It had been eight years since I last saw Shooter Jennings in concert. Far too long. I was planning on seeing him the last time he played the Blue Note, in Columbia in 2013, but my dad bought tickets for another concert the same night. So, I wound up seeing the Sail Rock tour instead. Hell, 2013 was the last time I went to the Blue Note too, when I saw Billy Joe Shaver...
And waking up with little good sleep and a continuing sinus headache, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it tonight. But good old Claritan cleared it up and, after the storms dissipated, I was on my way. I got there about 40 minutes til doors opened with a small line. Past history says to get there early enough to avoid being snaked through the alleyway. But it wound up being maybe half full at most tonight, probably due in part to the holiday weekend and that the students are gone for summer, which is a good thing.
Once inside, it was a 50 minute wait until the first openers, the Tanner Lee Band hit the stage at 8:30. They were a traditional four piece that played eight songs in little over half an hour. They were okay, but suffered from the muddied sound opening act syndrome. I would kind of describe them as somewhere between Southern and Country Rock.
Then a quick set change, led to Mountain Sprout taking the stage, playing nine songs at around 45 minutes. They're a Hellbelly Bluegrass bearded quartet from Arkansas and as their leader said in his quick talking Southern accent, "We sing about sex and drugs." Which is pretty much right on. And their songs were quite good as well as hilarious. Their opening song Dry Counties, set the tone, as well as Money, Pussy and Drugs and Screw the Government. Their songs are refreshing tongue-in-cheek honesty...
The final set change took a bit longer and Shooter, clad in his purple Nudie-like suit, and his four piece band came out a little after 10:30, opening with Electric Rodeo. His four piece "LA Band," featured Aubrey Richmond on violin, which added a unique texture to Shooter's sound, along with the typical guitar, drums and bass. I've always loved the countryfied live version of 4th of July over the more rocking take on the studio album and the fiddle here took the place of the steel guitar and sounded beautiful. But it was one of many beautiful solos and fills throughout the show.
The more hard rocking songs started out the show, before Shooter favored the acoustic guitar for the majority of later songs. Maybe the best song was Outlaw You, which brought an intensity that helped feed the audience, as well as the aforementioned fiddle work. Another highlight was Nashville from Afar and the intended George Jones song (Or so Shooter thought as he related the story.), Living in A Minor Key. There definitely was a slant towards his Black Ribbons and onward material, as he only played five songs from his first three albums. (I'm kicking myself for not seeing him at the Blue Note in 2007 or the next year at the Montgomery County Fair, when the The Wolf was released, which has become my favorite album of his and missed seeing him preform most of those songs live...)
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| A guy nabbed one of the set lists and let me take a pic. |
Shooter played around 90 minutes, closing with the cover Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues and no encore, or the fake encore as I call it. This was the first show, I've seen him, where he didn't play a Waylon cover. (Though Waylon did cover Good Time Charlie, I'm not sure his version is the most famous). The only bad parts was I wish Shooter played longer, and the tall guys that moved their way to the front right before Shooter started. Though by halfway through, they had moved again or left.
This was fourth time seeing Shooter, overall it was a kick ass show, well well worth more than the $20 ticket and convenience charges. I'm sure some of it was not having seen Shooter for so long. But I love Shooter's blending of music, from Country, various forms and eras of Rock, to things I'm not big on like Electronica.
Set List (In case image gets deleted )
Electric Rodeo
Steady at the Wheel
Don't Feed the Animals
Triskaidekaphobia
The Real Me
Outlaw You
The Last Time I Let You Down
Nashville From Afar
Wild and Lonesome
I'm Left You're Right, She's Gone
Living in a Minor Key
The Door(A George Jones Cover)
The Other Life
Manifesto No.1
All of This Could Have Been Yours
Summer of Rage
The Gunslinger
4th of July
Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues
