So, time for a brief report on the future of alt.country, Dave Purcell's
Holsum, otherwise known as Jimmy D & Holsum, otherwise known as just plain
Holsum. They turned in a nice set at Ripley's in Cincinnati last night,
with a healthy dose of roots-rock arrangements of country material that
works pretty well. I was especially taken with their strong version of "Are
You Sure Hank Done It This Way," a good, stripped-down arrangement of "I'm
So Lonesome I Could Cry" that succeeds in being different without doing
violence to the feel of the original, a dandy up-tempo "No Expectations,"
and a Purcell original, "Stupid." It was nice to see that Dave feels
confident enough in his masculinity to sing an un-rewritten version of Dolly
Parton's "Jolene." No matter how unjustified that confidence may be, that
one's a definite keeper. There were a couple of shaky moments,
arrangement-wise, but I chalk these up to the fact that this was only their
second gig (and believe me, Prospect Hill sucked a whole lot more on our
second gig, and third, and fourth, and...). I'm looking forward to hearing
them again.
Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
