Anderson is Dwight’s secret weapon, a brilliant guitarist who also acted as producer on many of his albums. The live setting really allows Anderson to shine, throwing in a few guitar solos that improve on the studio versions of the songs. He’s so good he really should be center stage.
"Little Sister" is a crowd favorite and Dwight milks it for all it’s worth, gyrating around the stage much to the audiences delight. It's at this point he bids them goodnight but he’s soon back for an encore.
"I Sang Dixie," performed solo with just an acoustic guitar is the highlight of the show. It paints a less than flattering portrait of Los Angeles, with an alcoholic Southerner dying on the street, ignored by all save one, who “sang Dixie while he died.” It could easily stray too far into sentimentality but Dwight keeps it real and the sparseness of the arrangement helps.
He brings the band back out for a rousing version of "This Drinkin' Will Kill Me" that allows the audience to leave on a high. But it's "Dixie" that's the concerts standout.
The DVD
Video
Limited by the source material (it was recorded for TV broadcast) the transfer is surprisingly sharp and clear. Given the age of the show (October 1988) this is as good as it's going to get.
Audio
A big improvement over the Steve Earle disc. We get a stereo PCM track and a DTS surround mix. The PCM track is nice and clear and the DTS adds plenty of bass (something that was lacking on the Steve Earle release).
Extras
Sadly nothing other than an option to select a song and that doesn't count as an extra in my book.
Article comments
1 - JC Mosquito
IS this DVD only or is there an audio CD also?
I saw Dwight a couple of years ago on tour without Anderson - sorry - can't remember the replacemnt fella's name - a big Hispanic fella from Tejas who rocked pretty hard.
2 - Ian Woolstencroft
Thanks for the comment.
I think all the Live From Austin Tx series are available on both DVD and CD, this one definitely is.