If JEFF TWEEDY’s post-UNCLE TUPELO meteoric rise gets under JAY FARRAR’s skin, he does a good job of looking like he doesn’t give a damn, That said, you could drop an anvil on his toe and he might just stare back at you with the disaffected glance he’s perfected over the last 20 or so years. This personality trait has more than seeped in to (saturated?) his songwriting and delivery as well. If you are looking for DAVID YOW-esque front man antics, look elsewhere.
Maybe this staid, even-keeled approach ultimately limited Farrar’s/SON VOLT’s overall audience, but the latest addition to his oeuvre, The Search, though not imbued with white-hot emotion, finds him resuscitating the Son Volt imprint as well as injecting some (shall we say?) outright fun; cf. the Stax/Volt horns of “”The Picture” (though sadly no horns were present at tonight’s show; a harmonica was pressed into service, though it didn’t carry the same impact). This night, we got more than a rounded spoonful of songs from the latest record, all skillfully turned out by the hired hands in this version of Son Volt, especially CHRIS MASTERSON, who was absolutely stellar. He’s the only player I’ve ever seen able to wring a convincing pedal steel guitar sound from a conventional six stringer.
Though the new record is pretty strong, one could tell the audience was primed for some choice Farrar material from the past, and given the guy’s track record, it’s not an unreasonable request. Happily, “Tear-Stained Eye”, “Windfall”, “Drown” all got trotted out from the debut Trace, and some actual slivers of the true cross (aka Uncle Tupelo songs) were unveiled for display; a reggaefied “Life Worth Livin’” and the storming closer of “Chickamauga”, which brought the full house (even on a windy, rainy, Sunday night) to a roar. And rightly so; it’s a massive song, and I’m glad that Jay penciled it into the setlist.
Freshly ex-DRIVE-BY TRUCKER JASON ISBELL and his 400 UNIT (comprised of like-minded souls from Muscle Shoals, Alabama) had opening duties, but with such strong material and impassioned delivery, he and his band will be headlining soon enough. Vicious power chords, sweet, sweet slide, solemn acoustic (especially on “Dress Blues”, a moving song about the current war in Iraq)—all songs hit hard to the fairly good turnout for an opening act. His ‘trucker’ roots showed clearly via the handle of Jack Daniels on the drum riser and a great reading of “Decoration Day”. A thoroughly unexpected and raging turn on “Jailbreak” (THIN LIZZY, not AC/DC) got the crowd pumped, and closer “Try” killed it. Not sure if the lyrics hold a piece of the puzzle as to why Jason’s now a solo act, but regardless, tonight showed without a doubt that he’s got a fine future ahead of him.
