“You Can’t Get Rid of Me, This is Mine”: Jim Ward Showcases His Illustrious Career at Vibes.
El Paso Native and legendary guitarist Jim Ward made an appearance at Vibes Undergound this past Thursday as part of his 11-day acoustic tour, featuring Nate Bergman as supporting artist. Local support included San Antonio’s own Scripts and Donella Drive.
Scripts started the night, showcasing its post-hardcore sound. Fronted by brothers Kyle, and Christopher Jon Cooper on vocals, Rob Mochen on guitar/soundscapes, Eddie Welsh on bass, and Roy Buquor on drums, the relatively new supergroup featured new material
Up next was Donella Drive, delivering a relentless set. Led by Aiden Escalante’s gritty yet emotive vocals and punishing guitar riffs, Drew Salazar’s prolific basslines and Steve Rodriguez’s odd time signatures, the band created a genre-defying balance of aggression with complexity. Once locked in, you could truly feel how tight knit the group was, and how cohesive the melodies became, despite the distortion.
The electric instruments were put in their cases and the drums were packed away as Nate Bergman went on stage. The singer-songwriter from D.C., turned Nashvillian was announced to join Jim’s tour only ten days before it started but it proved to compliment it well. Nate’s songs of heartbreak and deception became singalongs, keeping the crowd engaged even as the songs progressively got sadder. “Brace yourself,” he taunted, as the crowd cheered and sang along. Songs like War on the Working Class, Wish I Was and Back to Nashville made the setlist, ending with a flourish as he concluded with his rendition of Helena by My Chemical Romance.
As the last song played, Ward stood by the steps next to the stage and began setting up. It Seemed like he originally had a harp rack on his shoulders but decided against it in the end as he was tuning his acoustic guitar. Although he doesn’t often play solo acoustic shows, let alone full acoustic tours, he assured the crowd that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable sometimes. In response, the audience cheered him on, yelling all sorts of affections. His vocals remained strong and powerful, as he played songs from multiple phases of his career, often prefacing by telling stories from these stages. Ward often advocated for mental health, offering hope to artists who suffer from depression “It gets better, it gets fucking better, and I’m so happy that 20-something years later, I’m able to tell you these stories” There was an air of nostalgia, hope, and love throughout the venue as his performance carried on.
Songs included hits like Collapse by Sparta, A Broken Promise by Sleepercar, and tracks from his Daggers album. “I love San Antonio so much,” he said. “It’s like family.” As he was concluding his set, he continued, “I wrote this when I was 20. I like to play it ‘cause I like to recapture, I like to fucking own this. You can’t get rid of me, this is mine.” as he finished his set with Hourglass by At the Drive In. The crowd cheered, and sang along to the In/Casino Out hit. It was an amazing performance by one of the true pioneers of the genre.
Check out the images from the show below!
