When picks up his guitar next he will be in Salt Lake City. The Rocky Mountains will be at his back and a new crowd of fans at his front. Hopefully between sleep and show he has a moment to reflect on the night before. Because the night before was a job well done.
Jason Isbell’s stop at the on Sept. 4 left fans of the one time with the feeling that they may have seen the last of him at a venue that size.
Credit it to his recent appearance on CBS’s “Evening News” Credit it to his numerous recent appearances on Letterman. Most likely though, credit it to writing good music that wags a finger in the face of what pop country is and could be.
Jason Isbell is crossing over into popular music and he is sweeping the Drive-By Trucker loyals along with him. The pulse of the building was that people came to hear music off “Southeastern,” Isbell’s new album, instead of pining away for the old familiar tunes.
The “old familiar” they got, but not without some of the new. Isbell kicked off the show with “Flying Over Water” and didn’t stop there with new material as he went on to play 9 of the 12 new tracks off the album.
Joined by his band, the 400 Unit, Isbell powered through trucker favorites like “Decoration Day,” “Outfit,” “Never Gonna Change” and “Goddamn Lonely Love.”
But then the show came to an unexpected halt midway through the band’s set.
“These machines are having their way with us tonight!” explained Isbell.
Instead of continuing the show in hopes that the problem would work itself out, Isbell calmly and cooly announced to the crowd that there would be a 10 minute intermission to fix a problem with his guitarist’s amplifier. That consideration to his audience only serves to emphasize his southern roots and hospitality. Here is a man who gives you quality of work and a job done well every time he comes to town.
The problem was fixed and the show resumed with new song “Stockholm” and followed up by an electric version of “Alabama Pines” the celebrated single off his previous album, “Here We Rest.”
A Jason Isbell encore is predictable only in the sense that you know he is going to pay homage to some great piece of music. Fans have been treated in years past to selections including covering Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane” and “Cortez the Killer.”
Last night’s encore was no different. After playing the clear fan favorite off the new album, “Super 8,” Isbell came back channeling Keith Richards with a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking,” sweeping the capacity crowd into a frenzy to end the night.
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Evan Semón is a Denver freelance writer and photographer and regular contributor to Reverb. See .
Allen Klosowski is a Denver-based writer and photographer. Check out .
