Rock on redneck

10 April 2012

Rich Hall picked up a Perrier Award for his Tennessee ex -con creation Otis Lee Crenshaw last year. Recently he surpassed himself with rave reviews in the music press for Crenshaw's live CD. Heck, not even the Grumbleweeds could match that. Numbers such as Fast Cars and Airplanes, about gardening-related rock fatalities, and Fattening Up, about Death Row cannibalism, aren't just facetious ballads but bona fide altcountrymeets-altcomedy classics.

But this crossover has created a dilemma. Are Crenshaw's two Empire shows with his majestic band The Black Liars musicals or comedies? Judging by the first night, Hall isn't sure. He invites stand-ups Bill Bailey and Sean Lock onstage, then 24-carat muso Robyn Hitchcock ambles on - though only just, he was in the balcony when his cue came.

At two hours, this is a sprawling affair that lacks context. Why is bumpkin Crenshaw doing Hall's astute political patter about Afghanistan, except to fill time? A good evening would have been great if there had been more new music, such as the ingenious Scrabble Song. This uses the boardgame to evoke the my-wife-left-me country template: "She could've given me roses, she gave me sores." Tonight's show features different guests. And hopefully more Crenshaw, less Hall.

Rich Hall Is Otis Lee Crenshaw

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