by Andrew Norman
Sitting on his throne smack dab in the middle of the back bar space at Jake's Cigars & Spirits in Benson, Red City Radio drummer (and native Nebraskan) Dallas Tidwell checks to ensure guitarist Garrett Dale's focusing on the song he's about to sing, rather than his Jameson and Coke.
"Ready Garr Bear?"
Tidwell counts off the beat on his ride, and Dale steps up to the mic …
Crammed into a booth next to Tidwell, Fort Collins band Elway — in town for a show with RCR at the Sandbox — plays the Nintendo game "1943: The Battle of Midway" on an old laptop, eats slices of vegan pizza and pounds PBR tallboys, paying no attention to the Oklahoma City band's Love Drunk shoot. The same goes for the bar's regulars, who drink off their workday at varying speeds and intensity levels.
On the song "50th and Western" from their Paper + Plastick debut full-length The Dangers of Standing Still, Red City Radio's levels are consistent: fast and forceful. Tidwell, Dale, guitarist Paul Pendley and bassist Jonathan Knight nail the song in their second take, but Dale won't let the song die. Who could blame him? Watch it here.