KEVIN GORDON, ISAAC ALEXANDER
9:30 p.m. White Water Tavern.
White Water Tavern's been on a tear the last many many months with heavy-hitter singer/songwriters. They've had Mary Gauthier, David Olney (who'll return next week), Malcolm Holcombe and probably a bunch more I can't remember.
This week sees a return from Louisiana native Kevin Gordon. Critics like to toss around words like "literary" and "bleak" and "Southern gothic" when describing Gordon's music, and I suppose that's fine as all those terms probably apply. But there are rays of sunshine peeking through his stories of the rough times of boozy deadbeats. Check out the triumphant sounding "24 Diamonds" from his 2005 album "O Come Look at the Burning."
Dude ain't exactly hyperprolific, as the follow-up to that album was last year's "Gloryland," but hell, you'll need a minute or several to unpack his songs, especially the thrilling, sprawling 10-minute-plus story/song "Colfax." Very good stuff, but also check out the live version on Gordon's ReverbNation page— it's just relentless. Also on this bill: One of Arkansas's finest, Isaac Alexander.