When Bruce Springsteen released “Nebraska” in 1982, the record’s stark and brooding acoustic tones were taken by many as just The Boss working out a passing whim. Twenty years later, however, the album stands as an influential landmark and a starting point from which many artists leap into their personal muse. Perhaps the best of those singer-songwriters is California-based Richard Buckner, who began by pairing somber, ruminative “Nebraska” sounds with plaintive Texas country. At Iota Sunday night, Buckner marvelously demonstrated a style that he has fully exploded into a highly personal craft.
Drawing from all four of his solo recordings ---though disappointingly sparsely from 2000’s masterful “The Hill” ---Buckner waited until the conclusion of the Lakers-Kings basketball final, then delivered a set that matched the exciting thrills of that game. He performed the first half of the set on electric guitar with backbeat from his sidekick/drummer Penny Jo, tearing through songs like “Believer” and “Blue and Wonder”. Buckner’s husky, forceful baritone barreled the songs through a striking musical landscape that veered between alt-country and rock but adhered very much to the unusual shapes he sang and played them into.
Buckner played solo acoustic for the show’s second half, further stripping down songs like “Lil’ Wallet Picture”, “Hand @ the Hem” and “22” into raw, stirring pieces of song. Like many of his songs, Buckner’s set was relatively brief, but packed with the kind of rough melodies and moving detail that are the mark of one of the finest contemporary songwriters working today.
Washington Post, 2002
