Texas Singer-Songwriter Red Shahan Performed, Seemingly Begrudgingly So, at White Water Tavern

by Julian Spivey

Julian Spivey Photo

Texas singer-songwriter Red Shahan brought his gritty, hard-earned country music to the White Water Tavern in Little Rock, Ark., on Thursday, August 8, for a night of music that seemed more of a disappointment to him personally than to those of us in the audience.

Shahan and his band, from Fort Worth, Texas, made their debut at the White Water Tavern, one of my favorite music venues in central Arkansas, and the big, bearded ginger seemed a bit put off by the lack of crowd from the get-go. Honestly, I was a bit surprised by how small the crowd was, but I believe an artist shouldn’t let that sort of thing get into their head and should give their all, nonetheless.

And I don’t know if I’d say Shahan didn’t give his all – this was my debut seeing him live, too. But I can definitely say by reading his body language, his sarcastic comments from the stage and general vibe, that he wasn’t enjoying himself on Thursday night, and seemed like he wanted to get out of there as quickly as he could.

The evening began excellently enough with the song “Big Wide Open,” off last year’s Loose Funky Texas Junky, which is the album that really clicked for me as a Shahan listener. It’s loose and funky sound hit my ears a bit easier than some of the more somber, serious tones and themes of his previous albums, though there are certainly great tracks on them.

“Big Wide Open” is one of my favorite tracks on Loose Funky Texas Junky, and I thought it was a terrific way to kick off the night’s set.

Shahan followed it up with “Never Turn Around,” off his 2015 debut Men & Coyotes, and then his excellent “Roses,” one of the highlights of his 2018 album Culberson County. Due to the lack of attendance at the show, there was only a slight smattering of polite applause following the first few songs, which Shahan gently mocked with “break a bottle or something.” At first, it seemed like just an awkward response, but you could tell as the set went on that the lack of audience had struck a nerve. Later, he would sarcastically ask the audience to “stop clapping,” but it was more of a “don’t bother” than a good-natured ribbing.     

Despite Shahan’s irritability, he and the band soldiered through a pretty good set of some of the songs a Shahan fan, wherever they might have been, would probably consider his best works like “Culberson County,” “Waterbill” and “Javelina.” I enjoyed those, as well as newer stuff like “Ain’t It a Shame” and “Supernova,” off last year’s album.

Shahan can get bluesy in some of his songs, and these are where he can really show off the howl in his voice. One of the best examples of this is “Men & Coyotes” from his debut album. That, and “Black Veins Pt. 1,” made for a nice one-two punch to end his set.

Based on my close proximity, I could see the setlist taped to the stage and could tell that he cut my favorite song of his, “Wish Me Well,” from Loose Funky Texas Junky, which would’ve come before “Men & Coyotes,” which was incredibly disappointing, but again he obviously was over it and ready to head on out. So much for being “loose.” I guess, at least Shahan’s mood was a bit “funky.”

The performances were certainly good, but the overall vibe of the evening was completely off, which I’ve never felt before at the White Water Tavern, a venue where some artists act like it’s a holy grail, and others playing for the first time act like they can’t wait to come back. I’ll be surprised if Shahan makes a return trip. 

Edit this setlist | More Red Shahan setlists