I estimate that it has been over 20 years since I last saw Robert Cray, at the Chance in Poughkeepsie, NY, in support of the Strong Persuader album (I only have that album on vinyl, BTW!) Although he's played Austin multiple times, in the 17 years that I've lived here, I've always managed to miss him.
I got to Antones a little after 9PM, and Alan Haynes the opener was already on stage. The house was almost, but not quite packed (which is a good thing). Robert and his band took the stage around 10PM.
This time around Robert's band included:
- Tony Braunagel - drums
- Jim Pugh - keyboards
- Richard Cousins - bass
I recognized Richard Cousins from the previous time I had seen Robert. I assumed that he had been playing with Robert the whole time, but discovered via Wikipedia that he had left the band in 1995, and just recently rejoined Robert's band. I estimate that the band played a bit shy of 90 minutes, which was a little disappointing because it seemed a bit short.
I recognized several numbers from Strong Persuader, including Smoking Gun, but was somewhat unfamiliar with some of his more recent material. The band was tight, and Robert as always, turned in a fantastic performance on vocals and guitar.
Update
Just for shits and giggles, I looked in an old shoebox and found this. Apparently, it has been 23 years.
