I bought these tickets two and half years ago and after a few false starts we are finally here. It’s not my first southern rock rodeo with these guys and my live experience going back to 2005 with the classic line up with Isbell and Tucker on board. It was the first time I had seen a band literally pass a bottle of Jack amongst themselves between each song. This is my fifth show with them and they rarely disappoint.
Tonight’s show kicks off with Jerry Joseph, who released a fine album ‘The Beautiful Madness’ a couple of years back, produced by Patterson Hood. After of a couple of solo acoustic numbers he is joined onstage by DBT as his backing band and puts on another thirty minutes of fine southern rock.
Next up the main men themselves. With Hood and Cooley standing front and centre they alternate singing and lead duties throughout the night taking in something from across their long back catalogue with a special extended sojourn to tracks from the epic ‘Southern Rock Opera’. With the release of a new album this week that’s three albums released since I bought the tickets and so the new songs slipped in nicely in amongst the classics.
What follows is a two hour Southern rock masterclass and it’s so nice to put on those rock slippers again with these guys. Such is the quality of the back catalogue one can always complain about the set and they could have played another two hours and not covered all of your favourites.
What impressed me amongst the obvious quality of the band is that the voices both Messrs Hood and Cooley are still as strong as ever and I love Cooley’s laconic tones. Also props to bassist Matt Patton who must be the happiest musician alive as the smile never leaves his face as he provides those grooves supporting the front men.
On a night of old favourites of course classics like ‘Ronnie and Neil’ and ‘Let there be rock’ were excellent but special mention for a great version of ‘Marry Me’ and then a particularly heavy rocking version of ‘Hell no, I aint happy’ with Jerry Joseph joining the boys onstage. No time for stupid encores as we hit the curfew with a 23 song masterclass.
Super show and well worth the wait.
Keep on southern rockin’ y’all.