The Arkansas Kid was taken down by The Two Texans on Wednesday night at Massey Hall.
That would be Billy Bob Thornton, and his band the Boxmasters, who got some good ole' fashion schooling in live performing from none other than country music legends Willie Nelson and Ray Price during the first of two back-to-back shows featuring all three men.
As the actor-screenwriter-singer-drummer said himself about half-way through his half-hour set: "We're just up here wasting time until they get out here."
Thornton, 53, was the clear upstart given the lengthy and impressive careers of the 75-year-old Nelson and 83-year-old Price.
Sure, Thornton's been singing and drumming a long time and definitely has charisma and confidence to burn but his recording career only goes back to 2001, first on his own and now with the Boxmasters, including an upcoming double CD called Modbilly due on April 21.
And while Thornton and his fellow bandmates, whose numbers had swelled to seven on Wednesday night, had the cool, '50s-inspired sharp suits and skinny ties look thing going, along with a big guitar sound, but the frontman rushed through the first half of his set.
He occasionally threw drum sticks out into the audience before only really came alive during the second half with some pretty good one-liners.
"We're kind of used to Toronto - it's the wildest town in Canada - except for that one girl in Vancouver," said the five-time married Thornton.
But then just as he was finally getting warmed up, he was gone.
"I'm going to have a smoke, " he announced before exiting the stage.
By comparison, Price and Nelson were positively languid in their respective, 45-minute and hour-and-10-minute long sets.
The gentle and warm-sounding Price turned Massey Hall into the Grand Ole Opry with his 11-piece band that included four string players, opening with San Antonio Rose before moving into Crazy Arms, Heartaches By The Number, Release Me (which he joked that he recorded "BH - before Humperdinck"), Spanish Eyes, City Lights, You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me, Make The World Go Away, and Lay Your Head On My Pillow.
The remarkable thing was not only how many huge hits he had, but how good and powerful his deep voice still sounded.
"Three months ago, I turned 83," said Price. "And I ain't about to quit, I'll tell you that."
He followed that quip with the song, I Wish I Was Eighteen Again.
Nelson's set was more intimate, despite the unfurling of a large Texas flag as a backdrop, with a stripped-down five-piece band, including his sister Bobbie on piano, keeping the accompaniment to a minimum and Nelson's own acoustic guitar-playing the real star of the show.
Decked out in his usual braids and runners, the country outlaw resembled an aging hippie more than a cowboy, especially when he traded in his black cowboy hat for his trademark red bandana, going through several headbands which he kept throwing into the crowd.
Nelson definitely aimed to please by playing hit after hit beginning with Whiskey River and continuing with Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away, Crazy, If You've Got The Money, I've Got The Time, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain, Georgia, Mama, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys, On The Road Again, You Were Always On My Mind, Move It On Over, and such gospel tunes as I'll Fly Away.
Both Price and Nelson, who friendship goes all the way back to when Price hired Nelson to play in his famous band, The Cherokee Cowboys in 1961 (they most recently recorded 2007's Last Of The Breed with Merle Haggard, toured together as a trio and released a live album this year), also played tribute to fellow country music legend Hank Williams in their individual sets.
Price took on Mansion On A Hill and Nelson performed Hey Good Lookin' and I Saw The Light, and they both did the classic songs justice.
Pay attention, Billy Bob.
