Buddy Miller is featured prominently on TV these days, but you have to look hard to find him. He produced or co-produced much of the musical songs on “Nashville,” and plays guitar on most of them. He was even seen briefly once in a stage scene.
But at 60s, the grizzled guitar player in the beat up hat is better suited for radio, where he and his old pal Jim Lauderdale have been hosting a show on Sirius XM. More recently they parlayed their pairing into an album and as of Tuesday, a national tour that kicked off at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va.
It was a friendly outpost for both of them, who have separately played the music-loving club noted for its silent attention. Together, their countrified voices blended well, and Lauderdale’s acoustic made way for Miller’s commanding electric guitar.
They played just about everything from the New West release, “Buddy and Jim,” including the cover “Down in New Orleans” from Johnny and Jack, a vintage country duo they are perhaps trying to emulate in their band name. Lauderdale for his part was channeling oldtime country stage corn, continuing to refer to the band and editorial we as “Buddy and Jim” except when he was trying to flip the billing.
Lauderdale credited one joke that bombed to Porter Wagoner, which earned a little more respect for it from Miller. For all of their reverence to past stars, they only did a few covers, from Joe Tex’s “I Want to Do Everything for You” to George Jones’ “The Race is On.” They said it was because it was a song they both were playing when they met 33 years ago; more likely it echoed Lauderdale’s year long stint playing the Possum in a stage version of the Tammy Wynette story. Not many people are well-suited to Jones’ singular wail, but Lauderdale is.
Both Lauderdale and Miller are remarkable songwriters and brief solo spotlights of each turned out Miller’s classic “Wide River to Cross” and Laderdale’s stunning “I Love You More,” which he recorded with Nick Lowe’s band and is yet to be released.
Unlike, say, the pizza served at the Birchmere, the show was musically balanced between the sweetness of classic country to rockin’ stomps like “The Wobble” that ended the set.
And there was something else to be thankful for in the show: It was the fourth anniversary, Miller realized, of the gig in Baltimore when he had a heart attack on stage. He dedicated a song or two some of the local fans who helped nurse him through following the triple bypass that kept him off that tour. And everybody cheered his return, sounding so good.