BR-549

live @ the Birchmere, 9.5.02

It was the “new” BR549 that played the Birchmere Thursday night, but an old strategy ---a crackling blend of honky-tonk, hillbilly swing and rock and roll energy---that enabled them to prove they remain one of most entertaining live acts going. Original members Gary Bennett (guitar/vocals) and Smilin’ Jay McDowell (stand-up bass) left the band earlier this year, but singer-guitarist Chuck Mead, drummer Shaw Wilson and versatile instrumentalist Don Herron have carried on, filling out the quintet with guitarist Chris Scruggs and bassist Geoff Firebaugh. Longtime fans have been shaken by the personnel changes, (which may have accounted for the smaller-than-usual turnout for the perennial Birchmere faves) but the familiar BR549 spirit was clearly palpable.

Whether he was putting a filthy twist on “Charming Betsy”, tearing through Charlie Daniels’ “Uneasy Rider”, belting out originals like “Bettie Bettie” and “Chains of This Town” or introducing the decidedly goofy-looking Scruggs as “the Jedi-Knight of Hillbilly”, Mead was as enjoyable as ever, perhaps now feeling secure as the band’s unquestioned leader. For his part, Scruggs proved a player and singer of very high ability, showing real honky tonk chops as he cut loose on nuggets like Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Shotgun Boogie” and Onie Wheeler’s deliciously weird “Onie’s Bop”.

While the group played 29 songs, they hardly looked like they’d broken a sweat, and this revamped lineup sounded like they could match the length of the four-hour marathons that made the original lineup legends at Robert’s Western Wear Nashville’s lower Broadway. More importantly, Thursday’s show seemed a strong indicator that the BR549 story is far from over.

Washington Post, 2002

BR-549

Coast to Coast
(Arista Nashville)


When a band has released four records and two of them are live recordings, that says something. For Nashville hillbilly devotees BR5-49, it says they’re avoiding the issue. Fans are still waiting for the quartet to make the album that exponentially expands upon their thrilling live shows and this isn’t it. Coast to Coast sidesteps the issue altogether: BR5-49 are a great live band, so it’s easy to just hit ‘record’.
Unlike their live debut EP, which captured some of the sweaty magic of early, legendary sets at Robert’s Western Wear in Music City, Coast To Coast feels far away; a faux-set. Gleaned from shows last summer with Brian Setzer’s Orchestra, it takes awhile for the band’s reverent spirit to break through the digital sterility. Especially fine are Bob Wills’ “Brain Cloudy Blues”, the swagger of Gram Parsons’ “Big Mouth Blues”, and an gleeful scurry through Charlie Daniels’ “Uneasy Rider”. As usual, Guitarists Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett sing fantastically well and even offer some new tunes. Mead’s “Tell Me Mama” and Bennett’s slinky “Better Than This” are both strong honky tonkers.
Perhaps the most interesting item is the tacked-on studio recording of Tommy Collins’ truly nutty “You’re A Humdinger”, which receives a fine Bakersfield interpretation. It also underscores the procrastination apparent on the live tracks. Yes, these shows were undoubtedly well-played, the covers well-chosen, but would you expect anything less?
BR’s two studio albums have hinted at greatness, which is ultimately why Coast to Coast is unsatisfying. A nagging problem is looming and no one wants to acknowledge it, so like Bob Dole says about Erectile Dysfunction, lets get this problem out in the open: it’s time for BR5-49 to deliver the great record that they have in them, because they’ve set a higher standard for themselves and this record feel too much like a holding pattern.

Time Out New York, 2000

BR-549

BR5-49
(Arista Nashville)

When half a band’s releases are live recordings, it’s certainly no secret that playing gigs is their strength. Nashville quartet BR5-49 (the phone number for Junior Samples’ used car lot on “Hee Haw”) are indeed one of the best live bands going, but this, their first studio record, might be the most satisfying item in their catalog.
Like their three-hour live sets, the disc strikes a healthy balance between covers and original compositions from guitarists Chuck Mead and Gary Bennett, and brims with subtle pleasures. Mead especially shines, and his tunes “Lifetime to Prove” and “Chains of This Town” are every bit as good as the classic honky-tonkers by Ralph Mooney and Chuck Seals (“Crazy Arms”) and Mel Tillis (“Honky Tonk Song” and “I Ain’t Never”) that the band interprets admirably.
Bennett and Mead are singers who truly grasp honky-tonk inflection and emotion, and they harmonize skillfully. The whipcrack sound of string whiz Don Herron-- who handles steel and acoustic guitar, dobro, fiddle and mandolin chores over the course of the album-- combined with rhythm men Jay McDowell (upright bass) and “Hawk” Shaw Wilson (drums), which one writer likened to “a steel cradle”, is formidable.
Bennett may not be as skilled a writer as Mead, but his two contributions, the opening “Even If It’s Wrong” and “Are You Gettin’ Tired Of Me” might be his best. One of the band’s live staples is here as well, “Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)”, which details an ex-punk girl gone country, and ranks right alongside “Me ‘n’ Opie” in BR5-49’s humorous lore, though the whomping take on Moon Mullican’s “Cherokee Boogie” is actually funnier. Country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons is saluted in a languid version of “Hickory Wind”, which seems too slow at first, but upon repeated playings reveals itself to an astute interpretation.
Sure, nothing can beat experiencing BR5-49 live, but when you’re hankering for a little nip from the “Kings Of Lower Broadway” on your home hi-fi, don’t overlook this little beauty.

Time Out New York, 2000