James McMurtry took the stage at promptly ten o’clock, dressed in a loose white guayabera and a matching wide-brimmed fedora reminiscent of the one Bob Dylan wore during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. When he’s not on the road, the singer plays a residency at the Continental Club, on Austin’s South Congress, twice a week—one night with his full band, one night solo. On a recent Tuesday, the small venue was full, standing room only. The crowd members trended older and looked comfortable, like regulars who were committed to their routine. McMurtry began with few strums on the guitar before the band chugged in behind him, breaking into “Childish Things,” a song narrated by an aging, disillusioned man who “[doesn’t] believe in heaven but . . . still believe[s] in ghosts.”Like…
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