This was Jason’s second UK date on the European tour to
support the album which has elevated his status to wider appeal. Without too
much knowledge of the Bristol live music scene, the decision to move the show
to the O2 Academy seemed a wise one by the packed in feel to the place. Surely
it can’t be long before a promoter brings him to a midsize Birmingham venue as
no doubt a market now exists as evidenced by the number of people making the
trek down the M5. The trip was certainly worthwhile, as in addition to over an
hour and half of Jason rocking the joint with the ubiquitous 400 Unit, we had
the pleasure of John Moreland sharing his songs for forty minutes with stirring
effect.
With HIGH ON TULSA HEAT finally getting its UK release the previous
week, it was fitting that Moreland announced his arrival with ‘Hang Me in the Tulsa County Stars’.
Later in his set the performance peaked with a rendition of ‘Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs Anymore’
lifted from an earlier record which had warmed the hearts of listeners this
side of the pond. The song delivery was entirely free of pretension with the raspy
vocals projecting a large degree of deep felt emotion savoured in a state of
immaculate reception by a vast majority of the audience. This was song writing
and performing in its purest form leaving the thought that there must be something in the
Oklahoma landscape to enable a writer to tap into the inner seam of lyrical brilliance.
Following in the travelling footsteps of fellow State artists John Fulbright
and Parker Millsap, John Moreland announced an unmissable arrival and an
imprint to accommodate the magnitude of his compositions.
On his previous visit to these shores, Jason played a duo
show with his wife Amanda Shires at the Cambridge Folk Festival and it was
interesting to compare the version of ‘Travelling
Alone’, complete with fiddle, to the full band version featured tonight. On
an evening where the 400 Unit soared into a prime tuned rock ‘n’ roll
accompaniment, perhaps the fiddle was occasionally missed especially when the
throttle was relieved a little. Striding back onto the stage for the inevitably
deserved encore demand, Jason tore straight to the hearts of many present with
a stunning version of ‘Elephant’
before choosing a mild mannered mid-tempo rocker to bid farewell in ‘Codeine’.
Earlier in the evening Jason had announced his arrival by
introducing the band and himself from Muscle Shoals Alabama before launching
straight into ‘Stockholm’ and ‘Palmetto Rose’. A band he
definitely loved this evening was the four guys in his stage vicinity led by
the guitar virtuosity of Sadler Vaden, with whom Jason pushed to the limit with
his own playing at times. Bassist Jimbo Hart was introduced as a friend of
twenty years with recollection of the pair parking school buses in Alabama
many years ago. On a couple of occasions, Derry de Borja stepped from behind
the keys to extol the romance of the accordion. Full apologies for mentioning
drummer Chad Gamble last but a roomful of music connoisseurs fully understand
and appreciate the engine roll of the guy with the sticks.
On the subject of home states, ‘Alabama Pines’ stood like a beacon mid set and we were dealt with a
further dose of the past when ‘Decoration
Day’ and ‘Never Gonna Change’ saw
full respect given to the Drive By Truckers days. Bringing things right back to
the present and as you would expect many songs from the highly acclaimed and
commercially successful SOMETHING MORE THAN FREE were integrated into the set
list. Apart from the track mentioned in the opening paragraph, ’24 Frames’ sounded as good as ever in
justifying its place as the records promo track at the time of release. ‘If It Takes a Lifetime’ continues to
teach many how to write a great country tune and ‘Hudson Commodore’ delivers
the perfect lesson in nostalgia. Hearing all these songs live within the
confinement of a first rate venue sound system capped the pleasure from first
listening to the album in a feeling of mid-summer awe.
www.jasonisbell.com
www.johnmoreland.net