Vic Chesnutt
Central Presbyterian Church
Austin, TX
December 5, 2009

SOUNDBOARD:
SBD -> Fostex FR-2LE (24-bit) -> SoundForge (convert to 16-bit, normalization)
Upped by: mwinfree at dimeadozen

MICS:
Source: AKG 483 > Oade UA5 Wmod > Microtrack II 24/48
Lineage: Microtrack II > Wavelab 5.0 (resample, dither) > CDWave (tracking) > flac level 6
Taped by: Larry Pillman

1 - intro
2 - Assist
3 - Everything I Say
4 - Concord County Jubilee
5 - Philip Guston
6 - Marathon
7 - Chain
8 - Chinaberry Tree
9 - You Are Never Alone
10 - Rustic City Fathers
11 - Coward
12 - Flirted With You All My Life
13 - Granny
14 - Sewing Machine
15 - Warm

Within the first 30 minutes of a 90-minute set at the Central Presbyterian Church Saturday night, Vic Chesnutt had blown the power (second song), referenced Valtrex, accused someone of farting, and cursed in God's house.

Irreverence has always been Chesnutt's muse and, well, his generator-draining backing band might have had something to do with the power. Backed by five members of Canadian noise collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Thee Silver Mt. Zion, and Fugazi's Guy Picciotto, who played seated the whole time, they worked up to their volcanic eruptions with purpose.
It took Chesnutt and friends a while to "warm up," but once they settled into the dusty backseat of his songs, his sandpaper howl/reverent whisper began subtly matching their pew-shaking loud/quiet/loud. Playing from new album At the Cut ("Coward," "Granny," "Philip Guston") and 2007's North Star Deserter (a wonderfully woozy "You Are Never Alone"), the night became part VH1 Storytellers, part salty late-night bar talk.

Outside, cold winds whipped down Eighth, but within the sanctuary's dark, stained glass confines, Chesnutt's simple tales of Southern gothic warmed hearts and, apparently, seats.