at the Wildey) I've seen from above.  but there are no bad seat at the Wildey, and the balcony is no exception.  In fact, my wife said she prefers the higher angle.  The view from our seats, before the show:

Al Canal did the introductions (as usual) and pointed out that this evening was the 50th anniversary of the release of Michael Martin Murphey's first album, and he added this show to his tour to play on the anniversary.  Thus the short notice.  [Aside:  Wikipedia says it was released 5/25 rather than 5/27, but I'll take the artist's word for it!].

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MMM played without a full band, but with his son Ryan as accompaniment.  He spent ample time telling the stories behind the and the songs, and stories about his life.  It was perfect amount of time, without being excessive.  It made for a very intimate show, perfect for the intimate setting.  

Here's a shot during the show, I try and limit myself to a couple of quick shots between songs:

The show was scheduled to start at 8, but it was probably 8:10 when Al Canal did his intro.  The first set was about 90 minutes, then we had an intermission. They second set started about 10, and ran close to another hour.  They closed with a 2 song encore.  A very full show, we certainly got our money's worth.   

MMM siad some nice things about the Wildey, and it's acoustics, and suggested he might come back to record a live album.  That would be a fun thing to be part of, we'll have to see how good intention match reality.

I didn't log the setlist, but here's a list of most of what he played.  Far from complete, not in order:

Geronimo's Cadillac

Texas Trilogy: Daybreak / Trainride / Bosque County Romance

Backslider's Wine

Cosmic Cowboy

Carolina in the Pines

What's Forever For?

Cowboy Logic

What Am I Doin' Hangin' 'round?

Medicine Man

Wildfire

Road Beyond The View

Riversong

Average Things In Average Ways

"Average photographs are the result of thinking about average things in average ways." - Alex Kilbee, The Photographic Eye 

I really enjoy Alex's YouTube channel, highly recommended.

"...next time you're out photographing, try as much as you possibly can to be present in the moment. To put all of the other stuff aside.  I mean, photography should be a release from the pressures of day to day.  And the more that you are kinda like almost, almost like a Zen sort of thing going on with it, you know, then the more you are open to seeing the possibilities, to starting to see the world photographically. Because you are paying attention to the everyday things that often people just ignore"

That resonates with me....  

The photo below is mine:

May 1972 on the Music Charts

 Late posting this month, sorry...

  Continuing the series of hits -of-the-month, moving to April 1972.  Fifty years ago (Yikes!)

There were 4 weeks in May of 1972, and there were 54 songs that spent time in the Top 40.  That's pretty much on pace with the rest of the year.  And over those 5 weeks, only 2 songs topped the charts: Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" continued at #1 for the first 3 weeks of May (for 6 weeks total atop the charts).  Tge Chi-lites took over the last week with "Oh Girl".  

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 4 weeks of the month. 

1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Roberta Flack - 1.5
2. I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers - 4
3. I Gotcha - Joe Tex - 4
4. Oh Girl - The Chi-lites - 4.25
5. Look What You Done To Me - Al Green - 6.25
6. Betcha By Golly, Wow - The Stylistics - 7.5
7. Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin - 9.75
8. Rockin' Robin - Michael Jackson - 10.25
9. A Horse With No Name - America - 12
10. Tumbling Dice - Rollinng Stones - 12.25

 Not really that great a Top 10 (IMHO).  But not every week can be awesome.

Meanwhile, Nineteen (19) made their Top 40 debut. And this time there's some great stuff headed up the charts that will be making an impact in June:

• Tumbling Dice - Rollinng Stones - 23
• Troglodyte (Cave Man) - The Jimmy Castor Bunch - 29
• I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren - 31
• Mister Can't You See - Buffy Sainte-Marie - 31
• It's Going To Take Some Time - Carpenters - 34
• Song Sung Blue - Neil Diamond - 35
• Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love - Love Unlimited - 36
• Ask Me What You Want - Millir Jackson - 36
• Lean On me - Bill Withers - 36
• Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show - 37
• Love Theme From The Godfather - Andy Williams - 38
• I Need You - America - 38
• Isn't Life Strange - The Moody Blues - 39
• Old Man - Neil Young - 39
• I've Been lonely For So Long - Frederick Knight - 39
• Diary - Bread - 40
• Outa-Space - Billy Preston - 40
• Someday Never Comes - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 40
• Rocket Man - Elton John - 50

Backyard Birds

Goldfinch

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Brown Headed Cowbird

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Ruby Throated Hummingbird (either a female or immature male)

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Chickadee in Flight

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Top 40 Music Debuts in 1972 - May 6, 1972

 The Billboard Charts were released on Saturday 5/6/1972...  Which fed directly into the American Top 40 radio show.  I enjoy looking back at the charts from 50 years ago to revisit the soundtrack of my youth.  I've been doing a monthly rundown for about a year and a half, usually posted sometime mid/late in the corresponding month.  As I was updating my 1971 spreadsheet this morning, I decided to do a quick look at this week, the first week of 1972.  We'll see if this becomes a regular thing.  ughts / comments welcome.

Let's get to it:

At #1 this week was The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, bt Roberta Flack.  In its 4 week at the top, equaling the 4 week runs fir American Pie and Without You from earlier in the year. 

The following songs made their Top 40 debut on 5/9/1972:

• Tumbling Dice - Rolling Stones - #23
• I Saw The Light - Todd Rundgren - #23
• Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love - Love Unlimited - #36
• Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show - #37
• Diary - Bread - #40

That's a pretty strong group of songs, and they're all in my collection.