Son VoltVariety Playhouse
Atlanta, GA
September 11, 2009
We're All Living Proof That Nothing Lasts
I bet that Jay Farrar is a very good bowler. That probably sounds like a strange thing for somebody to say about a rock star, but he has the look of a guy who has rolls, on average, better than 180. Perhaps he's too slim, but he definitely has the face and haircut of a guy who wouldn't look out of place on a Friday at an alley in Roseville, Michigan; knocking over pins and kicking back Miller High Lifes all night. I think maybe it's this everyman quality that makes him such a great singer. It makes it possible for someone who probably isn't desperate (not anymore, anyways) to sing songs about desperation and pull it off flawlessly. Son Volt at the Variety has been a yearly occurrence for the last four years. It's always a Friday night, it always sold out, or close to sold out, and it's always worth the price of admission. It's always a good show. But on 9/11/09, Son Volt was fucking brilliant.
I've seen Son Volt three times in the last four years. It's always been good, but never like this. They tore through 25 or so songs in about an hour and forty minutes. The set list was a great mix of old and new, and they played most of the songs on American Central Dust. All of the new songs featured live arrangements that worked beautifully, particularly "Cocaine and Ashes" and "Dynamite". When it needed to be rough, it was rough. When it needed to be quiet, it was quiet. They played a version of "Windfall" that made me want to start bawling. When all was said and done and I realized that they didn't play "Drown" I was in such awe of what I'd just seen that I didn't give a shit.
I never saw Son Volt 1.0 with Mike Heidorn and the Boquist brothers, but I've seen pretty much every one of their band configurations since. The current one is by far the best. Bassist Andrew Duplantis, and drummer Dave Bryson (he keeps a really neat tour blog, which can be found here) are one of the most formidable rhythm sections I've ever heard, and it really brings a lot to the sound because many artists of this genre keep the bottom end too vanilla. That's kind of lame, and that ain't an issue with these guys. Keyboardist and pedal steel player Mark Spencer is always spot on, and Jay is Jay.
I often tell people jokingly that everything I know about life I learned from Mike Damone from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It usually elicits a laugh, but the thing is I'm only half kidding when I say that. Sure, he was a fuck-up. But he was a pretty wise fuck-up who offers his protege sage advice throughout the entire film; things that still ring true today. One of the most accurate things that Damone tells Ratner is that a woman decides how far she will let a guy get with her within the first seconds. Most women will tell you this is true, and the ones that deny it are lying. The way I feel about live music is analogous to this axiom. Sometimes it takes a band a few songs to really hit its stride, but generally I can tell pretty quickly how the set is going to go. As far as Friday night went, I knew it was going to be special as soon as Son Volt's new lead guitar and lap steel player, James Walbourne, struck his first note.
James Walbourne, who I had never heard of before last Friday, is one of the best guitar players I've ever seen. That's kind of a loaded statement, but for this band, the guy seems to be a perfect fit. When he rocked out, he struck the strings on his guitars (a really neat looking Gibson Firebird which now has a busted headstock, and what appeared to be a Fender Custom Shop '51 Nocaster Relic) harder than Joe Louis ever beat on anyone from the bum-of-the-month club, and whenever it was time for some chicken pickin', I could have sworn he was channeling Don Rich. Walbourne's feel for this kind of music is nothing short of incredible. And the fucker's a limey. The Kinks may have invented the term by calling one of their records this, but James Walbourne has truly earned the right to be called a Muswell Hillbilly. And by the way, if this isn't already his nickname, it fucking needs to be.
The sound of this show was also phenomenal. Jay's projects have always had great tone, in my opinion. That's probably another reason why I enjoyed Walbourne's playing so much. The tone reminded me of Anodyne-era Farrar, but with a greater degree technical competency. Jay was his usual self, and as always at a SV show, I was thrilled/confused when he finally brought out his Epiphone Les Paul Special (the cheapest guitar that Epiphone makes). He played the first six or so songs with a gorgeous acoustic-electric, and then went straight to the Gretsch, so I thought the Epi didn't make it on the road this time. My fears were relieved, fortunately.
I was so happy that this show exceeded my expectations. If Jay Farrar never released another record, I would still go see him play every year. But he's on the heels of the best album that he's made in years, and he sure looked like he was having a great time on the Variety's stage. This wasn't Jay and a bunch of musicians. This was a real band. Now instead of the usual feeling I have after a Son Volt show, which is 'this was really good, I hope they tour again next year', I'm already trying to make plans to see them at the 40 Watt in November, and I'm anxiously awaiting the release of One Fast Move or I'm Gone, the Kerouac-themed project he recorded with Ben Gibbard. Maybe Jay Farrar isn't a good bowler after all, but he was only a couple pins short of a perfect game the other night at the Variety Playhouse.
P.S. - The opener was Sera Calhoune from Seattle. She has a fabulous voice, considerably better than average guitar chops, good songs, and a great pedal steel player accompanying her. I can't seem to find a web presence of any kind, but keep an eye out for her.
I've seen Son Volt three times in the last four years. It's always been good, but never like this. They tore through 25 or so songs in about an hour and forty minutes. The set list was a great mix of old and new, and they played most of the songs on American Central Dust. All of the new songs featured live arrangements that worked beautifully, particularly "Cocaine and Ashes" and "Dynamite". When it needed to be rough, it was rough. When it needed to be quiet, it was quiet. They played a version of "Windfall" that made me want to start bawling. When all was said and done and I realized that they didn't play "Drown" I was in such awe of what I'd just seen that I didn't give a shit.
I never saw Son Volt 1.0 with Mike Heidorn and the Boquist brothers, but I've seen pretty much every one of their band configurations since. The current one is by far the best. Bassist Andrew Duplantis, and drummer Dave Bryson (he keeps a really neat tour blog, which can be found here) are one of the most formidable rhythm sections I've ever heard, and it really brings a lot to the sound because many artists of this genre keep the bottom end too vanilla. That's kind of lame, and that ain't an issue with these guys. Keyboardist and pedal steel player Mark Spencer is always spot on, and Jay is Jay.
I often tell people jokingly that everything I know about life I learned from Mike Damone from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It usually elicits a laugh, but the thing is I'm only half kidding when I say that. Sure, he was a fuck-up. But he was a pretty wise fuck-up who offers his protege sage advice throughout the entire film; things that still ring true today. One of the most accurate things that Damone tells Ratner is that a woman decides how far she will let a guy get with her within the first seconds. Most women will tell you this is true, and the ones that deny it are lying. The way I feel about live music is analogous to this axiom. Sometimes it takes a band a few songs to really hit its stride, but generally I can tell pretty quickly how the set is going to go. As far as Friday night went, I knew it was going to be special as soon as Son Volt's new lead guitar and lap steel player, James Walbourne, struck his first note.
James Walbourne, who I had never heard of before last Friday, is one of the best guitar players I've ever seen. That's kind of a loaded statement, but for this band, the guy seems to be a perfect fit. When he rocked out, he struck the strings on his guitars (a really neat looking Gibson Firebird which now has a busted headstock, and what appeared to be a Fender Custom Shop '51 Nocaster Relic) harder than Joe Louis ever beat on anyone from the bum-of-the-month club, and whenever it was time for some chicken pickin', I could have sworn he was channeling Don Rich. Walbourne's feel for this kind of music is nothing short of incredible. And the fucker's a limey. The Kinks may have invented the term by calling one of their records this, but James Walbourne has truly earned the right to be called a Muswell Hillbilly. And by the way, if this isn't already his nickname, it fucking needs to be.
The sound of this show was also phenomenal. Jay's projects have always had great tone, in my opinion. That's probably another reason why I enjoyed Walbourne's playing so much. The tone reminded me of Anodyne-era Farrar, but with a greater degree technical competency. Jay was his usual self, and as always at a SV show, I was thrilled/confused when he finally brought out his Epiphone Les Paul Special (the cheapest guitar that Epiphone makes). He played the first six or so songs with a gorgeous acoustic-electric, and then went straight to the Gretsch, so I thought the Epi didn't make it on the road this time. My fears were relieved, fortunately.
I was so happy that this show exceeded my expectations. If Jay Farrar never released another record, I would still go see him play every year. But he's on the heels of the best album that he's made in years, and he sure looked like he was having a great time on the Variety's stage. This wasn't Jay and a bunch of musicians. This was a real band. Now instead of the usual feeling I have after a Son Volt show, which is 'this was really good, I hope they tour again next year', I'm already trying to make plans to see them at the 40 Watt in November, and I'm anxiously awaiting the release of One Fast Move or I'm Gone, the Kerouac-themed project he recorded with Ben Gibbard. Maybe Jay Farrar isn't a good bowler after all, but he was only a couple pins short of a perfect game the other night at the Variety Playhouse.
P.S. - The opener was Sera Calhoune from Seattle. She has a fabulous voice, considerably better than average guitar chops, good songs, and a great pedal steel player accompanying her. I can't seem to find a web presence of any kind, but keep an eye out for her.
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