THE Very First Official Cuervo Acres House Concert!!!

Featuring Audrey Auld Mezera with Darcie Deaville

All photos courtesy of Cheryl Arthur

    Friday, June 24, 2005 was an overall, incredible day and evening for us.  It marked the beginning of the series of house concerts that we at Cuervo Acres hope to continue.  The first one, quite frankly, may be near impossible to top.  It was awesome, if I do say so myself.

Noontime:

We “hit the floor runnin’” on Friday morning, with Dana’s doctor appointment and check up (all is healing with the broken ankle!) and trying to finish up some last minute (okay, few hours) cleaning and preparations for the show.  We scurried, because our featured artists were also performing at Bill’s Records at noon, and we didn’t want to miss it. 

Driving to Bill’s, we heard the “final line-up” for noon music.  “Our” Audrey Auld Mezera with Darcie Deaville, Fred Eaglesmith (yes, the one I have a thousand t-shirts of), Adam Carroll and the Blue Runners.  We knew it would be longer than an “hour lunch” today!

 Upon arriving at Bill’s it was like “old home week”.  It was fun to see folks who were regulars back when we were, as well as friends, acquaintances, and artists we’ve known and kept up with for years.  It wasn’t long before the free beer and ice cream were going and the featured artists were trickling in along with the crowd.

The Blue Runners kicked it off.  Honestly couldn’t hear too well from the back, but what I could hear sounded fine.  This was the only group I wasn’t familiar with, maybe I’ll get to catch them better next time.  The kids and I decided to go to one side and ooch up closer to the front, I knew they wouldn’t be able to see well, but could at least hear. 

Fred Eaglesmith was up next.  I could go on for days about how great I think he is, but most of y’all know I’m a Fredhead and it’s either old news or preachin’ to the choir.  He did several tunes, including “Pontiac”, “Carter”, and “Georgia Overdrive”.  It was a short set, and for me even the long ones usually aren’t enough.  I was comforted only by the fact I knew I’d love what was yet to come.

I had seen Adam Carroll only once before, and remembered I liked him.  Today I was reminded just how much.  Adam is one of those artists, much like my Audrey and my Fred, who can paint a picture for you with words.  He was great, only doing 5 or 6 tunes, and I really, really enjoyed him. 

It was finally time for our Audrey and Darcie.  By this time some of the crowd had headed back to work, and we were smack dab close to the stage on the left.  Audrey stepped up to the microphone, and I watched as she won the audience over with her first words, as I’ve seen her do every time she’s performed.  Her charm, her wit, and her pure talent wowed the crowd.  Having Darcie with her enhanced the tunes, and before it was over I had folks asking me how to get to Cuervo Acres in case they could get out to the evening show.  CD’s were sold and autographed, and it was time to head home.

Pre-concert: 

We picked up some chicken and fries at Chicken and Rice next door to Bill’s, and with the gals following us, we headed back toward home.  We really hadn’t told them how long the drive was or what to expect along the way.  I’m sure by the time we reached our final destination, they felt they had been led to the epitome of the boondocks.

While Audrey and Darcie settled in, the Jones crew resumed preparations for the evening show.  With the help of Jessica and Travis Smith (Dana’s sister and Brother-in-law) we washed some dishes, prepped food and moved furniture and chairs.  The well-lived in home was now in venue mode.  As guests began to arrive, the visiting and feasting on the potluck delights began.

The show:

I can honestly say we’ve never had bad performances at Cuervo Acres, whether planned party or impromptu guitars breaking out.  In fact, they’ve all been great.  But this night, well, this night was extra special.

The show began just a little after 7:30 p.m.  Audrey’s first song was a Fred Eaglesmith tune entitled “Alcohol and Pills” and as she belted out the first words, I saw the audience go from “time to hear some good music” to absolutely mesmerized.  As she sang each tune, I couldn’t help but realize how when she sings, she FEELS.  That in turn compels the listener to feel what she sings.  Whether Audrey is sharing the sad tale of a love gone wrong, or the joy of love, or even laughing at herself, each listener feels she’s talking just to them alone.  I’ve always known she’s a powerful performer, but tonight I guess I finally really realized how much.  To quote many of our guests for the show…… “WOW!”

Audrey basically held our hands through her personal story.  We journeyed on the ups and downs and sidetracks of her life through her music.  We were also very fortunate to have Darcie Deaville performing with her, accompanying on fiddle some, and lead guitar on others.  The additional music, along with the beautiful harmonies, were basically the icing on your favorite cake.  Audrey chose tunes from all her CDs, much to my great delight.  The first set seemed to just fly by quickly. 

Intermission was time to visit, eat some of the many delights that appeared compliments of our attendees, and for Andy to fire up the blender for more of those famous margaritas.  The kids attending were content pretty much doing their own things in the playroom. One of the compliments I heard over and over again was that the folks attending enjoyed getting to chat with our artists, and how friendly and down to earth they were.  I have to agree, and I was fortunate enough to have some private time with each of them.  They are indeed not only dynamic talent, but our kind of people too. 

The second set was also just phenomenal.  Everyone graciously sang Happy Birthday to our Moose, and although he was a little embarrassed, he loved it.  It was a joy to me to see those who had seen Audrey before absorbing every second of her as much as I was, while seeing those hearing her for the first time just being utterly blown away.   Audrey also had Darcie step up and do a tune, and the audience and I were both greatly impressed!  I knew she was a talented musician, but quickly learned she is a singer/songwriter in her own right.  We’ll be bringing her in for her own concert in the coming months.

As Audrey finished, we wanted another tune, and pretty much forced them into an encore!  With her fun and spunky spirit, she chose yet another Fred tune for a big sing-along “When Exactly Did We Become White Trash”.  The great fun in this was that a little less than half of the crowd were indeed Fredheads, who know the song be heart and gladly belted it out with Audrey.  The rest of the crowd was laughing hysterically and the lyrics, and at the nuts singing around them.  What a fun end to a fantastic show. 

The rest of the evening was for talking and relaxing.  Some left right away, some stayed on into the night, some stayed over and enjoyed breakfast together the next day.  Many thanks to Audrey and Darcie, and to our guests, who made the First Official Cuervo Acres House Concert a wonderful success.

-Dana Jones, 2005

We got reviewed!!  Read a review written by Cheryl Arthur (aka TxLogCabin) at www.misslana.com !!  And thanks again to Cheryl for the sharing of the great pics!