f4f3 | "I swear I saw Townes and Amigo come over that ridge a dozen times that night."

Just back from seeing Steve Earle play the concert hall. There must be a moment when a performer becomes legendary, and I'm not sure it isn't happening to Mr Earle round about now. For one thing, he's written a shit load of songs ("Which is what happens when you don't die"), and a lot of them are very good. He played a lot of tracks from his new album of Townes Van Zandt covers, and although "To live is to fly" was probably the best song I heard all night, his own material wasn't disgraced in that company. For another, he has breadth (and that's not just because he's spending a lot of time in his neighbourhood deli). In the space of three songs tonight he went from a song celebrating NYC's cultural diversity (City of Immigrants) to a story song about an Irish soldier in General Joshua L. Chamberlain's army (Dixieland) to the most touching elegy I've ever heard a man sing about his friend (Fort Worth Blues). His playing is also getting better, with guitar, mandolin and banjo. He's been learning fast since making "The Mountain" a few years ago with the Del McCoury Band.
Mostly, though, he writes very, very good songs. "Goodbye" had me in tears, "Someday" woke up a bit of yearing, and "Guitar Town" stomps along as happily as it did 30 years ago.

I realised tonight that I first saw Steve in concert around 88' or so, when I was 24. There were a lot of 60 year olds in the crowd tonight, who must have seen him in their 40's. Buddy Guy, who I saw this year, is in his eighties. I hope that 25 years from now I'll be on of the 70 year olds there to see Steve do Copperhead Road yet again...