Friday Night: Jessica Lea Mayfield At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Marc Brubaker

​Jessica Lea Mayfield, David Mayfield
Fitzgerald's
April 22, 2011

You know those situations where you're thinking to yourself, "Wow, this looks like it doesn't make sense...perhaps some further investigation might prove me wrong"? Friday night was one of the very few times that Aftermath has been proven wrong.

We won't go into depth about our scientific examinations of Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra's marriage, 2 Girls 1 Cup, The Pain Olympics, or "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" before bedtime. Just know that they all ended very badly.

For now, we'll just introduce you to the Mayfields, a charmingly coy brother-sister duo of farm-raised country musicians. Friday, David Mayfield opened for younger sister Jessica Lea, who released the alt-country showcase Tell Me in February, her second album produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.

When David Mayfield got to the stage, we weren't sure what to expect. His long beard and pearl snap were off-putting; all he had was an acoustic guitar. He let the crowd know how nervous he was-it was only his second time opening for his sister.

​"I told her to let me open a couple of shows or I was.... gonna tickle her," he giggled. OK, that sounded pretty creepy; and we just prayed that it wouldn't be a depressing acoustic set.

It actually ended being quite the opposite: impressive guitar picking and a standup comedy routine. Picture Zach Galifianakis's beard and self-degrading-comedy blended together with the satirical country lyrics and guitar prowess of Brad Paisley.

He shook his butt - adding that his manager told him he needed more sex appeal - and was humorously flamboyant with his guitar playing technique. "I'm killin' it up here," he said in a thick country accent. We had no idea that Ohioans had that kind of drawl.

Mayfield usually performs with his band, but he was traveling solo with his family for his performances in New Orleans and Houston. He played songs about love, reminiscing about a time when he stalked his ex girlfriend, and other story-telling ballads with laughable lyrics. He also covered a country classic, "Sea of Heartbreak", by Don Gibson.

Before he sang his second to last song, he let the crowd know: "This song finally made it to No. 1.....on my dad's YouTube favorites. It took a while to beat the homeless guy with the good announcer voice, but I made it."

By the end of Mayfield's set, everyone in the crowd wanted to hang out with him. Shit, we almost wanted to buy him a Lone Star, but we wanted to see what his lil' sis was all about, of course.