The Steel Guitar Forum

Roger Crawford wrote:Non country, Chicago
Country, Leeann Womack with Randy Beavers on steel, Reba with Bruce Boutin, and George Straight with Mike Dailey. Hope I spelled all of the correctly!

There are two guys named Mike with the same last name-Mike Daly, steel player with Hank Jr is Mike Daly, and the man on steel with George Strait is Mike Daily. Mike Daily, the steel player with George Strait is from Texas. Bruce Bouton is the man you hear on steel if you listen to Brooks & Dunn's records they released in the nineties, up until 2001, when Brooks & Dunn released their Steers & Stripes record featuring Paul Franklin on steel.

This may turn into a long one but will try to keep it short…I got married last December and my new wife tells me she is this huge Reba McIntyre fan now over the years I would hear Reba’s recordings on radio and while I liked the songs, I realized I was listening to them for the studio musicians.Weldon, among other s,well she wanted to go see Reba her in Nashville a month or so ago and so I was not particularly interested in going I wanted to take her to see something she really wanted to see…well we got there and I really wasn’t thinking of the band but I was floored, Mike Johnson and his band mate knocked it out of the park!
They Made all of Reba’s.. hit’s better live than the original recordings!…I can’t say enough about Mike’s talent on steel and he’s an Awesome dobro player!…If you get the chance go see the show!…I promise you will throughly enjoy the show! The Musicians made the show for me…don’t get me wrong Reba is an excellent singer but the musicians in her band are second to none! And I made my wife happy too!…I just hope Reba realizes what a Great and I do mean Great band she has!…Go to see them if you have the chance!

Three way tie for best live acts I have seen:

Low
Yo La Tengo
Bill Frisell trio

The Dixie Dregs in 1980 when Mark O'Conner was with them.

I have been blessed to have mixed thousands of shows with the greatest artists in the world, and there are still plenty I have never seen, so my perspective is not a common one.

Consistently the best country show band that comes to mind was Desert Rose, with whom I was fortunate to work a number of fair and festival shows, first with Jay Dee Manness and later with Tom Brumley at steel. Always phenomenal. First runner up would be Pam Tillis at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, early 2000's, she certainly had a smoking, "sit up straight and listen to this" band happening then.

Best non-country show band is harder. I began my audio career in 1981 with Tower of Power and could name dozens more since that truly put down - how do you choose between the likes of the Seldom Scene, Union Station, or Jim and Jesse McReynolds, James Brown or George Jones with their ace bands, or Tony Bennett or Linda Ronstadt with full symphony orchestras? So many nights with chills running up and down my spine. Ultimately, however, Earth Wind and Fire were in a league of their own.

Still the surprise best show of my life so far, one I recently paid to see, was Herb Alpert and Lani Hall with Hussain Jeffrey on bass, Tiki Pasillas on drums, and Bill Cantos on keys. Only three pieces with one horn and one singer but they redefined the meaning of the word performance.

"Best" is too subjective - I won't go there. But, since this thread started I've thought about some of the most memorable live performances I've seen/heard. Here are four:

1961 or '62, EM club - Kaneohe MCAS. Tex Ritter. An icon, put on a great show.

1969, Denver Jimi Hendrix Experience. Not their best performance, but it was their last time together.

1972?, Denver - The Eagles. They opened for Joe Cocker and their first record had not come out yet, so no one knew who they were. Cocker was late (as usual) and they had to deal with a really tough crowd.

early '80s - Inn of the Beginning, Cotati CA; Doc and Merle Watson. Only time I heard Doc and Merle, and the only time I was at that fantastic venue. They're all gone now. Glad I had that opportunity.

For a good laugh becauseI workedwith him for 40 years, " Jimmy De Latte a
And His Kuntry 5!"
Serious Clifton Brown with Danny Harrell and his Nashville Editing, and David Morgan and his Loose Cinch Band with Billy Tams. And band Wilburn Stewart is playing with.
And I am gonna put my name on it because it is true.
Tommy Shown

Emmy and the Hot Band back when Ricky Skaggs was just a side man with her.

Poco at MSG with The Doobie Bros and Outlaws\,,, Poco really did outclass them both, no question.

Lets see,, Oh yeah then at the Capital Theatre in Passaic it was BB King with Blood Sweat and Tears..
BB and his band blew BST off the stage.. Honestly, it was pathetic.. BST was terribly out of tune, and just weak, and BB's band was great.. I recall him standing 10 feet from his mic, and his voice was still booming out...

This might be out in left field for some, but Robert Cray and his band were one of the absolute best bands I ever saw anywhere.. Just great... I went with a drummer friend of mine that said it was a "religious experience"...


worst band ever?... Doors at MSG... awful.... bob

Most memorable: Deep Purple (Ludwigshafen, Germany March 1975), Roy Buchanan (Austin TX 1974)
Most energy: Thin Lizzy (opening for BTO in Germany 1975; most of the crowd left when Thin Lizzy finished their set.
Most fun: Sunday Break II, Austin TX (1976) featuring The Band, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, and Chicago. Damn, what a lineup!!

... for me:

1) EAGLES - the original band members, back when.

2) TIME JUMPERS - then (w/ John Hughey) and now (w/ Paul Franklin)

The Beatles in Memphis 1966 third row center

Rolling Stones, No Filter tour at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara 2019.

Ian

1967 into 1968...Club Alex, later known as The 1815, Howlin' Wolf's, and Eddie Shaw's Place. Earl Hooker's working band with Freddie Roulette, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker singing and playing organ and electric piano, Jack Myers or Earnest "Big Train" Johnson on bass, Odell Campbell on drums plus regular guests like Carey Bell, Louis Myers, and Andrew "Big Voice" Odom.
And a close second would have been the Big John's Paul Butterfield shows with Mike Bloomfield when he'd just got Howlin' Wolf's rhythm section, Billy Boy Arnold's brother Jerome on bass and Sam Lay singing and playing drums.
MLA

I belive I posted on page one but....what was I thinking? by far the best band I ever saw was when Mel Tillis came through with a 17 piece band! Three fiddles, horn section, guitars, drums and steel. Don't know how he could afford to play with so many on the road. This was way back in the 70's.

Michael Lee Allen wrote:1967 into 1968...Club Alex, later known as The 1815, Howlin' Wolf's, and Eddie Shaw's Place. Earl Hooker's working band with Freddie Roulette, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker singing and playing organ and electric piano, Jack Myers or Earnest "Big Train" Johnson on bass, Odell Campbell on drums plus regular guests like Carey Bell, Louis Myers, and Andrew "Big Voice" Odom.
And a close second would have been the Big John's Paul Butterfield shows with Mike Bloomfield when he'd just got Howlin' Wolf's rhythm section, Billy Boy Arnold's brother Jerome on bass and Sam Lay singing and playing drums.
MLA

You’re a lucky man. I’d kill to see all those guys, especially in Chicago.

I forgot several other shows I saw-in 2000, I saw Alan Jackson in Greenville, South Carolina at the Bi-Lo Center(now called Bon Secours Wellness Arena) with Robbie Flint on steel-his opening act was George Jones, but I didn't see George because I was working at a Clemson Tigers football game as a ticket taker in order to get an occupational diploma when graduating high school-Clemson is where I saw George Strait perform in 1999, as part of his George Strait Country Music Festival. I also saw the last part of a Gary Allan show-I was a little late to the show and heard the last song, and in June or July of 2000, I saw the first Soul2Soul Tour-Tim McGraw & Faith Hill. If I remember right, both Tim and Faith used different bands-Denny Hemingson was playing an Emmons with Tim, and Gary Carter played a Derby with Faith.

Best Club band was The Insiders at Pearls dance hall with Reggie Rueffer on fiddle and Gary Carpenter on steel. Reggie is absolutely the most phenomenal fiddle player.

Best big name was David Alan Coe. He was a phenomenal performer in his younger days. He would sing for three hours without a break. He had great backup bands.

This is a really hard question to answer, but Zappa Does Zappa blew my mind. It was incredible.

I dont know if I could pick just one, but maybe a few for different reasons?

Best smaller artist? I saw Willi Carlisle and Dylan Earl at the Kinney Family Farm on a cold night in December of 2021. That show was amazing, intimate, and made me feel something more than perhaps any show I've ever been to.

Best big band? Sleep was incredible. I saw them at Mission Ballroom in Denver on April 20th 2022 and those guys are so loud I reached another plane of existence. I love Al Cisneros so much.

Best show in general? Somehow the stars aligned on my birthday in 2016 and I got to see Danava, The Shrine, Monolord, AND Windhand all on the same bill. I'll never forget that show. Riffs, riffs, riffs for like 4 hours straight.

In recent years at Dollywood, there's a band I see every year called Kim Carson & The Real Deal. Kim is an awesome singer/songwriter, as well as a great acoustic/bass guitarist! On steel in the band is Dwight Breland, who plays a 1981 Emmons push-pull. They play at Dollywood's Harvest Festival celebration in October, and their music consists of songs written by Kim, as well as songs by Loretta Lynn, Jessi Colter, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, and many others. Kim loves the steel guitar, and always makes sure it's heard! She's a great friend of mine.