Joe Ely with Jeff Plankenhorn, special guest Robbie Gjersoe
Evanston Space
Evanston, Ill.
Oct. 25, 2012

Quality: VG stealth audience, DFC
Lineage: Edirol R-09HR, internal mics, shirt pocket
Amadeus Pro for EQ, tracking, FLAC conversion, fixing SBEs
Tag for tagging
Taper: bobinchicago
Artwork: bobinchicago
(with a hat tip to Chee-Zee,
whose artwork files were excellent templates)

MUSICIANS
Joe Ely: Vocals, electric guitar
Jeff Plankenhorn:
Acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, dobro, vocals
Robbie Gjersoe:
Dobro & vocals on "Right Where I Belong"
Electric guitar & vocals on "Dallas"

Set List:

Run Little Pony
The Highway Is My Home
A Flood on Our Hands
Chat
All That You Need
Ramblin' Man
Mockingbird Hill
You Can Bet I'm Gone intro
You Can Bet I'm Gone
The Odessa Tapes story
Tonight I Think I'm Gonna Go Downtown
Hard Living
Cotton Club story
Honky Tonk Masquerade

Workin' for the Man
All Just to Get to You
Homeland Refugee
Ranches and Rivers
Leo and Leona
Townes Van Zandt jokes
Live Forever
Wind's Gonna Blow You Away
Pay the Alligator intro
Pay the Alligator
My Eyes Got Lucky
White Freight Liner Blues
Encore applause
Right Where I Belong
Dallas


A warm but rainy night across Chicagoland put Joe into an occasionally
pensive but casual and comfortable mood as he and Plank took the stage
at Evanston Space. Joe had a set list but blew it off early, he said,
dipping back into his catalog for a few rarities (I don't remember ever
hearing him do "A Flood on Our Hands" from "Streets of Sin" or Butch
Hancock's "Ramblin' Man" before) and a handful of weather-related songs.
Along with his own stories, he shared a few jokes he learned from Townes
Van Zandt and kicked it into high gear after that. Plank also had a
fine evening; you'll note he's often absent from the beginning of a
song as he chooses his instrument each time. In particular, check out
his gorgeous work on "Go Downtown," after Joe tells a couple of stories
about Flatlanders saw player Steve Wesson.

During the encore applause break, Joe noticed Robbie Gjersoe (who lives
near the venue) hanging out by the soundboard and brought him up for
the last two songs. Nice energy; it felt very loose and spontaneous.
Joe said he had no idea Robbie was there, so the break's a bit extended
as they work out the songs.

Editing notes: The guy immediately to my left sure clapped in a way
that my Edirol loved and spiked on; I selected each one (usually in
the 15 to 40 sample range) and brought them down a bit, generally
1.8 to 3.2 dB. I brought up Joe's chats as needed, generally 3.5 to
4.8 dB. I left the music as is. I was DFC in the room; there are a
lot of hard surfaces there, though, and there are moments when the
recording has that slightly hollow or boomy sound. Not a deal breaker
by any stretch, but worth rating down a little for the sensitive
ear. It's noticeable mostly in the lower midrange during instrumental
breaks. In the future in that room, I'll happily blow off DFC to sit
under one of the PAs.

But hey, enough of my yakkin'. Go see Joe, because he's bringing his
game, and make sure you stop by the merch table and bring something home.
Did you know "The Odessa Tapes" is out on vinyl now, so you can hear it
the way it was meant to be heard?