JIMMY HOLLIDAY SHOWS US SOME ALT COUNTRY - BY N.L. BELARDES February 19, 2005 7:45 pm - I hadn’t seen Jimmy Holliday before. I was expecting him to be a little rougher around the edges what with his gritty angst and fast-moving conversation-style lyrics. But I found him to be gently melodic, with hints of anger as he moved through an acoustic set at Gigantic last night. I’m a big fan of alt country: Wilco, the Jayhawks, Gillian Welch, Trailer Bride, Jay Farrar… I told Jimmy after his set, “You’re like Jay Farrar, man. You tear it up.” And he did. There was a mandolin, a banjo, and sometimes just acoustic guitars in layers of folksy melodies. There was a bit of bluegrass folk style, but his lyrics were what carried his songs; songs about nonsensical silly thoughts that if you listened hard enough were just sarcastic takes on a serious life: he’s a guy who has changed his life and wants to be accepted for who he is and that’s just life life life… How can you hate that? —he’s got the alt country sound wrapped up and I think he fills a much needed void. We’re in a city so strong with country roots, and there was no one that I knew of in between rock and country until Jimmy Holliday came along.