Ray Benson
With a scant fifty audience members, local Boulder band the Unknown Americans started the show at the Fox Theater with their songs of barbecue and founding fathers.
Up next came the Austin-based Mother Truckers with their rocking country tunes, a bluesy cover of Love Me Like A Man and momentarily awkward conversations about Billy Joe Shaver.
The crowd was still, as Teal Collins put it, arranged like chess pieces, with nobody crowding each other.
Finally, band leader Ray Benson and the rest of Asleep at the Wheel took the stage.
Ray Benson
Miles and Miles of Texas
Ray said, “Are you ready to boogie-woogie? Let’s head down Route 66.”
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
“Thank you everybody.”
Don’t Fence Me In
“Don’t fence Jason in, he likes to fiddle around. Right here’s a little bit of Take Me Back to Tulsa, here’s some Bob Wills music for you.”
Take Me Back To Tulsa
Ray said, “Here’s some more Bob Wills.” He talked about the play that Asleep at the Wheel has been doing and that Jason plays Bob Wills.
Goodbye Liza Jane
Jason Roberts
Ray said, “This next song we do in our play. It takes place in the cotton fields in 1915 when Bob Wills was a little boy, 10-years-old picking cotton and learning how to sing the blues.”
Sitting on Top of the World
“There you go boys, down to San Antonio.”
Rose of San Antone
“Oh, the San Antone Rose. Here’s one off our new CD, coming out in February with Willie Nelson. It’s called Willie and the Wheel.”
Sweet Jenny Lee
“Watch out for that on the new CD, February 3, in your favorite record store.”
Someone in the audience shouted out “Waterloo!” (the crowd seemed to be mostly transplanted Austinites) and Ray laughed a little before he sang a few lines of Waterloo.
Choo-Choo-Ch’Boogie
Ain’t Misbehaving
“And now a little tune called…”
Your Mind is on Vacation and Your Mouth is Working Overtime
Instrumental
“Here’s a couple we did with Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.”
Pancho and Lefty
Angels Flying Too Close To The Ground
Instrumental
Kiss to Build a Dream On
Teal Collins of the Mother Truckers
“And here’s one Jason likes to sing about beer.”
Six Pack to Go
“Here’s one from the old Marshall Tucker Band.”
This Old Cowboy
“Thank you, this is on our last album, Reinventing the Wheel. We’re gonna bid you farewell, thank you all for coming out on this cold Thanksgiving night, well, sort of.”
Hot Rod Lincoln
“Thank you everybody, let’s boogie. See you next time at the house of blue lights.”
House of Blue Lights
Happy Trails
“So goodnight, thank you for coming out.” Ray said. He reminded everyone that “gas and alcohol don’t mix so don’t go drinking shots of gasoline.”
Texas Playboys Theme
“Goodnight folks.”
