Asleep at the Wheel Prepped for Tour with Willie at Antone’s

Anticipation was high among those standing in the line that stretched around the block to find out who the “VERY special guest” to perform with Asleep at the Wheel would be on Saturday (2/7) evening at Antone’s. Word had leaked that a collaborator on the group’s recent album, Willie and the Wheel, would show up and a few wore their braids in hopes of catching the red-headed stranger.

However, there would be no Willie sightings and the special guest must have been the Grammy winning and legendary pianist Floyd Domino, wearing his cowboy hat and playing keyboard.

Antone’s–Austin’s House of Blues–is the oldest club on the city’s infamous 6th street. It was opened in 1975 as a blues club, hosting notables like B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. By no means is it a large venue, but a few hundred people crowded together elbow-to-elbow in the standing-room only venue.

With a ten piece band, it was nearly as crowded on the stage. Ray Benson (electric guitar), Jason Roberts (fiddle/mandolin), and Elizabeth McQueen (rhythm guitar) traded vocals and were joined by band members Eddie Rivers (steel guitar), Ruby Jane Smith (fiddle), David Miller/Kevin Smith (bass), Shamarr Allen (trumpet/trombone), John Doyle (saxophone/clarinet), and David Sanger (drums). Floyd Domino was, of course, on keyboard.

Asleep at the Wheel opened the show with “Miles and Miles of Texas” and set the tone for the rest of the night with one toe tappin’, leg shakin’ number after another.

They ran through “Black and White Rag” and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” before Elizabeth McQueen stepped to the microphone and announced that it was her first show since giving birth and that she might not make it through the next song without crying. True to her word, she was on the verge of tears at times, but donned a glowing smile as she sang a moving version of “What a Wonderful World.”

The group played every song on their new album and then some. They performed a particularly impressive rendition of Willie’s “Back to Earth,” then followed it with “Pancho and Lefty.” Before leaving the stage, they had the crowd singing along to “Big Ball’s in Cowtown” and came back for an encore with “Right or Wrong” and finally closed the show for good with “On the Road Again.”

There was little stage banter during the two hours, just a whole lot of superb musicianship on full display. It truly was a feast for the eyes as well as the ears and every member got their chance to shine with multiple solos throughout the night. Their show comes highly recommended if they pass your way–even moreso if Willie is scheduled to join them.

Check out the Willie and the Wheel website for more information and tour dates and be sure to tune into Austin City Limits on February 23 if you’re not able to catch a show. To preview tracks from the album, visit Asleep at the Wheel’s MySpace profile.