Its a treat anytime Terry Taylor performs live, even if only for a four song set. Last Tuesday's performance at the Diamante Label Showcase was no exception. The Ace of Clubs is located just south of Nashville's downtown and evidence of the recent tornados was easily visible. We arrived around 10:15 and had no trouble getting in to this "private show." Rick Altizer was performing with an all-star band. He closed with his "monkey song" complete with dancing gorillas. While we only heard half of his set, I am now very curious to hear his cd. The Winans sisters followed with a mediocre set.

Terry and co. came on stage at 10:55 and opened with "Broken Ladders to Glory". Jerry and Terry played acoustic guitar, Derri played his "miniture" electric guitar, Steve Hindalong sat in for Ed, Phil Maderia played accordian and lap steel guitar, and Chris Donahue filled in for Tim on bass. "Ten Gallon Hat" and "Grace is the Smell of Rain" followed. My wife enjoyed Terry's whistling during "TGH". The overall sound was surprisingly full, largely due to Phil Maderia's accordian. As way of introduction for the final song, Terry talked about his reluctance in the past to write songs about his children, saying that most CCM artists have tended to offer us "schmaltzy" songs designed to evoke "knee jerk" emotional responses [can everyone say "butterfly kisses"]. He then compared that to writing songs about the cross, saying that he really felt "inspired" to write the following song, "You Lay Down."

There were some other DA fans in the audience. I heard requests for "Dance Stop", "Shotgun Angel", and "Darn Floor, Big Bite". Terry responded by declaring "You all are SICK!!!". This was a great show, despite its brevity. It definetly eases the pain of not going to Cornerstone. Thanks to Terry, to Diamante, and to Kevin for providing us with the scoop.

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