Mystery Monday - Bob Livingston

Click on image for more photos ...

Monday is a warm day but threatening rain. We take our bikes to Town Lake and bike along the new boardwalk over the water near the IH35. Along the way we see the local Crab Shack has closed -- that's unfortunate as there are very few restaurants on the lake. For lunch we drop in to see more tatooed ladies and their dogs at the vegetarian Bouldin Cafe. It's Kate's favorite restaurant and caters to the stereo-typical Austin Slackerville Hippy. There's even a Slackers Feast on the menu (a bowl of beans and rice, cheese extra)!

That evening we have dinner and several Mexican Martinis at the Backstage at the El Mercado (motto: World Peace thru Tex-Mex) and take in Christine Albert's weekly Mystery Monday show. This Monday the mystery guest is Bob Livingston who we've seen many time before. He played with and wrote a number of songs that were made famous by Jerry Jeff Walker; for example "Public Domain" and "It's Good Night for Singing" are two of his. He told stories about touring with the Lost Gonzo Band and we all sang along to "London Home Sick Blues" (aka "Home with the Armadillo" by Gary P Nunn) made famous on the Viva Terlingua album recorded live at Luckenbach. It's also been the theme song for the Austin City Live show on PBS.

Tonight Christine is co-hosting with Rich Brotherton, with regulars Bobby Kallus on drums and David Carrol on upright bass. We were expecting Bill Kirchen as a co-host but he apparently has stepped down from that role.

Of the many great tunes that night the one that really stood out for me was "Runnin' with You"  (YouTube recording by Christina Fijardo) performed by Rich Brotherton. It's a song written by Sarah Elizabeth Campbell who, with Christine, was one of the original founders of this series. There's a tribute art work to Sarah on the wall of the Backstage, we were here when it was unveiled a few years back.

Rich performed that piece on electric guitar. To me it sounded like a punkish anthem -- back when I was runnin' with you. I contacted Rich over Facebook Messenger to find out if he had recorded it -- he hasn't, the YouTube version above will have to do.

Rich also performs in an Irish band "Ulla" every Sunday night at the Saxon Pub. Our friends who host the B2 concerts have recommended we go see them and we will.