How many people can say they have opened for four of the Braun brothers within the same month? Probably not many, but after this night, one of Dallas’ best Americana singer/songwriters can say he has.
At the start of the month, Ronnie Fauss had opened for Micky & The Motorcars at one Dallas venue, and on this night, he was playing Granada Theater opening for the other two Braun brothers in Reckless Kelly.
This made for the third time I had seen Fauss this month, yet this show was a completely different experience, as he wasn’t accompanied by a full band.
“Are y’all ready to hear me play some songs?” he asked once the screen that covers the stage had been pulled up. It was 8:01. Still early, but the couple dozen or so people who were there were game to see what he sounded like. It began no differently than the other shows, with “Another Town” being used as the opener, but then it deviated drastically.
Fauss mentioned what a “privilege” it was to be there warming up the stage for Reckless Kelly, noting that was still a few hours away. “But they're coming! The bus is here!” he exclaimed, referring to the nice bus/RV that was sitting out in the parking lot. That first song he had done was the lead cut from the Built to Break album, and now he moved on to the second song on it, “A Natural End”. Afterwards, he noted he had started making a set list for the show before getting “distracted”. So he said his plan was to just picture the track listing of his new album and run down it.
He also had some fun with the onlookers, saying that previous song was for one group of people, causing another set of listeners he had addressed earlier to tell him not to forget about them. He moved the mic stand slightly and repositioned himself to where he was staring out at them on the stage left side of the venue. “That one was for you, too,” he told them, causing some laughs, before doing the third song on his “kinda new” release, “The Big Catch”.
It tells a somber story (“…There’s something your parents never told you. The place in-between where they slept is filled up with lies and resentment. The only things your parents ever kept…”), and while I’ve listened to it more than a few times, hearing it live this night made it all the more appealing to me. It’s a great song, serving as perfect proof that Fauss knows how to craft a song.
“Who wants to hear the story of my life in song?!” he asked upon finishing that one, laughing that he knew everyone had been waiting for this moment. I had. Or at least had hoped that “It's a Long, Long Way” would find room in the set this night. It stands in contrast to that previous one, still telling a vivid story, but doing so with a lot of humor.
“What are we doing now?!” Fauss wondered aloud, before seeing me down there at the front row. “Hey, look! It's Jordan!” he shouted, giving a very nice and unexpected shout-out. There were a few songs that were packed into this 41-minute long set that I didn’t know, either being other songs from his extensive catalog or possible even some covers I’m just not familiar with. Regardless of whatever the next one was, it was one of my favorites of the night, fitting the solo setting wonderfully. “…Baby, it’s the end of the world and I'll see you around,” went part of the choruses, delivered in a very melancholy tone. It was somewhat depressing, but beautiful at the same time.
It was around then he mentioned he would have done a “sweet lick” to end the song, promptly confessing he didn’t know any. It was hard to tell what was more on point: the music or the comedy. He then asked about a clock, saying he knew they used to have one setting on some of the equipment, and without it, he just might play all night. One of the crew members on stage went over and put said clock out where it could be seen; and then Fauss tackled a cut from The Sun is Shining Somewhere, But Somewhere Isn't Here — a compilation album of sorts, consisting of some tracks from earlier EP’s — “Clay Pigeons”.
He then performed a song about making out, asking the growing audience who all planned to do that this night. A few people cheered. “That’s, like, three of y’all,” he remarked. I believe “Big Umbrella” is the title of said song, and it has that Fauss spin on it. “You were making out with a one-eyed guy…” he belted at the start, getting a little more aggressive than some of these other songs had been.
Another random conversation was started with a patron when Fauss asked if he had eaten at Snuffer’s next door. “I thought I saw you there!” the musician said, asking the guy if he had ordered the cheese fries with bacon added on. He had. “You look like a bacon guy,” quipped Fauss, saying he had done the same for a pre-show meal. With that, he began another classic of his, “This Year”. It went off without a hitch, mostly, though before the final verse, “My cousin got kicked out of college…”, he had to stop and ponder what the line was, stretching out the instrumental break. It came to him, though, finishing it strong.
He had a few songs left, with the last two being the lead singles from his two most recent LP’s. Beside him this night sat a stool. It’s function was to hold his beer, as well as a neck rack and harmonica, which had been untouched. “…I bet you thought it was just for show,” he laughed as he reached for the harmonica, saying everyone would probably be better off if he didn’t use it, but he was gonna give it a try. “The Night Before the War” was the lone song it was used on, and even entirely acoustic, that song still sounds fantastic.
He had begun this show by going down the track listing of his newest album, and if he had gone beyond those first three, he would have hit the single from it. It was that single he closed with, giving the radio station KHYI (95.3 The Range) a shout-out (he had played a festival for the station almost a week prior), mentioning “Eighteen Wheels” was recorded with Rhett Miller of Old 97’s fame. The roaring song found him adding some slight percussion even, tapping the body of his axe at one point as it wound down.
To be honest, I had been expecting this to be a full-band show. It was kind of nice that it wasn’t, though.
These solo shows are a little rarer, allowing him to fully embrace his singer/songwriter side. It’s Fauss getting back to his roots in a way and he can go at his own pace, doing whatever he wants to do (he was certainly winging it this night) and working out his comedic chops in the process.
It all made for a fantastic way to get the show going.
He has a few dates coming up opening for Ray Wylie Hubbard. A two-night stand at The Kessler Theater in Dallas on April 24th and 25th, along with a couple shows in Missouri come May. Full info on all of those can be found HERE; and you can find his records in iTUNES.
