Bill Carter with Gabe Rhodes

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Kate has been struggling with a leg pain since arriving and is unable to go to the Rawhide Trails House Concert showcasing Bill Carter with Gabe Rhodes accompanying that we had reserved some time ago. We're on their mailing list and enjoy house concerts in Austin -- this is one of several we go to while vacationing.  Over the years Dino & Leslie Jobe have hosted some pretty important artists -- there's so many I wish I had been there for. But we're only in town for a few weeks in the winter.

It's a well attended house concert outside the city in the scrubby hill country at $25pp (I pay for Kate even though she's not there -- at house concerts the admission goes to the players). This will be the third time we've been to this house concert series -- many thanks to the hosts for letting us, and others, into their home. We've been there for the Austin Moonlighters (2016) and Beat Root Revival (2019).

I talk to Rich and Ann from Boston who now live in Travis Heights (a SoCo area of Austin where we have sometimes stayed). It turns out that we go to many of the same shows. Later I meet with a couple from Austin who had moved here a few years ago. They've only been to shows at the Paramount Theatre and this house concert. I give them my researched list of shows and events that we hope to see in Austin -- it runs for several pages. It's really strange to be telling Austinites about the shows and events they ought to see.

Bill Carter, who we have seen before at Sun Radio events under the Live Oaks at Guero's, is an interesting character. He and his wife (who is recovering from a health issue) have written a lot of tunes, mostly blues influenced, for bands like the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmie Vaughan, the Derailers, etc. He has some very good guitar work. He's older (or at least looks a lot older), a bit grizzly, tatooed before it became de rigeur and has lived in LA and Paris France with Austin his current home. A man who has seen the world, written about it, and been paid to do so.

Gabe Rhodes, he's the son of Kimmie Rhodes, is an important session player around Austin. He's toured with all sorts of important people including Billy Joe Shaver. He's a guitar wizard and plays an old Gibson guitar -- sometimes with a bottle neck slide, sometimes on his lap, but always as a great accompaniest to compliment Bill's music. I noted that his guitar seems to have some black duct tape holding it together and ask him later about that. He tells me it was damaged during air travel (remember how United breaks guitars) and yes it is held together with duct tape -- it sounds better than ever!

I'm pretty chuffed about the picture above. It's from a front row seat that I moved to. It's take with a very wide angle lens and really captures them together. Bill Carter said, "Ah, here's a guy with a camera". I tried to be discrete, it's a grab shot with my camera held on my lap.