Hurtin' but Happy, Jon Dee Returns to the Continental

A few people may have thought it wouldn't happen at all, at least early-on, when the grim reports first trickled in. Almost no one thought it would happen this soon.

But Wed. night, a month and two days after a car crash nearly killed Jon Dee Graham, he reclaimed his place on the stage at the Continental Club. Michael Hoinski was there for the Austin American-Statesman, and interviewed Graham before the show.

"Something Wonderful," the set opener, fixed the tone for the evening. This performance, against medical advice, would be both celebratory and therapeutic. Graham has often called the Continental Club his "home office," and frequently speaks of the Wed. night gigs as something transcendent and necessary in his life.

Jon Dee followed-up with "Big Sweet Life" before taking a break to talk to the fans who packed the room.

"There are some rumors floating around," he said. "First of all, I'm not dead ..."

It was a close thing, though. At least three broken ribs (one of which is still "flopping around in there,") cracked vertebra and a ruptured spleen. They're the kind of injuries that keep people from walking, much less pacing a stage and slinging a guitar.

"I have a new lease on life, and I intend to fix some things," Graham said. "Though you may not all like some of what I'm gonna do."

Then -- and we figured it was probably coming -- Graham launched into a song that is clearly less than 30 days old: "Anyone else would have laid down and died/Me? I'm just busted up inside," he sang about his near-death experience.

"Pharmacologically speaking, I've got about 32 minutes left," he joked with the crowd, before launching into another of his relatively new songs.

Next up, "Burning off the Cane," a smoky-sweet remembrance of his childhood on the Rio Grande, then "Not Beautifully Broken," an early 2008 debut that has quickly become an audience favorite.

Before that last song, Jon Dee turned to face his drummer, and -- hunched over -- grimaced in pain. It's doubtful that many in the audience saw it, but the weariness etched in Jon Dee's face as he called for longtime friend Jesse Sublett a few minutes later was obvious.

Graham told the audience about Sublett's daily visits since the accident. "He said, 'Man, if you need someone to spell you ...'," Graham recalled, turning to Sublett. "I need someone to spell me now."

Jon Dee was, he said, off to "chew some OxyContin." It's that kind of pain.

Turning over his gold Strat to the Skunks bassist, Graham disappeared into the Continental's green room. Sublett sang two of his own songs, followed by frequent Graham guest Ben Todd, who gave the audience a lovely, downbeat rendition of "Swept Away."

"You know, it's true that if you chew pain pills, the work a lot faster," Graham joked as he retook the stage. Next up was an extended version of the songwriter's new murder ballad, "How Do You Like Me Now?" followed by what has become Jon Dee's traditional closer, Dan Stuart's (Green on Red) "Muhammad Ali" -- a song about beating the odds, and a call for hope.

It was a short set, for Jon Dee. Short and very, very sweet. He'll be at the Saxon Pub Saturday