Live Review: Chris Knight at The Venue • Aurora
Chris Knight
The Venue
Aurora, IL
October 6, 2022
Review by William Tokash
Chris Knight’s heartfelt set at The Venue on Thursday night highlighted a key aspect that serves as a benchmark to assess the depth of songwriting brilliance: over 90% of all singer-songwriters never write a single song as good as a Chris Knight song. And Chris Knight has dozens of really, really good songs. Backed by Kevin Abernathy on electric and acoustic guitar and harmonica and newcomer Isaac Frost on acoustic guitar and dobro, the trio’s stripped-down, ethereal delivery drenched the laid-back crowd in a swirl of haunting constructs that shone a fresh spotlight on Chris’s simple melodies and incredible lyrical talent.
Too many country singer-songwriters feel compelled to strive for the elusive concept of authenticity, but when it comes to this issue, Nashville raconteur and author of the now-famous Cocaine and Rhinestones podcast on the history of 20th-century country music once put it best. He said, “authenticity matters more to fans who come to country music from pop and rock backgrounds because pop and rock function by platforming preexisting subcultures until the scene is overrun by corporate interests seeking dollars (until) the spotlight move on the next ‘real’ thing.”
Coe goes on to say that many famous country stars (Charley Pride, Townes van Zandt, Gram Parsons, Hank Snow, Freddie Fender) would not have passed conventional “authenticity tests.” Their brilliance was seated in the fact that they never tried to be something they weren’t. The same can certainly be said about Chris Knight’s wonderfully unconventional career. After signing his first record deal at 37, his best songs over the past 25 years are underpinned by a dichotomy of bleak realities coupled with optimistic, hopeful perseverance against life’s often difficult challenges in rural America.
Whether it be an urgent plea to Jesus in “Send It On Down:”
“…Are there any answers,
I’d sure like to hear one,
Well if you got some’ won’t you send it on down,
While I’m still able to be found…”
Or during his fiercely proud declarations while facing hard times on “Nothing on Me:”
“…But you can bet your ass I’ll keep the lights on,
Keep my babies fed and throw my dog a bone,
‘Cause I’m a ‘bring it on, get ‘er done, don’t run S.O.B.”
Listeners don’t need to think too hard to realize that Chris is not trying to write about someone he isn’t.
Set List
Becky’s Bible
Rural Route
Little Victories
Send It On Down
Heart of Stone
Nothing on Me
I’m William Callahan
Old Man
Enough Rope
Low Down Rambling Blue
It Ain’t Easy Being Me
You Lie When You Call My Name
North Dakota
Cry Lonely
Love and a .45
Down the River
Framed
Encore
Jack Blue
Category: Featured
