Shooter Jennings Live!

Shooter Jennings
Joe’s, Chicago
Saturday, September 30, 2006

With the exception of a quick “How ya doin’ Chicago?” as he took the stage Shooter Jennings offered little chit chat during the first four songs – “Electric Rodeo,” “Gone To Carolina,” “Little White Lines,” and “Solid Country Gold” – at Joe’s Saturday night. He simply tore through the songs, and nobody in the crowd seemed to mind the lack of banter, maybe too excited they were seeing the only son of country legends Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter to notice.

Jennings, wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt, with hair hanging below his shoulders, finally emerged from his shell after “Solid Country Gold,” going into a spiel about how fortunate he has been to work with so many solid songwriters during his career. He then noticed his bandmates’ confused expressions. “I’m starting the wrong bit,” Jennings announced to the crowd with a laugh before asking “How many rowdy women are in here tonight?” – the right “bit” to open “Some Rowdy Women.”

Later Jennings missed his vocal cue coming into a verse, forcing his crack band The .357s – guitarist Leroy Powell, bassist Ted Kamp, and drummer Bryan Keeling – to come back around so their frontman could jump in. So it wasn’t a perfect show. But the best ones never are, and Jennings did put on a hell of a rock show. We say rock because despite his obvious bloodline, Jennings is still more of a rocker than a country singer at this point. He fronted a Los Angeles hard rock band, Stargunn, for many years, and it showed (he even plays much of the set with a flying V guitar!) during rowdy rebel anthems like “Busted In Baylor County” and “Daddy’s Farm.” Those songs have the outlaw country spirit of his daddy’s best music, but in concert they are pure hard rock bravado thanks to Powell and Jennings’ ringing power chords and Jennings’ husky voice.

But he had something for everyone in attendance, from cowboys in flannel shirts to the young Lincoln Parkers to the gray-haired old timers. Though early it seemed Jennings was content to focus on this year’s Electric Rodeo – the first three songs were all from that album – the rest of the set was evenly balanced between Rodeo and last year’s debut, Put The “O” Back In Country. Jennings did slow country (“Lonesome Blues”), Southern boogie rock (“Alligator Chomp,” sung by Powell), and huge arena-ready anthems (“Black Magick”).

Country is a frustratingly hit-and-miss record, but even that material translated well onstage. “4th Of July” (“wrote after a road trip to see Willie Nelson’s 4th Of July Picnic,” Jennings explained), which on Country sounds a Faith Hill duet away from a Wal-Mart best seller, instead sounded like an authentic piece of Midwestern rock a la John Mellencamp played live. Same goes for “Steady At The Wheel” and “Manifesto No. 1,” both of which were grittier and truer to Jennings persona than the glossy record versions.

The only song from Country that was a disappointment was the bluesy “Southern Comfort.” It wasn’t because of the track itself, mind you, only that so much of the night’s material seemed better to cap the two-song encore – a bit of a limp ending. You don’t notice a weak ending when the rest of the set is a snooze, though, so consider this nit-picking.

– Trevor Fisher

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly