is both a guiding light for those in recovery and a formidable rock and roll songwriter.
That musical duality was on display for the Boulder Theater’s six-hundred-plus crowd Friday night, who were treated to both Osborne the coffee-house songwriter and the jam-heavy instrumentalist.
Since early February, Osborne and his band have coalesced into a force performing tunes from his decades old songbook. Stretching through years of addiction and tears, tracks off of his newest album, Spacedust & Ocean Views, straddled the setlist with heavy tunes like Back to Mississippi and the sweet southern imagery of Pontchartrain, with drummer Brady Blade keeping the pace throughout.
Engaging the crowd with Pleasing You, he continued the rocking start with Black Tar and the visual reckoning of Back on Dumaine before slowing things down for Dyin Days, a futuristic glimpse into his own passing and how he sees it remembered in the Crescent City. After speeding past the album s tempo, the Bayou Buddha Carl Dufrene led the band into a sliver of Neil Young s Down By The River.
Jackson Kincheloe of Sister Sparrow and The Dirty Birds made his usual harmonica appearance on Back to Mississippi, joined by his vocally booming sister Arleigh, before the band departed for the acoustic segment highlighted by Osbone and McFadden on mandolin. Louisiana Gold had the pockets of the audience in soul-fed tears before ramping back to the aggressively electric Lafayette, and Danny Eisenberg s reggae organ blasts on Sarah Anne.
Osborne and McFadden took an acoustic approach on My Old Heart to wrap up the encore, giving the crowd a reprieve from the ear-shattering onslaught that hurt at the time but felt worth it the next morning.
Commanding the audience, Osborne is a troubadour with messages deep enough to counter his own guitar. With enough years toiling away, the honesty within his lyrics has become a timeline of his ascent, decline and re-entry into not only music, but also life itself. For a songwriter like himself, the past provides the story, but dedication to writing brings it to life.
