Ray Wylie Hubbard

A couple of weeks ago we went to Ray Wylie Hubbard at Joe’s Pub in the East Village. Ray is far from a household name but he is one of my favorite artists. He is Oklahoma born and Texas raised and has the drawl to prove it which would lead most casual listeners to throw him in the Country Music category. But he is much more than that. His music is more rock, blues, and gospel than country. In fact his special blend of genres is nearly unique. He had put out a few releases in the 1970s garnering a small cult following mostly around Austin. Then his recorded output all but dried up until 1992 when he put out an album on his own. Since then he has been relatively prolific issuing ten CDs since and each album has been great. He doesn’t tour much outside of Texas, I only saw him once in Kansas City. So when we saw his date come up here we jumped on it even though the start time was 9:30 on a Tuesday night and going would involve a round trip cab ride as there is not a good bus option to get to this venue. Fortunately, his wife, Judy, put us on the guest list and that made up for the cost of the ride. We have been dealing directly with Ray and Judy off and on since the mid 1990’s stocking his self releases. The line up was Ray on acoustic guitar, and his 17 year old son, Lucas, on electric lead guitar, and a drummer whose name I missed, playing a small kit mostly with brushes and a variety of other small hand held rattles and odds and ends. Ray not only entertains with his music but his between song patter is just one hilarious laugh out loud anecdote after the other, most of it self deprecating and sometimes quite fantastic. He told of one encounter after a show when he was approached by a thirty-something fan who wanted to know how Ray managed to stay so committed to his music for so many years. Ray is in his early sixties. Ray proceeded to tell him how simple it was. All you have do is to ignore your momma when she encourages you to stay in school so in case the music thing doesn’t work out you will have something to fall back on. He also told of growing up and living at his grandma’s house. She was a psychic palm reader for extra money and had a creepy large red hand with weird zodiac symbols painted on the side of the house facing the nearby highway. They would stand outside when cars would approach and as his grandma watched them continue past without slowing down she would say, “I KNEW they weren’t going to stop”. If you ever get a chance to see Ray Wylie Hubbard you should go. You will have a great time even if you are not familiar with his music.

This was our second time at Joe’s Pub and I have decided this is my favorite venue. I haven’t been to all that many places here but this would be hard to beat. It is as intimate as a house concert with seating for only 160 and it has a couple of levels so there is no bad line of sight. We sat at the bar in the back on very comfortable barstools. Other seating on this second level was cushy barrel chairs and sofas. The lower level is all tables of different sizes which at worst puts you at the equivalent of the fourth or fifth row so no one is too far from the stage. This place also has the best sound I have ever encountered. You can truly enjoy the music clearly without your ears ringing the next day. It is part of The Public Theater complex which in addition to this venue includes five theaters for eclectic and avant garde stage presentations. This is where the musical Hair was debuted. The organization also operates the theater in Central Park where Shakespeare In The Park is performed. Definitely one of New York’s many assets.