burns

I must say, I have been looking forward to last night for what seems like an eternity. On several lists, I read posts where folks say "I gotta go get my Brian Burns fix." They're not lying! I honestly think he's addictive! I sat and calculated that the first time we actually saw Brian was January 5th of this year...that's five months ago this week. We saw him for the fifth time last night. For us, that's probably some kind of record. Until this year, we really did good to make four or five shows a year TOTAL - two or three of which were usually at Billy Bob's to see David Allan Coe spending a night in Ft. Worth. We still love Coe and hope to see him in August at Southern Junction in Rockwall, but have had better luck finding babysitters for an evening rather than a weekend away. Anyway, with the many venues hosting OKOM (our kind of music) artists and a couple of those venues (Love and War in Texas and Buffalo Joe's) being fairly close to home, we've had the luxury of seeing many artists recently. Anyway, I figured out if you think WE'VE been out a lot lately...WE ain't squat. Our table mates last night have seen Brian three times THIS WEEK!!! Andy and I decided it's probably best that we do have small children, or we may have been right there with them, and that can get expensive!

Anyway, I came home from our forfeited T-ball game (only six girls showed up, I needed at least eight and was expecting ten) happy because it gave me more time to dress. We ate Andy's smoked brisket sandwiches, gathered up the kids and dropped them off at Jessica's (my sister, who is getting hooked on OKOM and may not agree to babysit much longer for our outings)! Then we headed to McKinney. Seemed like it had been an eternity since we've heard LIVE music...the last time was Shiner Sunday with Mark David Manders/Max Stalling/Cross Canadian Ragweed, nearly a month ago. It had been even longer since seeing Brian. We missed him at Joe's the last time, and I think I must have pouted all weekend.

We walked in the door of Buffalo Joe's and were immediately greeted by Brian. We also ran into Greg Holmes, who is always good for a big hug!! We grabbed a table and Andy grabbed us a couple beers. There were some Fairview fire department folks there, and I eavesdropped a bit as Brian was visiting with them. They hadn't seen him since last August or September, yet it was almost like they'd seen each other a couple of weeks ago. Brian is SO NICE to his fans. I found it interesting that one of them said his new stuff was probably good, but they wanted to hear mostly his old stuff so as to have a good time just like the old days. All crowds are different, this was the first time I had heard a request like that. Brian assured them he'd do a good mix ,and that he did.

Oh, and we usually celebrate some important thing of the day with Brian when we see him at Joe's, it seems! The first time we saw him, we toasted the late Eddy Shaver all evening. Another time it was Merle Haggard's birthday. Last night we couldn't remember any big occasion for the day, so Brian decided we'd celebrate Jose Feliciano's birthday...whenever that is. We did!! Happy Birthday, Jose! There were lots of toasts and smiles to you!!

I just can't reiterate enough what a talented performer Brian is. We were a small crowd, and it would have to be a bit distracting with folks going in and out the door to the restaurant, but he never broke stride. In fact, he good humoredly teased a couple of folks going in and out! I love Brian's tunes from his previous CDs, but I have to say the stuff from the new CD is my favorite (due out this summer). I'm not sure the rest of the crowd "gets it", but I know our crew sure does. As Brian recited the letter requesting aid to the Alamo from Col. William B. Travis, once again I had chills, and this time even a tear spilled from my eyes. It reaches the core of my soul. Brian is a storyteller. Whether he's singing songs from the new CD, or his other CDs, or even someone else's song, he paints a picture with his words and with his rich voice. It can be something as tragic as "The Crash at Crush", a true life staged train wreck gone awry; as beautiful as his "Angels and Outlaws"; as simple as a slice of a band member's day in "Walker Behind the Wheel" or as funny as Terry Allen's "Gimme a Ride to Heaven", and every time he takes over your mind and fills it with images he places within. It's powerful. There were distractions around me, some folks don't pay quite as much attention as my table mates and I do, but to reach us like that despite distractions is beyond my scope of imagination. I just flat don't know how he does it. but it keeps me coming back.

Of course, cranky broad that I am, I was disappointed that some of the other folks in the crowd cheered louder when Brian did a Merle or George Jones tune. No mistake, he did the songs marvelously and I adore both of those men's music. But in my heart of hearts, I always wish everyone appreciated with the same vigor the songs that Brian has written, or that he deems awesome enough to include in HIS choices to perform or put on a CD. Many folks will always prefer "cover tunes"...gimme our OKOM guys and their music any day.

Brian joined us during his break. He graciously looked at the OKOM scrapbook I am working on containing the shows we've seen so far this year (only done through Easter, but still working!) and of course saw himself in there many times. He cracked us up, as one of the pictures from a collage had slipped from its spot and was laying sideways at the bottom of the page on a beer sticker. Brian said, "This is Brian Burns in the Stockyards laying on the ground passed out!" It was a hoot. He then became the first OKOM artist to sign the hard cover of my book. It's a very, very special book to me, and the fact that Brian was the first to sign it means a lot.

Another side note about Brian. My best friend and her husband saw him open for Radney Foster at Poor David's in Dallas last week. It was her first time to see Brian. She said as she sat listening to him and enjoying the music that it suddenly dawned on her that it was only one man and a guitar on stage. The music accompanying him was so rich, it was as if a whole band were performing. She was amazed that he was a "picker" as well. Had she not been out of town last night, she'd have been at the table with us.

Finally (and I can hear the "wooo hooo's!), Andy and I had to depart early at 10:15. We had our three little reasons for getting on back home early; they are ages three, five and seven. That's about all that could drag me away. It was only a couple hours, but I sure feel better now. I've had my fix, but I don't think I'll be able to wait so long for the next one. Thanks, Brian, for yet another wonderful evening!

Written by Dana Jones on 6/2/01

Venue: Buffalo Joe's in McKinney on June 1, 2001

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