Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives Concert

“When I left I thought it was the best live performance of any group I ever heard.”

“I always thought he was a neon cowboy Johnny Cash wannabe, not the case at all. That was real magic.”

“What a great night! How cool that Zack ... got a shout out!”

“What a great show. [It] highly exceeded expectations.”

Those are just a sample of the email comments I received the day after the August 4, 2011 Paramount Theatre performance by Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives. I mention them because I have never received more emails after a concert than after that particular show.

I also mention them because they do a nice job of telling the story.

I went to the show at my wife’s request. I knew almost nothing about Marty Stuart, so my expectations were low. It helped that we purchased our tickets early and landed front row seats.

Once the show started, however, any doubts I had were immediately erased.

The group opened up on fire with the classic country song “Stop the World and Let Me Off” and followed that with the scorching “Country Boy Rock & Roll” off Stuart’s latest CD Ghost Train.

Stuart’s band not only proved it is a collection of talented musicians, it also proved to be talented showmen and vocalists. Each member took a turn on the lead vocals with the standout for me being Kenny Vaughan singing “You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover.”

On the flip side, Stuart proved he’s more than a good looking country frontman as his mandolin and guitar solos were exceptional.

At one point, Stuart even engaged my son in the show. He pointed at him and asked him his name and age. Then he pointed at the girl next to him and did the same thing. “Zack and Hannah, sixteen and fifteen, what did you do to get punished and have to be here tonight?” he asked.

Stuart was also very complimentary of the Paramount. “I love this theater,” he said during the show.

He was very much an ambassador for classic country music, saying it is as powerful and as much a part of American culture as ballet and jazz. “And the fact that we’re playing in a beautiful place like this proves it,” he added.

Some of my favorite songs from the night included a haunting and powerful rendition of “Long Black Veil;” a solo version of “Dark Bird,” a song Stuart wrote for Johnny Cash; “Six Days on the Road,” a classic country song written by Dave Dudley that was originally cut in Minneapolis; and the old-time classic “I’m Working on a Building.”

After the show, the entire band came out and signed autographs.

By Karl Leslie