Audio By Carbonatix
Nowhere Man And A Whiskey Girl
The Crescent Ballroom
November 16, 2011
Being a critic is a funny thing. Namely in that, you have to be critical. But there’s a fine line between, “looking to find fault or to judge with severity,” and “skillful judgment.”
With enough practice, I hope to do the latter someday.
Last night, I took in Bisbee wanderers Nowhere Man And A Whiskey Girl at the Crescent Ballroom; my first time seeing them and hanging out on the bar/lounge side of the new venue. I dragged along two friends and mistakenly told them I was reviewing the band.
Joey: This isn’t very good.
Weston: Yeah.
Joey: I feel like I’ve heard that voice a thousand times before.
Weston: Yeah, I don’t like it. Maybe it’s because I’m biased toward gritty, bluesy voices though.
Me: Well, shit, we just got here two minutes ago.
With a handle like theirs, Derrick and Amy Ross immediately cast themselves as the well-worn vagabonds just passing through, but about the only thing that looked or felt well-traveled about this duo was their suitcase labeled “Tips.”
It’s not that they don’t sound good, it’s that the Ross’ are too young-looking for their namesake. Derrick’s guitar strums too delicate; Amy’s voice too wistful and pretty for a whiskey girl. It’s not bad at all, just packaged wrong I think.
Regardless, the packed lounge enjoyed their brand of down tempo, twangy folk music. Amy’s voice floated in the air while people meandered in and out of the balcony through out the night. They also brought along enough tunes to cover more than two hours of playing while they were spelled intermittently by local singer, Robin Vining.
Clearly, my friends are more critical than I am but give me time, I’m still young.
Critic’s Notebook
Last Night: Nowhere Man And A Whiskey Girl at Crescent Ballroom.
Personal Bias: I like whiskey … a lot.
The Crowd: A good smattering of folks. Young and old, singles and couples.
Random Notebook Dump: Who’s the bonehead who forgot his camera at home? This guy.
