There's Not Much To Wharton

Wharton's InnKeeper is a cool bar. Hard to describe the place inside, really. A little avante-garde, with some funky artwork and furniture. Mixed with a kick-ass surround sound system, and huge dance floor. If you dropped it into Montrose and shrank the size a bit (it's a huge echo chamber, about the size of New Braunfels' Saengerhalle), it would be perfect. Not quite sure what it's doing in Wharton.

Unfortunately, the acoustics don't match Saengerhalle's. The place has an amazing sound system and a great light system, but it's wasted because the ceiling, floor, and walls don't absord any sound -- it just ricochets like crazy. It doesn't help that the stage faces the short side of the room, or that the surround sound system blasts at every possible angle in a room that reflects sound badly. And the guy at the sound board -- boy, does he like bass! But the room doesn't.

All that said, we enjoyed Randy Rogers, who played an abbreviated set since he was opening. We miss Eddie Foster on the pedal steel, of course, but Brady Black's fiddle is a fine addition to this band. And he REALLY shines on some of the songs. The band's gonna be fine in this new incarnation (no members from the original backing band now). Can't wait to catch the next Houston show -- we've missed the last two, including that bizarro David Allen Coe bill. Randy always plays Houston likes it's the last show he's ever gonna play on earth -- with reckless abandon.

And word reaches us that Cody Canada was bragging up Randy to Tulsa's KVOO on a show recently. Very cool. Randy ought to be more popular in Bob Wills's old homebase outside of Texas. Hope you Oklahomans call KVOO and tell 'em you want to hear more.

[Posted at 10:07 CST on 04/12/03] [Link]