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Brooks & Dunn Rock Cain's Ballroom
Legendary Tulsa Honky Tonk Treated To "No Tricks"
B&D for CMT Special
The
Tulsa: The dance floor is spring-loaded and the luminaries of old school
honky tonk have all played there. So when Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks
took the stage at the legendary Cain's Ballroom -- quite possibly the
honky tonk equivalent of the Filmore West - it was standing room only,
and an obvious culmination of the hardestcore honky tonkers 14 year
odyssey from journeyman musicians to 4x Entertainers of the Year.
"There's something about this place," said Ronnie Dunn from the stage,
"that so much music has just come through here. From Bob Wills to the
Sex Pistols to whatever's happening now, so many acts that have had an
impact have passed through here -- and you can feel that vibe when you
walk in the place."
For Dunn, it had been a three decade route. Although coming of age on
the fringes on the axis of the JJ Cale/Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker/Delaney
& Bonnie/Lost Dogs & Englishmen and Leon Russell worlds, the powersinger
had never played the celebrated home of Bob Wills.
"I've got a contract for us to open for Hank Locklin," Dunn admits with
a laugh. "It was for $200 - and it ended up getting cancelled, but I
kept the contract. I mean, THAT was history, and whether we played or
not, that was my proof that I'd been asked."
Opening with the seminal coming of age anthem "Red Dirt Road" and
drawing on the hits people would obviously expect - "Brand New Man," "My
Maria," "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)," "You Can't Take The Honky
Tonk Out of the Girl," the record-setting duo also drew on some of the
more traditional songs they've cut - "We'll Burn That Bridge When We Get
There," "Got A Lot To Learn," "Used To Be Me Mine." In addition to
performing the fastest rising single of their career, the blistering
turbo-honk tonk "Play Something Country" and "Get Out Of Town" from the
duo's upcoming Aug 30 release.
"It was a big fun night," admits Brooks -- who sent an audience member
to the t-shirt stand with a $100 bill to pick out 4 more shirts and
finish paying for the one he'd bought but hadn't had the money for
earlier in the day. "A place like Cain's is all history. It's one of
those legendary bar rooms where you know everybody's played, EVERYBODY,
so you're just thrilled to be part of it, so you can join the club."
In keeping with the historic overtones of returning to Tulsa, the pair
also played many of the songs written when Dunn was a solo artist
waiting on the dream, including "Neon Moon," "Boot Scoot Boogie," "Hard
Working Man." And it all stands to be seen as part of a pair of CMT
specials coming up later this summer - a compare and contrast take on
the new series "Homecoming" and a no-punches-pulled,
no-bells-and-whistles, music-first/white-hot concert special to coincide
with the release of the previously mentioned August 30 album project. |