Original image by There Stands the Glass.
Walking through the doors of The Truman on Friday, August 5, was like entering an alternate universe. In this musical realm, terrestrial radio doesn’t exist, the Turnpike Troubadours are bigger than the Beatles and Tyler Childers is a more important poet than Bob Dylan.
The Kenny Chesney t-shirt worn by a woman enthusiastically buying Flatland Cavalry gear was the only glitch in the matrix. Yet the six men in Flatland Cavalry and the youthful audience of almost 1,000 who purchased tickets at a median price of $27 aren’t judgemental elitists.
Even though it qualifies as a real-deal country band replete with a fiddler, the gimmick-free Flatland Cavalry can’t be bothered with stylistic divisions. The band from Lubbock combines the sweet sentimentality of pop-country stars such as Luke Bryan with the rugged approach of Texas troubadours like Robert Earl Keen.
The twinkle in his eyes, his torn denim shirt and sketchy trash ’stache give front man Cleto Cordero a passing resemblance to the young John Prine. His bandmates are equally charismatic. Their 90-minute show was filled with stellar musicianship and engaging theatrics.
Renditions of cult favorites including “Gettin’ By” were immensely satisfying. Nevertheless, the band still lacks a definitive signature song. That’s why the ecstatic response to an earnest cover of “Callin’ Baton Rouge” alarmed me. Rather than compromising, I hope Flatland Cavalry simply waits for the real world to catch up with its excellence.