Justin Townes Earle Brings a Little Southern Charm to Somerville

Wednesday night was the same as any old New England spring evening—except in Johnny D's in Davis Square. There, Justin Townes Earle shared the warmth of the south and the twang of the past with an enthusiastic crowd, playing a long set of down-home straight-country tunes. Earle was technically by himself on stage with just his guitar for accompaniment, but his songs—including several covers—evoked plenty of heroes from country music history, such that he was never really alone. Saying "Any folk singer'll tell you that—we like to borrow," Earle proved it with tributes to Woody Guthrie and Manse Lipscomb, to which the crowd responded enthusiastically.

Though he looks a bit like Jimmy Fallon with a mustache, Earle plays a little more like a country legend, swinging somewhat more toward old-school twang than either his rock 'n roll father (Steve Earle) or his brooding namesake (Townes Van Zandt). Speaking in a shy Nashville accent, Earle made clever quip after clever quip, making the show fun as much for the banter as the guitar work. He roamed coltishly across the stage while playing and paused between songs to address us. Excusing himself for tuning on stage, Earle stressed that the tuning was "very necessary for an enjoyable evening on both our parts."

Earle has had his own Townes-like run-ins with drugs, though you'd never know it from his upbeat stage manner. He played a few songs that bordered on ballads, but most of the tunes were feel-good honky-tonk types, even prompting some audience members to get up and dance. The lyrics reflected a concerned but carefree attitude: "If you ain't glad I'm leavin', girl, you know you oughta be," recognizing the singer's own negative influence on the ones he loves and desire to unleash them from any negative influence. Other songs were introduced with a bit more malice: "This song hurt a young lady... I consider it a job well done." His songs, though, never hurt anyone.

All in all, Earle created the perfect blend of lonesome, loose, and lovable onstage, all the while keeping up some impressively tight guitar work. Earle asserts in one of his songs, "I don't know which way is home so I'm wandering," and we'd wander with him anywhere. Check out his latest, Midnight at the Movies, for a more perfected and fleshed-out version of Earle's excellent live show.