Dr. Rock's Music Adventures: April 2017

Margo Price is considered the "next big thing" in country music. She is signed to Jack White's Third Man Records. She is touring to support her album 'Midwestern Farmer's Daughter". When I found out she would be playing in Columbus, I was excited to see her live. When I found out she was playing the Basement, a smaller venue, I was excited for the chance to see her talents up close. The show was sold out.

VENUE: The Basement is in Columbus' Arena District and is part of the Promowest family of venues. It indeed is a basement -- it is situated below the slightly larger music venue called the A+R Music Bar.

MERCH: Opener Colter Wall and headliner Margo Price each had a table of merchandise. Margo had t shirts, a hoodie, her LP and CD.

OPENER: Colter Wall, a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, and his band were the opener. Colter had a strong, distinct voice and his backing band was talented. An enjoyable opening act.

HEADLINER: From the start, Margo Price and band hit the stage with a strong rocking country sound. Margo's voice was in fine form. There seems to be a real comfort and synchrony between the musicians that adds to the excellent sound.

Margo and band did many of the songs from the above mentioned album. They also did an interest mix of cover songs. These included "Seeds and Stems" by Commander Cody, "Look At Miss Ohio" by Gillian Welch, "Rated X' by Loretta Lynn (who Margo mentioned that she recently met), "Me and Bobby McGee" by Kris Kristofferson, and "Big River" by Johnny Cash. Margo's last cover was "I Ain't Living Long Like This" by Rodney Crowell (and later covered by Waylon Jennings).

At one point, Margo left the stage and came out into the pit, near where I was standing. She sang and high fived folks. She then walked right past me, high fived me, then said "How do I get outta here?". She then jumped over the nearby railing, hugged some more folks, posed for a selfie, then returned to the stage.

Margo and the band left the stage. Her pedal steel player, Luke Schneider, is from Dayton, Ohio. Many friends and family came to see the performance and he joined them after the show out in the audience area. I hung around hoping Margo would come out so I could meet her and hopefully get an autograph. Immediately after the band left the stage, a few other fans and I went to the front of the stage to look for guitar picks and set lists. I believe the band did not use set lists. But Margo did have a few lyric sheets for the covers she had performed. A couple next to me had snagged her sheet for the Rodney Crowell cover. The young woman asked me to grab her one of the two guitar picks on Margo's mic stand. I did and handed her one and pocketed the other. When I asked to photograph the lyric sheet, the woman handed it to me. She stated she had really wanted the guitar pick and appreciated my handed her one. So I hung around a little while longer. I looked up and Margo Price and a security guard left the dressing room area and with a quick wave and a hand shake or two, she exited out the front door. I decided to leave. At this point, I was carrying my black Sharpie and the lyric sheet. As I rounded the corner of the building outside, I saw Margo Price climbing the stairs to the A+R Music Bar where members of the bands were gathered. I waved and said "Great show!". Generously, Margo said to me "I should sign that for you. I see you hung around." She then signed the lyric sheet with a large, bold signature -- awesome! She kindly stayed around a few minutes to sign a few other things for fans that had followed me out the door.

So I sure think that not only is Margo Price talented and a terrific live performer, but she is also a kind, generous performer. What a great show!