The Devil decided to go to Georgia instead of Texas, because he knew Carrie Rodriguez was in Austin and he’d be giving up that golden fiddle because he wouldn’t have had a chance. And while the song came out a scant few years after she was born, the Austin songstress was absolutely dazzling at the 
Geomatic Attic, Aug. 16 where she and her band played to a close to sold out crowd of approximately 60.
Dressed in a simple blue dress and high heeled sandals, she grinned a mouthful of gorgeous white teeth, framed by brown ringlets of hair as hypnotically swayed from side to side as she made her fiddle sing, cry, moan, hiss and squeal while stomping out additional rhythm. And she was holding back. But when she cut loose, it was awe inspiring, playing a jaw dropping solo which dropped about three octaves in a bar in one song. She ended her first set with a medley of fiddle tunes called “Fiddle Magic.”
She started her second set by dedicating a nice duet with guitarist Luke Jacobs of John Prine’s “Unwed Fathers” to Geomatic Attic owner Mike Spencer.
In the second set she played a lot of the more rock influenced music to be released on a new CD to come out early next year, alternating between her mandobird, tenor guitar and especially her fiddle.
She had a sexy, jazzy voice tinged with Sheryl Crow and Sue Foley.
Her first set focused on her earlier material, including the moving highlight “Seven Angels on a Bicycle, ” which she noted was inspired by a friend of hers who died young.
Another highlight was a love song by Merle Haggard,“Today I Started Loving you Again” before which she told a story of seeing him on Austin City Limits.
Her song inspired by Hurricane Katrina — “Waterbound,” from “Seven Angels on a Bicycle” was another highlight. She played much of that record including a hot version of “Never Going to Be Your Bride,” featuring some fine fiddling,” the sexy “50s French Movie,” a snarling version of “I Don’t Want to Play House Anymore,” and my personal favourite,”She Ain’t Me,” which brought the show to a fitting close before the standing ovation, which brought her back for an encore including “Never Going to be Your Bride.”
