McCarthy’s Media Menace presents: Justin Townes Earle… in Inglourious Black and White, Volume 2

After a slight misstep with the previous, Best Coast installment, the Inglourious Black and White series is back to form with a much-anticipated sequel. In June 2009, Justin Townes Earle graced the Kent Stage for the second time in his career. The uploaded black and white videos from that performance set a standard of sort, even garnering interest from the singer/songwriter’s management and appearing on the foremost authoritative blog on Earle, Halfway To Jackson.

Will these clips, shot Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011, match the all-around success of those? Probably not. For one thing, I was late in getting a good seat, so I hunkered up in what is probably considered the balcony. It seemed like a good idea at the time, what with the ledge divider and all. Except I failed to realize I was shooting in what was the primary exit path for the right side of the jam-packed, 600-seat theater. So there’s that — people unknowingly walking in front of the camera. Couple that with the complexity of framing. Yes, framing. There’s something about an active camera that seems distracting when it comes to Earle. He’s so dynamic and classic-looking that I’d rather the videos have a ’50s feel to them. (The unintentional focus issues on some of these only adds to that fuzzy, old-school television appearance.) That was tough because his supporting cast, stand-up bassist Bryn Davies and fiddler Josh Hedley, occupied opposite ends of the stage, demanding either uninteresting wide shots or more camera movement. Which is why most of the following videos are the more intimate, minimalist efforts. Such inclusions are: a cover of Bruce Springsteen‘s “Racing in the Street,” “Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This,” “Slippin’ and Slidin’” and the new track, “Won’t Be the Last Time.”

One particularly enjoyable moment in the evening arrived during the encore when Earle attempted a song he normally nails every time. Apparently, he hadn’t played “So Different Blues” by Mance Lipscomb for a while, because he messed up a lick numerous times and forgot the best verse. The result is strangely charming nonetheless.

I could go on talking about the show — how surprised I was by opener Jessica Lee Mayfield or how different Earle’s set is with the absence of Cory Younts — but those are topics for a different day. The important thing here isn’t words, but the sights and sounds from one of the greatest young performers in music.

“Ain’t Waitin’”

“Slippin’ and Slidin’”

“Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This”

“Won’t Be The Last Time”

“Racing in the Street”

“So Different Blues”