I’ve just seen Bobby Bare Jr. perform for the 10th time. From the first time I saw him play in 2004 to the tenth time this past Saturday night, every one of his shows has been top notch. But I also can’t say that each one of those performances has been especially different from any other. Sometimes he’s by himself, sometimes he’s with a band, but I’m always seeing new faces in his band, seemingly without a single person that’s come through previously with him. This most recent show marked the 2nd time I’ve seen him play with the opening band as his backing band (the first time I saw this happen was at last year’s show at the Tractor with Blue Giant). But those were two entirely different bands.
After seeing someone perform 10 times in eight years, I’ve started to really wonder what it is that draws me to them time and time again? And while I can’t give definitive answers, I can start to piece it together. For one: he’s here all the damn time. Look on the upcoming calendar and you can almost always find a Bobby Bare Jr. performance on the horizon (allow me to save you the time: he’ll be playing the Tractor on November 4th).
Secondly: consistency. While his catalog of country/rock songs has more than doubled since I started seeing him perform (he’s released 4 albums and 2 EPs since 2002), his set lists always tend to not stray too far. For instance, I’m pretty sure there was a stretch of four shows I saw from 2007 to 2010 where he started each one with “Mehan,” from his debut album Young Criminal’s Starvation League, one of his more melancholy ballads. While that song did not make an appearance at this most recent performance, at least three other songs from that album did. Not a single performance goes by without the crowdpleaser “I’ll Be Around,” yet Bobby tirelessly performs the song each time with never-ending excitement, happiness, and energy.
Bobby’s songs have proven amazingly timeless. Bobby grew up playing country music in the shadow of his father Bobby Bare, and he developed a keen sense of rhyme and rhythm from his dad’s songwriting collaborator, wildly famous poet Shel Silverstein. Consequently, Bobby’s songs are like little novellas, put to music. There’s the one about a monk who finds himself on a dance floor (“The monk at the disco says a prayer; for the skinny girl with blond curly hair; who forgot to put on her underwear”). Or “Terrible Sunrise,” which talks about the relationship one has while a close friend succumbs to cocaine addiction (“And I know where you wanna go; the devil has crawled inside your nose”). And “Mayonnaise Brains,” about the pitfalls of having a big ego (“Did you give it all you got; did you think enough was a lot; did you make mayonnaise out of their brains; and say ha, ha ha ha?; I’m all that you’re not”). And “Rock and Roll Halloween,” which covers a crazy Halloween party in Atlanta (“Slash walks in with an overweight Madonna, orders 2 Bud Lights and a cranberry vodka; Marilyn Monroe dances dirty with Darth Vader; James Dean holds hands with a Cher impersonator”). That’s four songs from four albums, all of which are full of other songs just as great as the next.
Beyond all of these other points, which should be more than enough to convince you that Bobby Bare Jr. is well worth seeing live, is the fact that Bobby has fun. He makes jokes with the crowd. He plays to our emotions. He encourages us to sing along (without overtly saying “SING NOW!”). And he comes across as one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll ever see. I’ve never actually met the man, but I feel like I could call him tomorrow and he’d come over to have a beer with me (even though he lives in Nashville). He’s just that type of guy. So keep your eyes peeled for his next fling through town, and then look for me near the front of the stage. I’ll be the guy beaming from ear to ear, thoroughly enjoying myself.
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