Tedeschi Trucks Band - Aston PA 6/11/14

Tedeschi Trucks Band, Aston PA, 6/11/14

My thoughts have been primarily around getting ready for the upcoming West Virginia camping weekend, but we squeezed in a concert last night with our neighbors. Amp and I had seen the Tedeschi Trucks Band back in 2011 at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby (blog post is here), and loved them. We were surprised to see an upcoming show announcement that they would be coming to the Sun Center in Aston PA, very close to home. I had no idea the Sun Center did concerts, and hadn't been there since our high school graduation was held there...well...a long time ago. I had trouble imagining how that big warehouse-y place would be set up for a concert. I figured they had built a new auditorium for shows like this.

I was wrong. The four of us showed up at the Sun Center at around 6:45 or so for a 7:30 show, and it became immediately obvious that there was no new concert theater. In fact, there wasn't an auditorium at all. There was a stage, a temporary tent roof over the stage, and 1,200 folding chairs on the lawn and part of the parking lot next to the building. Hmmm.

I love an outdoor show. Usually. But part of loving an outdoor show is knowing that it IS an outdoor show and preparing accordingly. On a chilly, blustery evening like today where it is threatening to rain, this would mean sweatshirt, rain jacket, hat, etc... None of which any of us had. In order to minimize the amount of things to bring/wear/carry the girls had specifically not brought extra sweaters, jackets or anything of the sort. So when the rains came (and a very light drizzle of rain did indeed start partway through the show), we would end up chilly and slightly uncomfortable, but nothing too bad.

The gang, the lawn and the stage

As for the show itself, there was a solo opening act whose name I no longer recall writing this well after the fact. He played guitar and sang, and was good if not great. The TTB took the stage at close to 8:30 and played for a solid two hours. This tour was in support of their recent album Made Up Mind, and was a good mix of new material, earlier TTB and solo act songs, and a variety of covers.

I gushed about the quality of the show, the large and excellent complement of backing musicians, Susan's guitar playing and vocals, and Derek's virtuoso playing in my prior post. All of this is still true. The band is still great, Derek is still brilliant, and the outdoor temporary setup at the Sun Center had good sound and good sight lines. Great show.

YouTube clips of our show:

• Setting up the Show....
• Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning, a Blind Willie Johnson cover.
• More and More, a Blood Sweat and Tears cover.
• Encore - Darling Be Home Soon and The Storm

Other highlights included Keep on Growing. The only real disappointment for me was that they didn't do Anyday, my favorite song that Derek did in his solo band days.

A fantastic if chilly evening, and now off to pack for West Virginia.

I Feel Small

While riding out the hurricane, such as it is at this point, Anthony and I were goofing around with YouTube. Searching out old videos of such songs as "End of the World" by REM and "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by the Scorpions. Then we stumbled on this. As the title says, I am humbled. This kind of talent boggles the mind. Derek Trucks. Thirteen years old. Ack! I truly do feel small.

I am not 100% sure why I am moved so much by this video clip, but I guess it is because I value musical talent above perhaps any other kind. Prodigies of any type are a wonder, but it is the musical ones that make me the most envious. If there were anything I could choose to excel at, I think music would be my choice. Music can make a happy soul dance, a sad soul wail in desperation... in other words, make you do whatever it is that it wants you to do. I watch this with rapt amazement and cannot help but think "I wish..."

Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Tower Theater - 8/18/2011

I love seeing shows at the little old Tower Theater. Comfortable seats, great sight lines, pretty good acoustics and a bar in the lobby where you can bring your drinks to your seat. We arrived before 7:30, purchased the Tedeschi Trucks Band's new CD Revelator for a mere $10, got a glass of wine and went to our seats. I was excited because I thought we were in the neighborhood of row 18 by my calculations (the seating chart is a little ambiguous). It turns out I was wrong about where we were sitting. We were in row 10, on the aisle, with an up close unobstructed view of the stage.

Steve Earle and the Dukes and Duchesses, featuring Allison Moorer
7:05pm to 8:15pm

I didn't know anything about this opening act, but I liked them very much. The earlier part of their set was by far my favorite, as they played a lot of songs that seemed heavily influenced by zydeco and other regional musical types. They used all manner of interesting instruments (violin, banjo, dobro, mandolin, accordion, bazouki, etc...). The second half of their set was more straightforward rock, but was still very enjoyable. Dave and Lori arrived toward the tail end of the set, and he was unhappy that he hadn't noticed who the opening act was or he would have made a point to get to the show in time to see them. Unlike me, he knew who they were and was a fan.

The real gem of a talent here for me was Allison Moorer, who sang lead on one song that just blew me away. What a great voice. I need to find out more about her (from reading the attached link, she is now Steve Earle's wife). She has a fairly extensive discography. I think I feel an Amazon impulse purchase coming on...

This was a surprisingly long opening act, but a really good one. It is always a nice bonus when you get an opening act and you really like them.

Tedeschi Trucks Band
8:40pm to 10:36pm

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect in terms of a set list for the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Each person's individual band has had a reasonably long recording career, with a number of CD's, but the band only has the one new CD together. I tried half heartedly to get a set list before the show but couldn't find one. My best guess was that we would get a heavy dose of the new album along with a few songs from each one's prior efforts. I didn't take notes on what we heard, but as far as I could tell that is what we got. And it was fantastic. I was mesmerized by Derek's playing, and Susan's vocals were really strong. I have written earlier about my finding Derek Trucks as a new musical act for me, and the opportunity to hear him for the first time has had me looking forward to this show as much as any I can remember in years.

The one Derek Trucks Band song that I would have picked for them to mix into this show was Anyday, an old Derek and the Dominoes song (Eric Clapton featuring Duane Allman on slide guitar). This song is generally DT's encore song, and it is a fitting one in so many ways. Duane Allman died way too young, ending his stint as the lead guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band. The current co-lead guitarist for the modern incarnation of Allman Brothers is of course Derek Trucks (Derek's uncle Virgil Trucks is an original member of the band). On occasion, Derek has played this song on Duane Allman's gold top 1957 Les Paul. Cool. I was overjoyed when the band launched into Anyday as (I believe) the fourth song of the show.

Anyday, anyday,
I would see you smile
Any way, any way,
Only for a little while

Nothing about the show disappointed. Tedeschi has a great voice for these bluesy songs, and Derek's playing was a marvel. He was a smooth as he wanted be, as fast, as soulful, or as raucous. The band was unbelievably strong, with a pair of drummers, keyboards, bass, the two leads, two backing vocalists (including Michael Mattison, the DT Band's lead singer), and a three piece wind section of sax, trumpet and trombone. All were fantastic musicians who got to shine in their own solos and featured pieces. Derek himself seemed to almost shun the spotlight, seeming to walk out of it on a few of his many solos. The only real emotion he showed other than being totally engrossed in his playing was minor annoyance on the two different occasions that he popped the top string on his trademark Gibson SG. He had to finish the end of Anyday soloing without the highest notes available to him, and was forced to have a roadie swap out another SG in mid-song the other time.

I hadn't properly done my homework on the new album, having heard Dave's copy once, but hadn't yet bought it myself. Other than the lovely Midnight in Harlem, I didn't really know it at all. What a pleasant surprise; all great songs with some real gems, such as the hauntingly beautiful Shelter.

They made their promises then they walked away
Fair-weather friends are gone for good
You never cared about what others had to say
And through it all you understood...
    You are my prayer in times of trouble
    I'll be your answer when you call
    Shelter you, shelter me


Wake up, but keep dreaming that you were born to fly
When your heart is heavy like a stone
I'll lift your burden high until you realize
That through the storm you soldiered on
    You are my prayer in times of trouble
    I'll be your answer when you call
You showed me that your actions
Speak louder than your words
    You are my prayer........

A terrific show overall. The opening act was a new one for me, but one I would definitely search out some more on. And the Tedeschi Trucks Band was phenomenal. Fantastic musicianship, good songs, great energy, and a great place to see a show. Any time they come back I am going to see them!

...a Minor Addition

The one thing that the Wikipedia entry on Derek Trucks forgot to mention is that apparently in and around a very busy touring and recording schedule, he did manage to find time to fight in the Battle of Helms Deep in the second Lord of the Rings movie. He didn't have all that much screen time in this movie (or the first one, in which he also appeared), but he did have a great death scene. ;)

Derek Trucks

I have discovered (for me at least), a new musical act I just can't get enough of. I used the term "man love" to a friend, which was met with a healthy burst of laughter (understandably), but I fear it's true. I have to admit, I have a thing for Derek Trucks. And I'll tell you how it happened...

I have always been a huge fan of Eric Clapton. I really like the blues-rock stuff that Clapton has done, and as he has gotten older and the idea of commercial success seems to have become less and less important to him, he has delved deeper and deeper into the blues influences that are so important to him. This has been reflected in the lineups of acts that have been a part of the benefit concerts that he has done in 2004 and 2007 to benefit the Crossroads Center, a non-profit addiction center he has been a part of. Crossroads 2004 was in Texas, and Crossroads 2007 was in Chicago.

Recently, my wife spotted an ad for Crossroads 2010, which was held in Chicago in June 2010. A DVD of the concert (I have the other two) was set for release in the Fall, but a 2-hour highlights version was going to play in a limited number of theaters nationally for one night, for one show. [It is interesting how an 11 hour concert can turn into a 4 hour DVD, which can in turn be abbreviated to a 2 hour movie...]. We got together with a neighbor couple and went to see the show, which was great to see on a large screen and a good sound system.

The show itself could be the subject of a post by itself, but the single best song in the theater version of the concert for me was Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi performing a song called Midnight in Harlem. I left the theater captivated by the guitar line, as simple as it was, and the haunting melody. At this point all I knew about Derek Trucks was from brief conversations with brother Dave. Having had the previous Crossroads discs playing in the background at various times around the house over the years, I knew that the blond ponytail guy in the background of some ensemble numbers was named Derek Trucks and that according to Dave he was a guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band. When I got home from the Crossroads 2010 show, I needed to know more.

As with Carole King a few months ago, I was amazed at what I learned when I started to do a little research. I won't go into a whole biography here (as usual, Wikipedia has a good one...). To summarize, Trucks bought his first acoustic guitar at age 9, was playing in travelling bands at the age of 10 (yes 10), formed the Derek Trucks Band at the age of 15, and currently at the ripe old age of 31 is considered by many to be one of the greatest living electric slide guitarists. He has had his own band for 16 years (and a bunch of albums), is the main guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band, and has toured with all sorts of people, including a 2006 tour with Eric Clapton. The Derek Trucks Band is currently on hiatus, and he has a new band with his wife called (creatively) the Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks Band. Go figure....

My descent into temporary madness can be tracked from Midnight in Harlem on Crossroads 2010, back through Anyday on Crossroads 2007, to an Amazon purchase last week. Anyday has always been a favorite song of mine off the Layla and other Assorted Love Songs album by Derek and the Dominoes (Eric Clapton). I think I like DT's version from CR' 07 better than the original. Poking through some reviews and seeing what was readily available, my Amazon purchase consisted of 1993's Joyful Noise, 2009's Already Free, 2010's live Roadsongs, and the 2006 live DVD Songlines Live.

Joyful Noise is a good album if a bit raw (which is a good thing). Roadsongs and Songlines Live are absolutely terrific. But the gem here is Already Free. This album is a magnificent blend of Blues, Blues-Rock, World Music, Jazz Fusion, and bits of all sorts of other things. 8 out of the 12 songs were co-written by Trucks. The remainder are a nice choice of selections from others, including a cover of Bob Dylan's Down in the Flood. This CD hasn't left the CD player in my car since it arrived in the mailbox and I played it for the first time. If you think you would like a guitar virtuoso playing this kind of music (and brother Dave, I do mean you...), if you do nothing else I ever ask of you...BUY THIS ALBUM. You won't regret it. I promise. Watch the YouTube video I have linked in above for Midnight in Harlem. If you like this even a little bit, trust me...

Pardon the fawning, but I love music of all sorts, and finding something new (for me) that I like this much is an exhilarating feeling. It doesn't happen all that often, but when it does, I have to share it...