Thornton rocks audience with “˜Southern hippie music’

By Alex Palmer
Daily bruin contributor
[email protected] Billy Bob Thornton is a movie star, an
acclaimed director, and an Oscar-winning writer. Critics love him
and Angelina Jolie loves him a whole lot more. Now this guy wants
to be a rock star too? Skeptics and player-haters alike got a
chance to see if there was anything behind Thornton’s newest
career move when he came to the El Rey Theatre in West Hollywood on
Friday to perform tunes off his new country album “Private
Radio.” The 46-year-old Thornton pulled off a solid
countrified rock set of down-trodden laments and upbeat anthems.
With the help of an eight-person band, the performance was a
success, but try as the band might, the concert just wasn’t
about the music ““ it was all about Billy Bob. The crowd was a
truly varied mix of people and ages, ranging from the 20-something
decked out in silver-studded jeans and a midriff-baring top to the
60-something sporting a Budweiser t-shirt and a “Jack’s
Bar” baseball cap. Before the show opened, band members
trickled out on stage and began playing, building up for
Thornton’s entrance. As the two drummers beat faster and the
three guitarists strummed away, excitement and anticipation
increased as the audience waited for the star of the show to
emerge. But Thornton’s entrance was surprisingly subdued.
Without speaking, the singer just wandered out on stage sporting a
black bandana, smiled warmly at the audience, and grabbed the
microphone, jumping right into the first song of the night. The
group played a solid set of self-proclaimed “Southern hippie
music,” which incorporated soulful organ playing, scorching
guitar solos, and the gravelly, world-weary voice of Billy Bob
Thornton. The songs moved between Johnny Cash-style laments on
women, drugs, and death to kick-up-your-boots rockers. Despite the
crowd, the show had a very intimate feeling. A combination of the
smell of beer, the smoky atmosphere, and the sound of the band
created the ambiance of some small roadhouse in Nashville with
Thornton as the in-house entertainment. The singer told stories
about a number of his songs. He described how the rambling
“That Mountain” was inspired by something he’d
been told by the late Jim Varney and recalled his bout with
paranoia as he introduced “Dark and Mad”.
Thornton’s acting chops paid off throughout the show. Though
he kept physical movement to a minimum, letting his spindly arms
dangle to his sides, Thornton made full use of his facial
expressions, practically carrying on conversations with audience
members as he sang. Despite the upbeat tone, the audience was slow
to get moving. Many seemed content to just stand and gaze at the
famous singer, even as he performed the rollicking anthem
“Smoking in Bed.” It wasn’t until later in the
show, when the band broke into familiar covers of “California
Dreaming” and “Hang on Sloopy” that the reserved
crowd finally started to really move around. By and large it was
clear that though some of the audience members were true country
fans there for the music, most were there for little other reason
than to observe the highly-watchable Thornton. The abundance of
stargazers was accented by the cheers that the mere mention of the
name “Angelina” received from the crowd. Much of the
audience seemed more moved by those references to celebrities than
by the stories themselves. Despite the often luke-warm crowd, the
band seemed to have a great time and flexed its skills with
frequent solos and extended instrumentals. The tightness of the
band’s performance can at least partly be attributed to the
members’ experience working together. As Thornton introduced
his band mates, he gave the history of their involvement with the
group. Guitarist Mike Ship actually played with a nine-year-old
Thornton when the two formed a band over thirty years ago. Despite
the low-key crowd, by the final song Thornton had the audience
actively involved, even singing and dancing. The night ended on a
high note and left the audience at the El Rey in an cheerful
mood.