The Dakota, located in downtown Minneapolis, was treated to two concerts by Rodney Crowell this past Sunday and Monday evening. Rodney Crowell, who is a multi-award-winning artist including two Grammy Awards, showcased his amazing talent in both vocals and music composition.
The Dakota was dimly lit for a warm atmosphere as patrons selected dinner plates from a wonderful selection of appetizers, entrees, and deserts along with a full array of fine crafted beverages/cocktails. Rodney, along with his 4-piece band, calmy walked out on the stage as the patrons cheered loudly and gave him a round of applause. Without any introduction, the band started right into the first harmonic chords to the song “Jewel of the South”.
He kept playing additional hits with the likes of “Earthbound”, and “Still Learning how to Fly”. The audience loved “Walk the Line Revisited” with the upright bass player singing the part of Johnny Cash – it was interesting to hear both modern and country roots fused together in a catchy foot-tapping tune. Following additional songs, he performed “Shame on the Moon” which Rodney wrote, and Bob Segar made it into a huge hit!
Throughout the concert, he would give background context to writing some of his songs. Rodney chuckled as he recalled one story from his early music career while on a European tour with a popular singer. They had stopping in Zurich Switzerland where he ended up having only $27 in his pocket, found himself wearing a Willy Nelson T-Shirt with faded jeans and not being able to afford anything including a cup of coffee. He mentioned he decided to go back to his hotel room and ended up writing a song that became a huge hit for Rosanne Cash titled “Ain’t No Money” to which he received a fat check for its success!
With a few songs left in the set, Rodney introduced the members. He titled the of the band “This Band I Love” which fit well as one could tell the strong connection between each of the talented musicians. First was Zachariah Hickman, sporting a great handlebar moustache and originally from Boston MA, played the ‘fat boy’ upright bass, harmonica, and background vocals. Next introduced was Glen Caruba, whom originally from Miami FL, played the percussion drum set and many times using only his hands without drumsticks which gave a unique percussion sound. Next, he introduced Eamon McLoughlin, whom originally from London England, played the violin, bouzouki, fiddle, mandolin, and vocals. He mentioned that Eamon is also the house fiddle at the famous Grand ‘Ol Opry in Nashville. Finally, Rodney introduced the ‘professor’ of the band, Catherine Marx, who played keyboards and sang backup vocals.
The Dakota is a great venue and felt as if Rodney with his talented musicians were playing in the living room. The nearly full capacity club was engaged to every song as he played his Gibson acoustic guitar for the 1.5-hour music set. Some post comments from the audience included “Amazing talent”, “10 out of 10”, “Over talented musicians”, and “Have to head to Nashville to see him again”! Be sure to check out where Rodney is playing next if you missed these amazing intimate concerts at the Dakota!
