I have never been to Iowa. My personal perception of Iowa is based primarily on what I have picked up from being a Greg Brown fan. If Iowa is like I imagine it, it’s probably a pretty nice place.
Last night I had the pleasure once again of seeing Greg Brown in an intimate listening room environment. Not surprisingly, it was a standing room only crowd. Opening for Greg (and also accompanying him) was his friend and fellow Iowan, Bo Ramsey. It was obvious throughout that their many years of friendship and collaboration brings a nice comfort level to their shows.
Greg apparently will have a new release this spring called”Freak Flag”. He opened the show with the title song from it and it set a nice tone for the evening. He followed that up with a beautiful version of his wife’s “Let The Mystery Be”. From there, he wound his way through a mixture of new songs and old favorites including “Fat Boy Blues”, “Whippoorwill”, “Small Dark Movie”, “Billy From The Hills”, “You Drive Me Crazy”, “Jesus & Elvis”, “Lately”, “Kokomo”, “Where Are You Going When You’re Gone”, and “China”.
At the end of the night, I was more of a fan of Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey and Iowa than I was when the night began.
