The Lost Dogs : Cornerstone 1992Cornerstone FestivalBushnell, Illinoisby Bruce A. Brown
On the rainy opening evening of this
year's Cornerstone fest, the late-night
Coffeehouse tent was transformed into a
dogpound that easily rivaled anything
staged by Arsenio Hall. Many of the 250
for at least double that number of folk,
who had come to see the rare
aggregation known as Lost Dogs, a
"supergroup" comprised of the leaders of
popular bands. Several of these same
audience members had been waiting
patiently as the group agonized through
a sound check nearly as long as most
concerts. But no one seemed to mind
much, as the tent was dry and the coffee
hot. Just past midnight, several rowdy
fest-goers began a high-spirited chant--
"Lost Dogs, Lost Dogs"--which gave
way howls and barks of recognition,
as Mike Roe (77's) and Terry Taylor (da)
sidled on stage and struck up the chords
of"You Gotta Move." The foot-stomping
pair was quickly joined by guest
drummer Jon Knox (Adam Again/White
Heart) and dobro/steel player Greg
Kellogg (Mercy River), who was
prominently featured on the Scenic
Routes album. By the song's end, Derri
Daugherty (The Choir) and Gene
Eugene (Adam Again) also took up
positions on the small stage. The
quartet clearly had been anticipating
the chance to perform its music for a
live audience. Taylor and Roe struck up
a running dialogue with those nearest
the stage, while Daugherty and Eugene
traded-off various guitars and basses
and Knox and Kellogg offered
authoritative support.
Although the Dogs played only the
songs from its sole album, the
reinventions and fresh arrangements
gave much of the material new life.
Gene Eugene was the biggest surprise
vocally, with his stunning
interpretations of hard country
material such as "I Can't Say Goodbye"
and "The Last Testament of Angus
Shane." With Adam Again, Gene tends
toward a more animated delivery, but
with the Dogs, Eugene offered a
laconic, Hank Williams approach to his
vocal solos. Again, Roe and Taylor, who
probably have more live appearances
under their belts with their respective
bands, took naturally to the spotlight.
Mike Roe, in particular, relished the
opportunity to uncork some sterling
electric guitar work. "Bullet Train"
found Roe and Kellogg unleashing an
extended guitar/dobro coda, while the
pair performed a wailing guitar/steel
duet at the end of "Lord, Protect My
Child." Roe offered some steamy
harmonica blowing on the Jimmy Reed
adaptation "Old and Lonesome" and
also turned in some hot rockabilly licks
(ala Elvis' "Mystery Train") for the
concert-ending "Why is the Devil Red?"
Seeing the Dogs in person also gave
one the opportunity to gauge the
members' reactions to singing the
various lyrics, an especially helpful
advantage when the group performed
the more political numbers, such as
“Bullet Train” and “Fortunate
Sons." Though the Lost Dogs made no
bones about their dissatisfaction with
the current administration in
Washington, the all-too-brief concert
event was mostly reserved for watching
four Christian rock veterans having
loads of fun with each other and with
their devoted following. Here's looking
forward to "Lost Dogs--The Sequel!"
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