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Life & Arts

Pat Green brings evolving sound to Verizon Theater

by BEN HILL 
The Daily Cougar 

Pat Green's cult status among college students in Texas is quickly being replaced by nationwide superstardom, so tickets for his gig Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Theater will surely be hard to come by. 

Green is touring in support of his latest album, Cannonball, which has more of the radio-friendly country extolling the virtues of being a good ol' boy that has so endeared him to his rabid following. For those unfamiliar with his sound, imagine Jerry Jeff Walker's crowd anthems or the sly hilarity of Gary P. Nunn's "London Homesick Blues," while avoiding dark corners of bottom-of-the-barrel desperation like Walker's "Mr. Bojangles." 

Some criticize Green for that very reason, but just because he doesn't wallow in introspection doesn't mean he isn't capable of it, as evidenced in 2001's Three Days. 

Cannonball shows the effects of a tour with the Dave Matthews Band -- Green's sound leans more toward the smooth, Charlottesville rock sound than that of his native Texas. This hardly hurts the album's accessibility; in fact, Green is likely to attract new fans with catchy singles like "Way Back Texas," "Feels Just Like It Should" and "Lost Without You."

The album's tone is fairly consistent; Green sticks to what he's good at and retains a country-rock edge with gritty slide guitar, pedal steel and fiddle in the right places. 

Aside from that, the title track could end up on any contemporary rock station. Green's warm delivery recalls his heroes Robert Earl Keen and the aforementioned Walker, and the songwriting harkens to country's early-90s glory days.

Green isn't known for his albums, but rather the rowdy concerts that attract thousands of college students. Saturday night will be a great chance to see an artist in the middle of a career shift and maybe the last chance before ticket prices skyrocket.
 

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