Pistol Annies - Yes! (I'd probably support Ashley if she stood up and read out the sugar beet prices - but, yes, I like this venture with her two friends, and they seem to have some good songs)
"Baggage Claim" - probably not Ran's most memorable song, but I'd like to hear more. The lyrics sound good - though I think she overdid the punchy mood in the intro. by telling her audience to wake up (basically, if they're falling asleep, you can blame poor ventilation, or what's happening on stage, lol) Not so keen on the music on that number - though the guitar break was good.
Ran's twang - I love it, but I agree it's a matter of taste.
Anyway, if you haven't seen it elsewhere, I thought you might be interested in Brandi Carlile's post about Ran's wedding (She had the longest performance slot in the wedding video, so I guess they're good friends)
""I stayed the night in my beloved Tucson, and then I flew to Texas to see my friend, Miranda, get married and sing her parents down the aisle. the twins and I sang "the story" and then sat and watched one of the most moving weddings I've seen (besides Tiffany and Jay's!!). afterwards we attended the wildest country party reception I've ever heard of! I must have had a few too many drinks (I think they were called skinny *itches, and Miranda's mom kept giving them to me) because my night ended with me karaoke singing the song "fancy" WHILE looking AT Reba McIntyre!! what the heck??? that was brave! I love Reba, and I think she got a kick out of it! everybody was singing, Kelly Clarkson, Neal McCoy, Reba herself (LOVE), and even Martina McBride...not to mention the bride and groom. I will never turn down a party invitation from them again...as long as Bev Lambert is mixing up "skinny *itches!" after the weekend's festivities we really needed a break so we played golf in San Antonio and went out for steaks!
We picked it right back up with two wild shows in Texas! - One in Dallas at the Granada -- packed house with an incredible audience. nothing short of a magical show! so many people brought us moonshine and jars of pickles. our friend even brought us a chocolate cake! Allison's drum solo was like five minutes long! "dying day" went really well here despite the size and fullness of the room...it's all about the people. they make or break that song. awesome night!
We also played one of my favorite venues in life, Gruene Hall. first of all, i love Gruene. second of all, the hall is extraordinarily cool and legendary. many of the country greats, including Johnny Cash, played that dance hall to packed houses of music lovers! we stayed at the beautiful Gruene Mansion Inn which is actually an old mansion right on the Guadalupe river...so naturally we started our day by jumping in and going for a band swim.
We then all ate dinner at the grist mill with Miranda's family and proceeded to play easily the wildest show of the tour (Dallas was probably second). it was just a blast! of course we played Folsom Prison Blues just to honor the space, but we also played our ballads and I did "same 'ol you" for the Lamberts. we signed cds outside in the grass with the fire flies and the cute cops. thanks Gruene. loved it!"