Concerts thread: Best/Worst/Next/Last one you attended?

Grabbed Isbell tickets for Montreal. The whole floor is GA, $85 which is a fair price. I’m sure I’ll at the back holding up a wall.

 

This is a hell of a lineup

 

Pitbull in the house!

 

HO-tel

MO-tel

Holiday Iiiiiiiiinn

 

If yo girl start actin’ up, then you take her friend

 

I see Chris Knight in two days. Starting to get really excited.

 

Just feel like posting this on the heels of the Weekender, and with The Hold Steady set to play a bunch of US/Canada dates this summer -- three-night runs Toronto, Seattle, D.C., Denver.

I know there are some fellow hardcore THS fans on the board, so this isn't meant for you. But if you're looking to experience the joy for the first time and have a chance to catch any of the shows, here's a quick handy guide for you.

* Get to know this core group of eight songs -- Constructive Summer, Chips Ahoy, Your Little Hoodrat Friend, Stuck Between Stations, Killer Parties, Entitlement Crew, Sequestered in Memphis, and Sideways Skull. You're guaranteed to get these at every show, and these are the big singalong anthems that the crowd really vibes with. Also, expected to get blasted by confetti during Hoodrat. It's clear Craig really likes Sideways Skull (off the newest album) as it's been worked into every set that I've seen in the last two years. It plays better live than on the album.

* You're almost guaranteed to get a main-set ender of either How A Resurrection Really Feels or Slapped Actress. They each usually get played once a run.

* Massive Nights, Party Pit and Stay Positive are also big singalong songs that get played 1-2 times during a run.

* Don't concern yourself too much with the "stepchild" records that came out during a time of some turmoil in the band in the early 2010s -- Heaven Is Whenever and Teeth Dreams. TD especially was sort of a low point for most of the guys as guitarist Tad Kubler was digging himself out of serious drug/drinking problems and keyboardist Franz Nicolay was out of the band, and they tend to not revisit much of that album. Though the closer -- Oaks -- has been spoken back into existence by the fans, and they closed the Sunday main set in London with it. And it was spectacular, a great guitar showcase. Off HIW, you'll likely hear The Weekenders and Hurricane J at some point, but that's about it.

* They'll play the front half of their most recent record, The Price of Progress, but they haven't played much of the back half live. It's a shame, because I think Birdwatchers is a fabulous song musically but Franz told me on Saturday that as much as he likes it, it just hasn't fit the vibe of recent sets. You'll get most of the rest of first four albums, probably once a weekend, though not Charlemagne in Sweatpants off of Separation Sunday, which for some reason they haven't played since 2020. Fourteen shows and I haven't seen it yet, bummer. Same with Joke About Jamaica off Stay Positive.

* If anyone is coming to the DC shows (June 20-22), find me, and let's have a beer and a great time!

 

Home from Chris Knight in Raleigh and having a beverage.

A few things (OK, a lot):

I've strayed a long, long way from country music over the years. Authenticity matters to me, and mainstream country just got worse and worse, to the point of making me angry.

I know Chris was never mainstream, and that's why I've always liked him and others in his ilk. But he always felt a little more special to me. I doubt our politics line up, but man, he writes so succinctly, beautifully and with so much heart for the common man.

Tonight was awesome. He's not a great singer and it matters none. Hell, his real voice is perhaps what makes him great. We had about 250 to 300 people at Lincoln Theatre, and it sounded great. I mean, I can't imagine many people know who Chris Knight is, and all evening, people were yelling out song titles for him. I felt seen. He settled for several wry smiles.

He's 63 now, which is hard to believe. But I'm old, too, and "Framed" is more than 25 years old. I was in college when I first heard it. Tonight felt like he's proud to carry John Prine's torch.

He handled the show so well. Stayed in a comfortable pocket for the first half of the show, then ramped up and up and up. Once we hit "Low Down Ramblin Blues" it was on to "It Ain't Easy Being Me," "Oil Patch Town" and on and on. He finished with "Framed," "Jack Blue," and "Up From the Hill," rocking our asses off.

I saw his brother Jason at the merch table after - bought a killer t-shirt that is is black with the quote: "It ain't easy being me. -Chris Knight" - and asked him to please tell Chris thanks for 30 years of music and still doing this. Jason reached out his hand, shook mine and said, "Dude, I'll tell him that. Thank you for saying that. It's what we do."

That was cool.

Goddam, I love shows in small clubs.

Support music, y'all.

 

This is the good stuff, right here.

 

Drive By Truckers touring coast to coast, June-November, with an emphasis on Southern Rock Opera. Only one Canadian date and I hope to be there.

 

I’ll be seeing DBT in Sydney on April 1. Plan to be right up front and to be hearing-impaired the next several days.

 

I very much want to make Gaslight Anthem in Central Park in August work. I might need friends to meet there to justify that one. So, putting that out there.