The set-up Wednesday night was simple: just Eric on acoustic guitar and vocals and a guy on an 8-string bass guitar. (I didn’t quite catch for sure what his name was, but Eric said he calls him “Cheese” because he’s from Wisconsin. I think his name was Sean.)
The first set kicked off with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy,” which was along the lines of what I was expecting. Eric kicking out those riffs on an acoustic guitar was pretty impressive. Then I was pleasantly surprised when it was followed with some Gavin DeGraw, Tom Petty and Stevie Wonder (and a joke about two white guys playing Stevie Wonder). A sad note when Eric dedicated a Clapton tune to recently deceased Texas blues guitarist/singer Chris Whitley. Back to the blues with some Ian Moore “Satisfied,” then another surprise when he pulled out some Cross Canadian Ragweed. The set closed as it opened, with some more Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Between sets, we got to watch Eric McConnell work some magic with the crowd. Until then, a lot of the crowd was more intent on the Spurs game than on the music. But Eric wandered from table to table, chatting and joking with the people, including stopping by our table to chide Staci for playing NTN trivia instead of watching the show (in her defense, she was jamming and singing along as she played) and getting a free lighter from the Marlboro girl.
The boy must be a charmer, because his technique worked. When the second set started, heads turned away from the game and toward the music. The first task was to fill a request for a romantic song with Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.” Then, still romantic but on the rock side, Tonic’s “If You Could Only See.” Next up, after a mention of our interview and a plug for SA Rocks (thanks Eric!), was an original, an excellent southern bluesy rock number called “Closer.”
For the next few songs, Eric and Cheese were joined on stage by a sax player, starting off with a little improv or, as Eric said, “free jazz, because nobody would pay to fucking hear it.” Then into Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” and on this song, even the diehard Spurs fans stopped watching the game and sang along. They followed this up with a funky version of “Superstition” and the theme song from Team America, then as a joke a verse of Dio’s “Rainbow in the Dark” sung in high falsetto.
By this time, we were finished with our drinks and the second set was almost over, so we started packing up to go. We stayed long enough to hear Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive” then headed down the road to the Firehouse Pub & Grill to see how Deja Vu was doing with new lead singer Xavier.
We got to the Firehouse just in time to catch Deja Vu’s last set, but we picked a bad night to do it. Xavier was sick, and the throat spray between each song wasn’t entirely helping. He did amazingly well with keeping his voice from cracking or going off-key, which probably killed him, but his voice sounded a bit scratchy on the high notes. Still, great job and lots of fun and dancing as they played Maroon5, Orgy, Gary Numan, Modern English and The Toadies. Xavier messed up on the lyrics to “Santeria,” but I’ll cut him some slack since this was only his second or third gig with Deja Vu. Then some Gin Blossoms, 7 Mary Three, Wilson Pickett (“Mustang Sally”) and Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself.”
I apologize to the band for the guy at the bar who kept yelling out songs they don’t do, I enjoyed chatting at the bar with Xavier after the show and I promise to come catch Deja Vu with Xavier again on a night when he’s feeling better.
Where to catch 'em:
Eric McConnell will be at Broadway Bar November 30th (this will be an electric, not acoustic, show)
Deja Vu will be at Billy D's December 2nd and at Main Street on the 3rd. Check their calendar for future dates.