Last night certainly was interesting. I made my way over to West Little Rock and arrived at Studio Joe in front of The Sports Authority complex. I’d never been there before and after a slight mishap with a locked front door, I made my back towards the rear of the building to find an unlocked door. Not really knowing what to expect of the place, I walked in and was greeted by a very warm atmosphere. As I made my way to a very warn, but super comfortable looking leather chair, I took in my surroundings while several friendly faces said, “Hello” to me. As I looked around, the place is a cozy, little coffee shop. There was art scattered around on the walls, several well-worn leather chairs, and a handful of more formal tables. Directly at the back of the venue is a small stage, but it did not seem all that small in my mind once the evening’s entertainment took it by storm.
I was at Studio Joe to hear Kat Hood and Chuck Gilbert. I had on good authority from one of my friends that Hood was a show I should not miss. I’m particularly glad I went and as I waited for about twenty minutes for the show to start, several other people showed up bringing the grand total of the audience to a whopping thirteen including the bartender. That was great though, because sometimes one just needs a quiet, intimate show, and I was thrilled that the night turned out to be that way. Hood & Gilbert kicked off their performance at 7:45 and launched right in to things with a rousing cover of Eric Clapton’s song “Piece of My Heart.” I must say right here, that I spent a bit of time actually taking notes about the show, so there may be a few more specific details this time around than before, but I think that’s a good thing for once.
After the Clapton song, Hood & Gilbert gave a rousing hello to all of their friends. I was the only one in the crowd that they did not know, but they took the time to ask me if I’d ever been to the venue, what my name was, and to introduce themselves. I thought that was a really cool gesture especially in the close-knit group of friends. Even though everyone knew each other, I felt readily accepted and was amazed at the kindness directed towards me. Yes I digress, but I’ll get back to the show now.
Next up, the duo played an original called “Euphazean.” I had no idea how to spell that during the show, but due to the generosity of Hood, I was given a copy of her CD and it thankfully had that song on there. This was easily one of my favorite songs of the night because I loved the fact that this girl was the daughter of one of Hood’s patients. Even though Hood doesn’t know Euphazean, she wrote this really amusing song about her. I find that kind of imagination in songwriting to be one of my favorite aspects of the art. I think my other favorite original from the night, played directly after the aforementioned, was “Why The Hell Not?” This is in reference to Kinky Friedman. If you don’t know who he is, shame on you. Go look him up, now! I unfortunately missed his last Little Rock show. Anyways, it was a rather quirky song, for an equally quirky man. Basically what I’m trying to say is that it’s a great song and most entertaining.
Next came a couple Gillian Welch covers. I loved hearing the difference between Hood & Gilbert’s versions compared to Welch’s originals. It was also interesting to hear that the Good Time Ramblers derived their name from Welch’s song “Wayside.” I only bring in GTR because Hood is the mom of their lead singer, John. Basically, she got in to a small argument over what the correct lyrics were, and well let’s just say Kat won that one. I was thoroughly amused by her infusion of personal life and joking around during the whole set. I love when artists do that, and I wish more did.
Next came a couple more original songs, then a cover of ‘Tell Me Why” by The Beatles. About this time, I was realizing that the sound in this humble, little place was really good. I wasn’t expecting it to be the best in the world, but it was good for the size of the place. After my musings, came a few more original songs, and my absolute favorite quote of the night by both musicians, “She taught me John Prine, and I taught her Steely Dan.” With that quote came a few Prine & Steely Dan covers that were excellent. My favorite cover of the night, which coincidentally I heard later at White Water Tavern from the Sarah Hughes Trio, was “In Spite of Ourselves.” I had never heard the song before, so while Kat & Chuck were singing it, I was cracking up. Prine is definitely someone I will check out in the future.
Kat & Chuck had a couple of their buddies come up and sing a few songs while they took a fifteen-minute break. Conrad & Sarah Shoemaker, pardon me for not checking on the actual spelling of their last name, came up and sang some folksy songs. They did a cover of Josh Ritter’s song “Lawrence, Kansas,” which was really good. They also sang “Cats in Space” which had me laughing a lot. They were a nice interlude to the scheduled performers and I’d love to hear more of them in the future.
After they finished up, Hood & Gilbert took the stage again and did a few more covers with their friend Paul Colebert, pardon me again for not getting the last name in this case. The one thing that tickled me about their second set was that they kept playing sing-a-long songs. I loved that they were comfortable enough to do that, and they were a hit with the audience. They are really humble folks, and I’m glad I had the pleasure of seeing them. The show started at 7:45 and lasted until 10:15ish. I was a little surprised because I had previously heard that the shows ended on an early note at Studio Joe, but it was a joy that the evening went on later than I thought. Kat has a great voice, that’s kind of earthy, but also commanding, and Gilbert sure knows how to pluck a guitar. They compliment each other so very well, and I look forward to seeing them again soon.
--L
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