Asleep at the Wheel, Tis the Season
Fox Theatre, Tucson, AZ, December 10, 2019
by Mary Andrews
Very few bands, regardless of the musical genre, have enjoyed the longevity that Asleep at the Wheel (AATW) has enjoyed. The AATW Christmas tour is a seasonal standout in a plethora of Christmas shows coming to Tucson this year. It was the last stop for tour for the decade.
The band has two Christmas albums, Santa Loves to Boogie and Merry Christmas Y’All. The show was a perfect blend of Christmas music and some classic Bob Wills ‘Western Swing,’ jazz, blues, and country music. They performed a few songs from their latest album release, New Routes. Benson mentioned that he partnered with fiddle player, Katie Shore, to write some of the tunes on the record.
Super baritone vocalist, Ray Benson, is at the heart of the band and the only member to have remained since the band’s inception. The membership has been like a swinging door throughout the years and the present members include Shore on fiddle and lead vocals, Eddie Rivers on steel guitar and sax, Dave Sanger on drums, Dennis Ludiker on fiddle, mandolin and vocals, Josh Hoag on bass, Connor Forsyth on piano and vocals, and Jay Reynolds on sax and clarinet. Benson resides on lead guitar and vocals. Together this is the tightest band in the business. Everyone had a chance to show their magic particularly during “Tiger Rag.”
The rumor before the show was that Benson was ‘under the weather.’ So, expectations of his performance were guarded. However, the show went on and his performance, in one word, was stellar. This wasn’t the first time seeing the band perform, but it was by far the best performance. Benson’s voice reached so low beyond what most human ears can hear. When one thinks he is done reaching into his lower register, he takes it down lower. “A Big Ball’s in Cowtown” was testimony to this.
Benson has a natural propensity to communicate with the audience. He introduced “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with comments that this song really didn’t apply to Tucson, Ariz. since it was 60 degrees outside and there was no snow to be found. He got a lot of mileage out of that. Benson and Shore shared the vocals and their voices blended beautifully. His best performances were with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper.” and a bluesy rendition of Guy Clark’s “The Day You Said Goodbye.’
Western Swing would be forgotten if AATW didn’t continue to breathe life into the genre. The show ended with the Roy Rogers’ favorite “Happy Trails.” The band’s next date will be in Dallas on New Year’s Eve with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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