About last night
After a late-in-the-day change of venue you had to follow the sound of music to find the Magic Cropdusters playing a riverside pavilion last night. Cool and breezy, the outdoor pavilion was the perfect place to take in the Cropdusters. People paired off sharing rock benches on the hillside and blankets in the grass. Kids ran around with sticks and sippy-cups. It was as easy and relaxed as a backyard barbecue. You could sit back, take your shoes off and enjoy the music and the beer you brought – that is, until a bicycle cop rode up and regulated. I made it in time to catch “Snowfall,” which came near the end of the Cropdusters set.
Chris Denny and the Old Soles took the stage second, as they’d double-booked and had to play a private Little Rock Film Festival party at the Peabody Hotel afterwards. Wearing khaki Dockers and a light-blue denim shirt with a touch of embroidery, Denny looked fresh and boyish. He gave us the livelier of his lovelorn songs “Heart’s on Fire” and “All Burned Up,” his heartbreaker “When Am I Gonna Realize,” and a few covers, including Rodney Crowell’s “Til I Gain Control Again.” Some drunken guy lingering on the corner of the stage, said: “You know you sound like a young Bob Dylan,” and Denny smiled and said something back in a low, humble voice to the effect of “so I’ve heard.”
Loch Ness Monster followed. Led by a lab-coat wearing Sulac, they delivered their punk-rock to a full crowd that lingered until the show’s end in the late evening.
