In sibling self-help books, the model of the nurturing younger sister propping up the rebellious older brother -- and vice versa -- always fills up a few chapters. On the surface, the rootsy Earles fit that model. The more bubbly, less grumbly Stacey Earle and her quietly supportive husband and songwriting partner, Mark Stuart, are playing a couple of back-porch shows at a guitar shop; her stereotypically wild-ass brother, Steve Earle, hits town a few days later to shout out the virtues of Condoleezza Rice's loins. What's often overlooked is that the Stacey-and-Mark show always has moments of riotous candor that must come from the same genetic honesty revealed in Steve's interviews. Likewise, Steve's shows almost always have a moment of sweetness, an echo of some quick, sisterly phone call from Stacey saying, "Man, you ought to show that side of you onstage every once in a while." One thing's for sure -- this year, we get an Earley spring.
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