Having grown up with a parent who was a fan of country music I'm sure I heard many of Bobby Bare's songs. I recall his hit 'Numbers' getting a lot of play and his song 'Marie Laveau'. The later having been written by his friend Shel Silverstein. Shel wrote a lot of songs that various people recorded. Certainly you have heard his song that Johnny Cash recorded 'A Boy Named Sue'. Shel certainly influenced the clever word play featured in Bobby Bare's songs.
In the early aughts when I was listening to a lot the the alt.country (whatever the hell that is) I saw that his son Bobby Bare Jr. was a recording artist and had fair number of albums to his credit. I started picking those up and became an instant fan. His Bare Jr. albums and the Young Criminal Starvation League are really good and you should seek them out.
I recall reading an interview with Bobby Bare Jr and he talked about knowing Shel Sliverstein and using him as a soundboard for his own songs that he was writing. Again you can see the influence in Jr's work too. What an amazing resource for an aspiring song writer. At these shows he even starts them off by reciting a Shel poem called 'True Story'
I'm sure Bobby Bare Jr had been thought Colorado at some point but the first time I caught him was at these 2007 shows where he opened up for Lucero. I caught both the Gothic Theater and the Fox Theater shows. Back in the days when bands could do such a run. Now with proximity clauses bands can't generally play multiple shows in different cities if it is considered all part of the same market.
I talked to him briefly at the Gothic show when he saw me recording with a mic stand. He said he wanted a copy so I did a quick tracking job the next day and burned him a CDR. I recall that he said he listened to it in the van before the Fox show and didn't like it. But prefaced that with him saying he was a tough critic of his own performances.
I think both of these shows are really good and they mixed up the setlist for both the nights. I always appreciate bands that can do that.
I think these both sound pretty nice with the Fox show edging out the Gothic just a little bit so Enjoy.
Bobby Bare Jr has been playing guitar with Guided By Voices in the recent past. So no new solo material from him in a while. He does have a bandcamp site that is active though so if you dig this go over there and buy some downloads or CDs from the man.
Bobby Bare Jr's Young Criminals' Starvation League
Gothic Theatre
Englewood CO (USA)
2007-10-12
Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx
Source: MBHO KA-200N > JK Labs DVC-V12 > JB3
Transfer: JB3 > USB > Cooledit > CDWave > FLAC
Time: (40:24.20)
01 - True Story (Shel Silverstein)
02 Heart Bionic
03 Valentine
04 Snuggling World Championships
05 Flat Chested Girl from Maynardville
06 I'll Be Around
07 Uh Wuh Oh
08 Borrow Your Cape
09 Stop Crying
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Bobby Bare Jr's Young Criminals' Starvation League
Fox Theatre
Boulder CO (USA)
2007-10-13
Recorded and Presented: SxPxDxCx
Source: MBHO KA-200N > JK Labs DVC-V12 > JB3
Transfer: JB3 > USB > Cooledit > CDWave > FLAC
Time: (52:15.05)
01 - True Story (Shel Silverstein)
02 Valentine
03 Heart Bionic
04 Snuggling World Championships
05 Sad Smile
06 The Monk at the Disco
07 That Motherfucker
08 I'll Be Around
09 Stop Crying
10 Borrow Your Cape
11 Frankenstein (Edgar Winter)
12 The Terrible Sunrise
