Marty Stuart at Ram's Head Tavern

bakerbyrd · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 98 Location: Baltimore

I saw Marty and his Fabulous Superlatives on Thursday night at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis Maryland for 2 shows. I was looking forward to a reunion with "Clarence", but to my extreme disappointment, I arrived to learn that the show would be all-acoustic. After unsuccessfully attempting to slit my wrists in the bathroom, I reordered my attitude to a more positive state.

After the second song, I asked Marty where "Clarence" was. He said that the guitar was in the bus, resting. He then told the audience that "the guy in the Byrds shirt [me] is a big fan of Clarence White. Clarence is my all-time favorite guitar player. Some of you know that I play his B-Bender in concert for all of my electric shows. But what some of you may not know is that Clarence was a brilliant acoustic guitarist. Here is a Clarenc White song."

He then launched into a rapid-fire version of "Soldier's Joy." I felt much better after that. During the second show, they covered "Feel A Whole Lot Better." The shows were superb, as each band member had an opportunity to showcase their own talents. Kenny Vaughn, Harry Stinson, and the bass player, whose name I always forget, are all stellar musicians and singers. If you get a chance to see these guys, take it. You won't be sorry.

rod · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2007 2:59 pm Post subject:

That sounds like a great show. I saw Marty as 14 year old when he was playing mandolin with Lester Flatt. Roland was the original mandolin player in the Nashville Grass and I may be wrong about this, but I think that Marty lived with Roland and his family for a while. During the show that I saw, Lester got Marty to flatpick a couple of tunes on guitar and it was very obvious to me that he'd studied Clarence's playing. After the show I talked briefly to Marty and asked who had influenced his guitar playing. His answer came in a slow Mississippi drawl " You all ever hear of Clarence White?"

I bought Marty's first albums expecting to hear some Clarence influenced playing but it wasn't there for whatever reason. His playing at 14 was the closest I've ever heard to Clarence.

Bill Hisle · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 106 Location: East Oz

Brian Glenn

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Bill Hisle · Joined: 23 Aug 2006 Posts: 106 Location: East Oz

Brian Glenn

[img]http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:05bP9bnV_ZNZJM:http://www.queermusicheritage[/img]

teleman3726 · Joined: 10 Jul 2010 Posts: 21 Location: NY, USA

Same experience: first saw MS in Decatur (AL) this February and was a little disappointed it was an all acoustic gig (it was fantastic, nonetheless). But later saw him at the Ryman with Clarence and it, too, was a superb show. Really looking forward to his latest CD in August. Gonna try to copy all the riffs! Woohooo.