Promotional Photo

Scott Keaton embodies Cash

The Man in Black
Downtown Cabaret Theatre, 263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport. Thu., - Sun. though Nov. 23; times vary. $33 - $39.  (203) 576-1636, www.dtcab.com.

Last weekend, Scott Keeton, star of the Johnny Cash tribute show The Man in Black, experienced heart problems that forced him to cancel his Saturday shows. On Sunday, Keeton bounced back to perform like a man possessed.

It takes guts to take on the legacy of the iconic Cash, and Keeton's husky baritone lets him push a lot of air in the lower registers. Though he used Cash's understated style as a template, the show never devolved into slavish imitation as Keeton let out a few throaty growls and brought some melody to the talking blues of "A Boy Named Sue" and "Cocaine Blues." His voice cut through a band that rocked harder than the Cash's classic ensembles.

Keeton flashed some instrumental prowess, playing two smoking solos on his acoustic guitar, a percussive lead in "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and a flashy blues run in "I've Been Everywhere."

He brushed off audience requests with gentle humor (saying at one point "if you're going to tell me what to play, you have to come to rehearsals") and waded into the crowd to sing "Delia's Gone" without a mic. Knowing that his guitar remained amplified, he toned down the volume and got the audience involved, compensating for lost vocal decibels.

Keaten deftly handled the odd meter of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and conquered the tongue-twisting "I've Been Everywhere," which requires rapid-fire phrasing that would be challenging even to an accomplished rapper. That he required cue cards is no slight to Keaten's talent.

Electric guitarist Jack Heilaman chicken-picked some searing solos on his Telecaster. Augmented by plenty of distortion, especially on the crunchy chords that kicked off "Big River," several leads and accompaniment parts departed from the lines laid down by Cash's guitarists, but Heilaman was mixed so low that it undercut the bite of his revved-up approach.

The rhythm section remained Spartan for the most part, and the tempo of the first few songs was slower than how Cash recorded them. Drummer Bob Gourley kept the train a-rolling all night long with his snare-drum beats. Bassist Craig Wetz started off on an acoustic bass and picked up the tempo when he switched to electric after five songs. He provided solid underpinning with little flash until his solo in a rocking version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (in which Gourley also beat the skins unlike any drummer that Cash ever toured with).

UConn grad Ashley DePascale joined the group to sing duet numbers Cash shared with wife June Carter Cash, like "Daddy Sang Bass," "It Ain't Me" and "Jackson." With crystalline voice, she slid into several notes and displayed her mastery of June Carter Cash's sashaying shoulder sways.

Keeping the evening from being a musty museum piece, The Man in Black included songs Cash recorded for his latter-day American Recordings titles, including Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" and Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt," which Keaten embellished with a gospel-inflected vocal solo.

Augmenting the action on stage, a slide show displayed shots of trains, Memphis streets, prison interiors and, during the song "Five Feet High and Rising," floods. For the choruses of "It Ain't Me, Babe," the screens flashed photos of stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liberace, George Hamilton, Rod Blagojevich, and Babe the pig, perhaps to contrast Cash's gravitas with more frivolous modern celebrities.