Monte Montgomery | 5.26.01 | Luckenbach Dance Hall
Monte playing Little Wing with
his Parker Fly guitar.
Photo by Deborah Cowand
|
The festivities began with a sizeable gathering of Montiacs and local musicians at Banker Smith. Maggie Montgomery, Monte’s mother, sure knows how to throw a party in the traditional Luckenbach manner. Seventy or so folks listened to the guitar pickin’ and singin’ in the shade of the old oak trees in Maggie’s backyard. Plenty of stories were swapped and new friendships cultivated with the scent of wood, smoke and fajitas cooking on the pit encircling the gathering.
Around 7:30 p.m., the group departed for the old dance hall in Luckenbach. Upon our arrival, a camera crew from the Austin Music Network were already set up and prepared to capture the show from video cameras placed at strategic vantage points. The Benjamin Allen Band took the stage promptly at 8 p.m. as the assembling masses collected in front of the stage and around the periphery of the building.
A local radio station personality proclaimed to the packed dance hall crowd that he watched Monte Montgomery grow as a musician to become one of the top five guitarists in the world. He introduced Maggie who had the honor of welcoming Monte and the band on stage. She graciously thanked and recognized the wonderful work of the Montiacs for their success spreading the word about Monte and his music. She commented that many loyal Montiacs travel great distances to see Monte play, such as Dan Anderson’s journey to New York to see Monte play for the 50th time. Maggie finished by introducing her son to the stage, as "her favorite guitarist." He and the band took the stage as if they were the heavyweight champions of the world entering the ring to defend the title.
Monte, exuding sheer confidence from the get-go, took the stage by storm and remained in total control for the three-hour show. He showcased his incredible talent with such energy, power, and exuberance that there was no mistaking that this was his night. He made it all look so easy as he played to the cameras, clowning as only Monte can, while ripping superhuman guitar licks to the astonishment of the crowd.
There were many memorable highlights of the show but for the sake of brevity, I’ll only mention a few:
World Turning. This was my first chance to hear this old favorite as a stand-alone song.
Rescue Me. The rendition of this powerful and gripping ballad was simply awesome, sending chills into my inner core.
When Will I. Jane Clark, a superb fiddle player from England, joined Monte and the band on stage and absolutely smoked the strings on her instrument. What an exciting experience it was to see Jane matching Monte’s speed and energy level as they improvised their way to a phenomenal performance.
Movin’ On. Jane Clark returned to the stage to wow us one more time with her speed and agility.
Leaving Paradise. Monte exchanged stage positions with Lonnie Trevino so he could be right in front of the Fredericksburg High School graduating seniors as he played their class song. The audience sang much of the song while Monte stepped away from the microphone.
Little Wing. Monte put down the Yairi long enough to strap on the Parker Fly for this number. The delivery was stupendous, demonstrating awe-inspiring prowess over the unusual looking electric instrument. Combined with Lonnie’s legendary soulful vocals, this
rendition was something I’ll remember for years to come.
Bringing Me Down. Yet another sensational show ending performance. At the conclusion Monte ripped all six strings, laid the mangled guitar on the stage, and jumped high into the air landing precariously close, but safely away from his battle scared weapon that has become his trademark.
As Monte left the glorious dance hall stage, there was no doubt that he retained his championship title as the undisputed Lord of Luckenbach. Thank goodness it was captured on videotape for a future airing on the Austin Music Channel. A lot of folks, including me, will pay handsomely for a copy of the show. I strongly suggest copies of this video be made available for sale to the public at his shows and on his websites for Montiac like myself to enjoy.
Mike Ray
JamBase In Texas
Go See Live Music!
Monte Montgomery's Tour Dates
|
